It is winner-take-all tonight at the AAA in game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Indiana Pacers and the Miami Heat. Saturday’s game 6, won by the Pacers 91-77, was not fun to watch, especially the third quarter, when Indiana outscored Miami 29-15, shooting over 70% from the field, against 25% shooting by Miami. The Heat shot 36.1% for the game, were outrebounded 53-33, and Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade combined to score a grand total of 15 points. That kind of production is not going to win a championship. Although my original pick of Miami in six is no longer in play, I’m sticking with Miami to advance to the Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. I have a very pleasant memory of Miami returning to the AAA in game seven of last year’s Eastern Conference finals against the Celtics, and beating Boston by 13. You can watch tonight’s game on TNT on your cable or satellite system, tipoff is at 8:30 pm.
Harvey Fialkov of the Sun Sentinel brings us Erik Spoelstra’s comments from yesterday:
The Sun Sentinel’s Ira Winderman reminds us that the Heat have been in all or nothing situations before:
Let’s shift to MLB. Here’s another example of why baseball is such a great game. The Marlins and Mets squared off in a weekend series here at Marlins Park this weekend. The Mets came in having just swept a four-game series against the Yankees, and the Marlins had lost nine in a row and 16 out of 18. Of course, just like everyone expected, the Marlins took the brooms out and swept the Mets over the weekend, beating them yesterday 11-6. This was the first sweep for Miami since they swept the Phillies from June 29 to July 1, 2012. Marcell Ozuna drove in four runs, and Greg Dobbs hit a three-run homer in yesterday’s contest. Mets starter Matt Harvey, who came into the game with a 1.85 ERA, only lasted five innings, allowing four runs, ten hits, and five walks. 31-year-old rookie Ed Lucas (who?) and Chris Coghlan had four hits each. The Marlins will be on the road this week, starting with three games in Philadelphia against the Phillies. Here are the pitching matchups against the Phillies:
Mon Tom Koehler vs Kyle Kendrick 7:05 pm
Tue Ricky Nolasco vs Jonathan Pettibone 7:05 pm
Wed Jacob Turner vs Cole Hamels 1:05 pm
The Fish will rest on Thursday before taking on the Mets up in the Big Apple this coming weekend. They will then head home for three games against the Brewers and three against the Cardinals the week of the 10th.
The Fish are still the worst run-scoring team in MLB, with 171 runs in their 57 games. They may be headed in the right direction, as they are now averaging exactly three runs per game. I will be posting the “bottom five” rankings in runs scored until the Marlins aren’t on the list. It still looks like we’ll be here all season long.
TEAM W-L Runs
Marlins 16-41 171
White Sox 24-30 186
Dodgers 23-32 195
Nationals 28-29 197
Phillies 27-30 202
In the major leagues yesterday, in the American League,
Orioles 4 Tigers 2
Chris Davis blasted his 20th homer of the season in the win.
Rays 11 Indians 3
Evan Longoria and Yunel Escobar both connected long distance for the Rays. Longoria had three RBI, Escobar and James Loney each drove in a pair.
Twins 10 Mariners 0
Ryan Doumit, Chris Hermann, Josh Willingham, and Brian Dozier all connected long distance.
Astros 5 Angels 4
Carlos Peña and Carlos Corporan homered for the Astros, winners of five straight games. Matt Dominguez drove in a pair of runs in the win.
Rangers 3 Royals 1
Jurickson Profar homered in the eighth inning to lift the Rangers to the win.
A’s 2 White Sox 0
Jarrod Parker combined with three Oakland relievers on a three-hit shutout.
Red Sox 3 Yankees 0 (6 innings - Rain)
Clay Buchholz remained unbeaten at 8-0, and got credit for his fourth career shutout in the rain-shortened contest. David Ortiz and Jose Iglesias connected long distance in the win. The Yankees have lost seven out of nine, and have been held to under four runs in every one of those games.
Over in the National League,
Braves 6 Nationals 3
Ramiro Peña and BJ Upton homered and Paul Maholm won his third straight decision to improve to 7-4. Freddie Freeman hit a bases-loaded double that missed being a grand slam by inches. The Braves find themselves in first place, with a 34-22 record, 6 1/2 games ahead of the Nationals, 7 1/2 in front of the Phillies.
Phillies 7 Brewers 5
Domonic Brown homered, tripled, and drove in four runs. Cliff Lee was nearly unhittable through seven innings, striking out 11 and allowing only three hits. Brown finished the month of May with 12 homers, hit .303, and did not receive a base on balls the entire month.
Giants 4 Cardinals 2
Chad Gaudin shut down the Cards, giving up only two runs and four hits in his six innings of work, struck out five, and didn’t walk a batter. Buster Posey went 4-4, Brandon Belt drove in the two go-ahead runs in the seventh inning with a pinch-hit double.
Pirates 5 Reds 4 (11 innings)
Garrett Jones tied the game in the eighth inning with a two-run homer, a 460+ foot blast that landed in the Allegheny River on the fly, and Travis Snyder’s run scoring single in the bottom of the 11th ended the game.
D-Backs 8 Cubs 4
Patrick Corbin improved his record to 9-0 this season. Will Nieves, Gerardo Parra, and Cody Ross drove in two runs apiece.
Rockies 7 Dodgers 2
Dexter Fowler homered twice and drove in three runs. Michael Cuddyer and Todd Helton also connected long distance.
Blue Jays 7 Padres 4 (11 innings)
Mark DeRosa hit a solo homer to lead off the top of the 11th, and the Jays added a couple of insurance runs after his blast.
Today’s games:
In the American League,
Indians @ Yankees 7:05 pm
Justin Masterson vs Andy Pettitte
Astros @ Angels 10:05 pm
Erik Bedard vs Joe Blanton
White Sox @ Mariners 10:10 pm
John Danks vs Joe Saunders
Over in the National League,
Marlins @ Phillies 7:05 pm
Tom Koehler vs Kyle Kendrick
Pirates @ Braves 7:10 pm
AJ Burnett vs Kris Medlen
Rockies @ Reds 7:10 pm
Tyler Chatwood vs Bronson Arroyo
A’s @ Brewers 8:10 pm
Tommy Milone vs Marco Estrada
D-Backs @ Cardinals 8:15 pm
Trevor Cahill vs Lance Lynn
Padres @ Dodgers 10:10 pm
Eric Stults vs Chris Capuano
TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: What teams in MLB have the longest winning streaks right now in each respective league? Tell you later, alligator.
The Marlins are making some roster moves today before the series against the Phillies begins. Marlins.com has the details:
The Dodgers are bringing up Cuban prospect Yasiel Puig from AA Chattanooga, and he will make his debut tonight against the San Diego Padres. Yahoo! Sports has the details:
Like the George Gershwin classic, “Nice work if you can get it” - Pete Rose may be banned from baseball, but it doesn’t affect his bank account, according to this story from the Wall Street Journal:
Here are the up-to-the-minute standings in MLB:
Here are the individual league leaders in MLB:
In college baseball, the University of Miami Hurricanes were eliminated in the Louisville regional, losing to Oklahoma State 7-1 yesterday. Miami opened the regional by beating the Cowboys 7-0, lost on Saturday to Louisville, 6-4, giving up six runs in the seventh inning. In the North Carolina regional, Florida Atlantic beat Towson and then also beat #1-ranked North Carolina yesterday 3-2, and the two teams will play in loser-go-home game today. The other Florida teams that made it to the regionals: The University of Florida Gators are done for the year after two quick losses, and the Florida State Seminoles waltzed through their regional to advance to their Super Regional.
In other news, David Beckham is looking into the possibility of investing in a new MLS team in Miami. ESPN.com has it here:
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Please check this out: I’m selling a little over three acres in the beautiful North Carolina mountains, overlooking the New River, a quick 35-minute drive from Boone and Blowing Rock. Click here to see some photos and feel free to contact me if you have any questions:
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THE ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: What teams in MLB have the longest winning streaks right now in each respective league?
In the American league, the Houston Astros have won five in a row, while, in the National League, the Miami Marlins have managed to win three consecutive games.
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.
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Behave yourselves, and always remember that tomorrow will bring us a brand new day.
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