By Dave Hart
LocalSportsJournal.com
Tigers 3, Royals 2- The Tigers held on to beat the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night to even the three-game series.
Detroit jumped out to a 3-0 lead before allowing two ninth inning runs to cut its lead to one.
The Royals had a 5-0 and 8-2 lead before Detroit closed out the game scoring four runs to cut its deficit.
The Tigers were led by Ian Kinsler with a double and two RBIs while Victor Martinez knocked in his 1000th career run.
Detroit’s starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann picked up his third straight victory, allowing no runs on seven hits in 6 1/3 innings while striking out eight batters.
The Tigers’ closer Francisco Rodriguez struggled but pitched his fourth save on the season despite allowing two runs.
The Royals scored their runs on solo homers from Alex Gordon and Salvador Perez.
Detroit will look to win the series against the Royals with a win on Thursday night.
Record: 8-5
3rd Place in AL Central Division (1 games behind Chicago)
1 game ahead of Oakland and Toronto for last playoff spot
Magic # to clinch a playoff spot: 149
Magic # to clinch an AL Central Division title: 150
Next Game: 04/21/2016 @ Kansas City Royals 7:15 p.m. @ Kauffman Stadium
Hitting stats: Ian Kinsler 2B (2) 2 RBI (12), Victor Martinez RBI (9), Jarrod Saltalamacchia 2B (3).
Pitching stats: Jordan Zimmermann W (3-0) 6.1 IP 7 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 8 K, Francisco Rodriguez SV (4) 1 IP 2 H 2 R 2 ER 2 BB 1 K.
Cavaliers 107, Pistons 90 – The Cleveland Cavaliers finished Game 2 of the first round NBA playoff series against the Pistons strong to take a 2-0 lead in the series.
The Cavaliers will look to push Detroit to the brink of elimination with a road win in Game 3 on Friday night.
The Pistons led 28-23 after the first quarter, trailed 55-53 at halftime and had an 82-68 disadvantage after three quarters.
Cleveland was led by LeBron James with a game-high 27 points while Kyrie Irving added 22 and Kevin Love chipped in with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Andre Drummond led the Pistons in a losing effort with 20 points, while Reggie Jackson added 14 points and six assists. Tobias Harris and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope each chipped in with 13 points and eight rebounds.
Record: 44-38
1st Round: 0-2
# wins to win a NBA World Championship: 16
# wins to win an Eastern Conference Championship: 12
# losses to elimination: 2
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: 04/22/2016 Game 3 of 1st Round vs Cleveland Cavaliers @ Palace of Auburn Hills
Stats: Andre Drummond 20 points, Reggie Jackson 14 points 6 assists, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope/Tobias Harris 13 points 8 rebounds each, Marcus Morris 11 points.
