Thursday, May 2, 2013


A couple of the first round series in the NBA have tightened up unexpectedly.  In yesterday’s games,

Boston 92 New York 86
The Knicks scored the first 11 points of the game before the Celtics recovered and came back to win.  Kevin Garnett had 16 points and 18 rebounds, Jason Terry finished with 17 points, Jeff Green scored 18, Brandon Bass 17, and Paul Pierce added 16.  The Celtics have closed the gap to 3 games to 2 and look to become the first NBA team to overcome a 3-0 deficit in a seven game series. 

Houston 107 Oklahoma City 100
James Harden scored 31 points and the Rockets shot lights out, hitting on 47% of their shots from the floor, including 14 3-point baskets.  Houston is also trying to overcome a 3-0 deficit in their series, and they have also pulled to within 3-2.

Indiana 106 Atlanta 83
The Pacers got 24 points from David West, 21 points and 10 rebounds from Paul George, and 18 points and nine boards from Roy Hibbert.  Indiana takes a 3-2 lead in that series.

The Miami Heat are getting a little restless to return to the court, but they already know that they will not play the opener of their second round series until next Monday at the AAA.  They will face the winner of the Chicago-Brooklyn series.  

TONIGHT

Brooklyn @ Chicago 8:00 pm TNT
Game 6 Bulls lead series 3-2

Denver @ Golden State 10:30 pm NBA-TV
Game 6 Warriors lead series 3-2

FRIDAY

New York @ Boston  7:00 pm ESPN
Game 6 Knicks lead series 3-2

Indiana @ Atlanta  7:00 pm ESPN-2
Game 6 Pacers lead series 3-2

Oklahoma City @ Houston 9:30 pm ESPN
Game 6 Thunder lead series 3-2

LA Clippers @ Memphis 9:30 pm ESPN-2
Game 6 Grizzlies lead series 3-2

The Marlins were looking for the sweep yesterday against the Metropolitans, and had a 4-1 lead in the sixth inning.  However, the bullpen fell apart and the Mets were able to come back and beat the Fish, 7-6.  The Marlins wasted a number of opportunities to score late in the game, but couldn’t come up with the key hit.  The three-game winning streak is over, and the Marlins are in Philadelphia to open a four-game series this weekend against the Phillies.  Here are the pitching match-ups for the series:

Tonight Alex Sanabia vs Kyle Kendrick
Friday Ricky Nolasco vs Jonathan Pettibone
Saturday Jose Fernandez vs Cole Hamels
Sunday Kevin Slowey vs Roy Halladay

If all goes well, the Marlins are expected to activate SS Adeiny Hechavarria from the disabled list today and release Nick Green to make room.

The Fish are still bringing up the rear in MLB in runs scored, with a grand total of 79 runs in their first 28 games.  I will be posting the “bottom five” rankings in runs scored until the Marlins aren’t on the list.  At this point, I am not very optimistic about this list not being a permanent part of this blog. 

TEAM                      W-L Runs
Marlins                   8-20          79
Dodgers                13-14          91
White Sox             11-15           94
Twins                   12-12            98
Cubs                    11-16           98
Nationals               14-14           98

In the rest of MLB yesterday, first in the National League,

Nationals 2 Braves 0
Jordan Zimmerman tossed eight scoreless innings and Ian Desmond’s two-run homer in the fourth inning was all the support that Zimmerman would need.  Paul Maholm also pitched eight innings in the loss.  The Braves are now 17-10, and in their 10 losses this season, they have been shutout in five of them.

Cardinals 4 Reds 2
Lance Lynn improved his record to 5-0 this season.  Former Marlin Edward Mujica picked up his sixth save in as many opportunities.  Carlos Beltran connected long distance in the win. 

Pirates 6 Brewers 4
Brandon Inge singled in the go-ahead run as the Pirates scored four runs in the eighth inning to rally past the Brewers.  The Pirates have now won 15 out of their last 22.

Cubs 6 Padres 2
Scott Feldman threw the complete game and struck out 12.  

Giants 9 D-Backs 6
Brandon Belt hit the go-ahead three-run homer in the top of the eighth inning.

Rockies 7 Dodgers 3 
Carlos Gonzalez, Troy Tulowitzki, and Michael Cuddyer each drove in a pair of runs.

Over in the American League:

Yankees 5 Astros 4 
Robinson Cano and Ben Francisco belted solo homers in the win.  Mariano Rivera shut the door in the ninth, earning his 11th save of the year.  Wanna know how important Mariano is?  The Yankees are 5-0 in one-run games this season.

Indians 6 Phillies 0
Ryan Rayburn continued his hot hitting, with 4 hits and two RBI.  Asdrubal Cabrera also drove in a pair of runs for the Tribe.  

Twins 6 Tigers 2
Justin Morneau and Chris Parmelee drove in two runs each, Parmalee connected long distance.  

Angels 5 A’s 4
Mike Trout, Mark Trumbo, and Howie Kendrick all homered in the victory.  CJ Wilson is 3-0 this season, while the rest of the Angels’ starters are 3-11.

Red Sox 10 Blue Jays 1
Clay Buchholz improved to 6-0 this season, struck out eight, and did not allow a run for the third time this season.  Mike Napoli homered twice, Stephen Drew, Daniel Nava, and Mike Carp also connected long distance.  

White Sox 5 Rangers 2
Conor Gillespie broke the tie with a homer in the seventh inning as the White Sox snapped a three-game losing streak.

Royals 9 Rays 8
Lorenzo Cain and Jeff Francoeur drove in a couple of runs each and the Royals scored 5 times in the sixth inning to get past the Rays.

Mariners 8 Orioles 3
Kendrys Morales went 3-5, with three RBI and two runs scored.  Michael Morse hit his third homer in the last four games. 

Today’s games, first in the National League:

Padres @ Cubs 2:20 pm
Eric Stults vs Travis Wood

Nationals @ Braves 7:10 pm
Dan Haren vs Kris Medlen

Cardinals @ Brewers         8:10 pm
Jake Westbrook vs Wily Peralta

Over in the American League:

Rays @ Royals 2:10 pm
Roberto Hernandez vs Ervin Santana

Red Sox @ Blue Jays         7:07 pm
Ryan Dempster vs JA Happ

White Sox @ Rangers 8:05 pm
Jake Peavy vs Justin Grimm

Tigers @ Astros                8:10 pm
Rick Porcello vs Jordan Lyles

Orioles @ Angels             10:05 pm
Chris Tillman vs Joe Blanton

ESPN.com’s Jim Bowden ranks the ML rookie class of 2013:


The Chicago Cubs are threatening to leave Wrigley Field?  Could it really happen?  Here’s the story on ESPN.com:


From Fox Sports, Sam Gardner thinks it may be time for the Cubs  to ditch Wrigley Field:


TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  For the better part of a century, all games at Wrigley Field were played during the day.  When was the first night game played at Wrigley Field?  Tell you later, alligator.  

Here are the up-to-the-minute standings in MLB:


Here are the individual league leaders in MLB:


In case you missed it, there are some really interesting (and borderline weird) architectural concepts coming out of Atlanta for their new football stadium.  You gotta check these out:


Nothing new from Dolphins camp, but Ben Volin of the Palm Beach Post has some interesting thoughts on the Dolphins’ search to fill the position of offensive tackle:


In college baseball this weekend, FIU will take on Florida Gulf Coast in a doubleheader on Wednesday, and will travel to Troy, Alabama to take on Troy in a weekend series.  The University of Miami welcome St. Johns to Coral Gables this weekend for a three-game series.

Here is the web site for all the latest in High School Baseball - 


Speaking of websites, check out my new and improved site:


Don’t miss my two “Descarga Deportiva” radio segments (for the Spanish-challenged, “Sports Jam Session”) every day, Monday through Friday, at 9:25 am and 12:15 pm on Radio Esperanza, 1550 AM or on the internet on www.miradioesperanza.com

THE ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  For the better part of a century, all games at Wrigley Field were played during the day.  When was the first night game played at Wrigley Field?            

In February of 1988, the Chicago City Council passed an ordinance allowing night baseball to be played at Wrigley, albeit a maximum of 18 games every year.  On August 8th of that same year, the Cubs and the Philadelphia Phillies took the field for the first night game in the history of Wrigley Field.  The Cubs had a 3-1 lead in the fourth inning, but heavy rains forced the game to be cancelled.  The curse lived on.   

IF YOU OR ANYONE YOU KNOW WANT TO ADVERTISE YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE ON MY RADIO SEGMENTS, PLEASE E-MAIL ME FOR ALL THE DETAILS - jerry@descargadeportiva.com

Behave yourselves, and always remember that tomorrow will bring us a brand new day. 

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