By Dave Hart
LocalSportsJournal.com
Tigers 7, Pirates 3- Jarod Saltalamacchia’s grand-slam home run paced the Tigers over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night.
Saltalamacchia, who hit his 100th career homer, gave the Tigers a 5-2 lead in the sixth inning.
The Tigers were also led by Ian Kinsler with a home run and two RBIs while J.D. Martinez chipped in with a double and an RBI.
Detroit starting pitcher Shane Greene picked up his first win of the season, allowing two runs on three hits while striking out seven in six innings.
The Pirates were led by Andrew McCutchen, Francisco Cervelli and Gregory Polanco with an RBI each.
The Tigers will look to sweep the two-game series against the Pirates with a win on Thursday afternoon.
Record: 5-2
Tied for 1st Place in AL Central Division (Tied with Chicago and Kansas City)
1 game ahead of NY Yankees for last playoff spot
Magic # to clinch a playoff spot: 155
Magic # to clinch an AL Central Division title: 156
Next Game: 04/14/2016 @ Pittsburgh Pirates 12:35 p.m. @ PNC Park
Hitting stats: Jarod Saltalamacchia HR (2) 4 RBI (8), Ian Kinsler HR (3) 2 RBI (8), J.D. Martinez 2B (3) RBI (4), Miguel Cabrera 2B (1).
Pitching stats: Shane Greene W (1-0) 6 IP 3 H 2 R 2 ER 3 BB 7 K.
Pistons 112, Cavaliers 110 (OT) – The Pistons closed out their regular season with a win over the Eastern Conference leading Cleveland Cavaliers in overtime on Wednesday night.
Detroit, which will open the postseason against the Cavaliers this weekend, rested all of it starters.
Jodie Meeks, who missed most of the season with a foot injury, paced the Pistons with 20 points off the Detroit bench.
Reggie Bullock and Anthony Tolliver added 15 points and eight rebounds while Aron Baynes chipped in with 14 points.
The Pistons jumped out to a 29-24 lead after the first quarter, led 58-44 at halftime and had an 82-72 advantage after three quarters.
The Cavaliers forced overtime after going on a 31-21 fourth quarter tear, but the Pistons outscored Cleveland 9-7 in the extra session.
Cleveland was led by Jordan McRae with a game-high 36 points while Richard Jefferson added 16.
Detroit ended its regular season with a 44-38 record, best since the 2007-08 season.
Record: 44-38
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: TBD Game 1 of 1st Round @ Cleveland Cavaliers @ Quicken Loans Arena
Stats: Jodie Meeks 20 points, Reggie Bullock/Anthony Tolliver 15 points 8 rebounds each, Aron Baynes 14 points, Steve Blake 13 points 6 assists.
Lightning 3, Red Wings 2 – Alex Killorn’s game-winning goal midway through the third period led the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Red Wings in Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs on Wednesday night.
The Lightning lead the best of seven series 1-0 and will host Detroit in Game 2 on Friday night.
Tampa Bay was led by Nikita Kucherov with two goals and an assist while Killorn chipped in with a goal and an assist.
The Red Wings scored goals from Mike Green and Justin Abdelkader.
Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard took the loss, stopping 31 of 34 shots.
1st Round: Tampa Bay leads series 1-0
# wins to Stanley Cup Championship: 16
# wins to Eastern Conference Championship: 12
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: 04/15/2016 Game 2 of 1st Round @ Tampa Bay Lightning @ Amalie Arena
Stats: Goals- Mike Green (1), Justin Abdelkader (1). Assists- Danny DeKeyser (1), Kyle Quincey (1), Tomas Tatar (1). Goalie- Jimmy Howard L (0-1) 31 saves on 34 shots.
