By Dave Hart
LocalSportsJournal.com
Red Wings 2, Lightning 0 – The Red Wings shutout the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 3 of the first round series on Sunday night.
The Lightning lead the best of seven series 2-1, Detroit will host Game 4 of the series looking to tie the series on Tuesday night.
Detroit goaltender Petr Mrazek picked up the shutout victory, stopping all 15 Tampa Bay shots.
Andreas Athanasiou and Henrik Zetterberg scored the game’s lone goals for the Red Wings during the second period.
1st Round: Tampa Bay leads series 2-1
# wins to Stanley Cup Championship: 15
# wins to Eastern Conference Championship: 11
# losses to elimination: 2
Record: 41-30-11 93 pts
Tied for 3rd Place in Atlantic Division (8 pts behind Florida)
Tied for 7th Place in Eastern Conference (25 pts behind Washington)
Clinched a 25th straight playoff berth
Eliminated from Central Division and Eastern Conference title contention
Next Game: 04/19/2016 Game 4 of 1st Round vs Tampa Bay Lightning @ Joe Louis Arena
Stats: Goals- Andreas Athanasiou (1), Henrik Zetterberg (1). Assists- Joakim Andersson (1), Tomas Tatar (3). Goalie- Petr Mrazek W (1-0) 15 saves on 15 shots.
Cavaliers 106, Pistons 101 – The Cleveland Cavaliers opened the first round of the postseason with a home victory over the Pistons on Sunday evening.
The Cavaliers were led by Kyrie Irving with a game-high 31 points, while Keven Love added 28 points and 13 rebounds. LeBron James chipped in with 22 points and 11 assists for Cleveland.
The Pistons fell behind 27-25 after the first quarter, led 58-53 at halftime and had a 78-76 advantage after three quarters.
Cleveland closed the contest with a 30-23 fourth quarter run to seal the victory.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope paced the Pistons with 21 points, while Marcus Morris added 20 and Reggie Jackson chipped in with 17 points and seven assists.
Andre Drummond had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds in his first career playoff game for Detroit.
The Pistons will look to even the best-of-seven series with a win over Cleveland on the road on Wednesday night.
Record: 44-38
1st Round: 0-1
# wins to win a NBA World Championship: 16
# wins to win an Eastern Conference Championship: 12
3rd Place in Central Division (13 games behind Cleveland)
8th Place in Eastern Conference (13 games behind Cleveland)
Playoff spot clinched!
Eliminated from Central Division and Eastern Conference title contention.
Next Game: 04/20/2016 Game 2 of 1st Round @ Cleveland Cavaliers @ Quicken Loans Arena
Stats: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 21 points, Marcus Morris 20 points, Reggie Jackson 17 points 7 assists, Andre Drummond 13 points 11 rebounds, Tobias Harris 10 rebounds, Stanley Johnson 9 points 8 rebounds.
Astros 5, Tigers 4- The Houston Astros held on to beat the Tigers on Sunday afternoon to take the three-game set.
The Astros jumped out to a 5-0 lead after four innings before the Tigers responded with three in the fifth and one in the sixth to cut Detroit’s deficit to one run.
Houston’s bullpen held on during the final three innings allowing just one hit while striking out three batters.
The Astros were led by Jose Altuve with a homer and three RBIs while George Springer added a solo home run.
Mike Fiers pitched the win for Houston allowing four runs on seven hits while striking out five in 5 2/3 innings.
The Tigers were paced by Ian Kinsler and Jarod Saltalamacchia, who each hit their team leading fourth home run of the season while J.D. Martinez also chipped in with a home run against his former team.
Detroit starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez took his first loss of the season, allowing four earned runs on eight hits in five innings with striking out eight batters.
The Tigers will continue its road trip on Tuesday night against the defending world-champion Kansas City Royals.
Record: 7-4
3rd Place in AL Central Division (1/2 game behind Kansas City and Chicago)
1 game ahead of Boston for last playoff spot
Magic # to clinch a playoff spot: 151
Magic # to clinch an AL Central Division title: 152
Next Game: 04/19/2016 @ Kansas City Royals 7:15 p.m. @ Kauffman Stadium
Hitting stats: Jarod Saltalamacchia HR (4) RBI (11), Ian Kinsler HR (4) 2 RBI (10), J.D. Martinez HR (2) RBI (6).
Pitching stats: Anibal Sanchez L (2-1) 5 IP 8 H 5 R 4 ER 2 BB 8 K.
