In a game heard on WHOW, Jake Burger's game-ending grand slam handed Liam Hendriks his first win since returning from cancer, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Detroit Tigers 6-2 on Sunday for a three-game series sweep.

Hear Tuesday's action here on WHOW.

43-year old Rich Hill is in Pittsburgh to show a young staff how to be a pro while occasionally showing the kids he can still bring it. That example was on display in a 2-1 victory over St. Louis on Sunday that gave Pittsburgh a three-game sweep of its longtime NL Central nemesis.

Knowing the bullpen needed a bit of a break, Hill (5-5) kept the Cardinals off balance for 6 2/3 innings, expertly weaving in and out of trouble with a series of curveballs that hover around 70 mph offset by a fastball that can touch 90 mph but plays up because everything else comes in so much softer.

Hill walked three and struck out six while giving up just one run, a seventh-inning homer by Andrew Knizner that drew the Cardinals within one. He allowed the leadoff hitter to reach in the first four innings and stranded them all as the Pirates pushed their winning streak to five.

Ji Hwan Bae's two-run single off Miles Mikolas (4-2) in the first provided all the offense Hill would need as Pittsburgh swept St. Louis for the first time in five years. Ke'Bryan Hayes singled three times and is hitting .562 (9 for 16) over his last four games after a 3-for-32 funk dropped him to seventh in the batting order.

David Bednar worked the ninth for his 13th save and third in as many days, striking out Knizner with a 98 mph fastball that provided an exclamation point to three days of tight, meaningful baseball, the kind the Pirates haven't played much of for the better part of a decade.

Tommy Edman had two hits for the Cardinals, and designated hitter Luken Baker picked up the first two hits of his career after being called up from Triple-A Memphis early Sunday.

The middle of the St. Louis lineup - Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Gorman and Nolan Arenado - went a combined 0 for 11 as St. Louis lost for the fifth time in six games. The Cardinals left 27 men on base at PNC Park over the weekend to fall back into last place in one of the weakest divisions in the majors.

The Cardinals continue a six-game road trip in Texas against the Rangers on Monday. Adam Wainwright (2-1, 6.15 ERA) faces Martín Pérez (6-1, 4.43 ERA) in the opener.

Marcus Stroman pitched six strong innings to win his fourth consecutive start and rookie Miguel Amaya went 3 for 3 with his first major league home run as the Chicago Cubs defeated the San Diego Padres 7-1 on Sunday.

Yan Gomes and Trey Mancini hit back-to-back homers off Ryan Weathers (1-4), and Dansby Swanson added a two-run double later in the second inning.

Amaya's two-run drive off reliever Drew Carlton made it 7-0 in the third.

Stroman (6-4) allowed just an unearned run and four hits, striking out six. He lowered his ERA to 2.39.

Julian Merryweather, Michael Fulmer and Brandon Hughes each tossed a scoreless inning to finish the five-hitter.

Chicago had five extra-base hits in the first three innings. Gomes and Mancini gave the Cubs their fifth set of back-to-back homers this season.

Nico Hoerner began the game with a double and scored when third baseman Manny Machado committed a throwing error on Ian Happ's infield single.

Amaya, recalled Saturday from Triple-A Iowa, singled in the second and scored on Swanson's double. Then he knocked in Gomes with a 415-foot homer to left field in the third.

 Kyle Hendricks (0-1, 3.86 ERA) starts the finale of the four-game series Monday night against LHP Blake Snell (1-6, 4.50).

Kyle Busch kept his poise through 11 cautions, including five down the stretch as he tried to protect his lead during Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series Race at World Wide Technology Raceway and got a big push from Denny Hamlin on the last restart and then held him off in a green-white-checkered finish for his third victory of the year.

Busch, who had held off Kyle Larson on each previous restart, had one last phenomenal jump in him. He was well ahead of the rest of the field by the backstretch with just over a lap left and was never seriously challenged by Hamlin after he took the white flag, giving Richard Childress Racing another victory after triumphs at Talladega and Auto Club Speedway.

Hamlin finished second while Joey Logano, the winner a year ago in the Cup Series debut at the track, got around Larson on the final lap for third. Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the top five ahead of Ryan Blaney, last week’s winner at Charlotte.

It was a long day for Corey LaJoie, who filled in for Chase Elliott in the No. 9 car for Hendrick Motorsports and spent most of the day near the back before finishing 21st. Elliott was suspended for the race for intentionally wrecking Hamlin last week.

It also was a long day for everyone on pit stands. There were some technical issues that not only prevented them from having communication with teams back at their shops, but also limited the amount of data that they were able to see.

Carson Hocevar made his Cup Series debut in place of LaJoie in the No. 7 for Spire Motorsports. 

The series heads next Sunday to the road course in Sonoma, California. Daniel Suárez became the first Mexican-born driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series race when he dominated the final stage to win the race a year ago.

The Clinton High School girl's track and field season culminated in at state a few week's ago with an All-State performance from Alayna Earle. 

Clinton girl's track co-head coach Rachel Lyons indicates they also had a successful indoor season in addition to two school records broken during the indoor season. Additionally, the Lady Maroons surprised at the conference meet this spring. 

Coach Lyons and co-head coach Leanne Sosamon knew they had a good thrower in Earle but they say felt they had a good distance program after a strong cross-country campaign in the fall. The coaches also credit the depth of their program and the support those not competing at meets showed to their teammates.

Coach Lyons also credits the seniors this year that really was put through the wringer in their four years at Clinton High School and with track. They credit them for staying with their craft through the ups and downs.

Now Coach Lyons and Coach Sosamon turn their attention to the fall cross country season and are very excited about what is to come with those teams as they return a lot of experience from the last few years. 

Illinois basketball got a big boost as two key contributors from last season's 20-win team will be returning after announcing they are withdrawing from the NBA draft.

Terrence Shannon, Jr. announced his return Wednesday night in a social media post. The 6-6 guard is returning for a fifth college season after averaging 17.2 points.

Shannon transferred to Illinois last year from Texas Tech. He was heavily recruited to Illinois out of high school.

Soon after the announcement of Shannon's return to Illinois, Coleman Hawkins also announced he would be withdrawing from the NBA draft and returning to the Illini next year. 

Hawkins started all 33 games this season and was third on the team in scoring (9.9 points) and led the Illini in rebounding (6.3), assists (3.0) and minutes (32.5). He also averaged 1.2 blocks per game, which ranked 15th in the Big Ten. Hawkins has shown the ability to shoot but shot 28 percent on 3-pointers this season but 44.1 percent overall from the floor.

Illinois boasted a deep roster in 2022-23 and should have plenty of experience and depth to draw on again this upcoming season.

Illinois added Southern Illinois transfer wing Marcus Domask, Oregon transfer forward Quincy Guerrier and Utah Valley transfer guard Justin Harmon. 

The Illini also return center Dain Dainja, wings Luke Goode and Ty Rodgers and guards Sencire Harris and Niccolo Moretti. 

The returns of Hawkins and Shannon also improve the Illini's pitch to Toledo transfer point guard RayJ Dennis, the MAC Player of the Year.

Illinois also anticipates the arrival Maryland Gatorade Player of the Year Amani Hansberry and four-star guard Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn. 

Shohei Ohtani homered in consecutive innings, including a 459-foot drive that was the longest of his Major League Baseball career, and drove in four runs to lead the Los Angeles Angels over the Chicago White Sox 12-5 Wednesday.

Mike Trout put the Angels ahead 2-0 with a 476-foot home run in the first that was four rows shy of clearing the left field bleachers. Taylor Ward also went deep as the Angels hit four two-run homers plus a solo shot.

Ohtani drove a first-pitch fastball from Lance Lynn (4-6) just to left of straightaway center in the third, where the ball was dropped by a fan who tried to glove it. That 425-foot drive put the Angels ahead 4-1.

Lynn didn’t even bother to turn and look when Ohtani hit a full count fastball more than a dozen rows over the bullpen in right-center in the fourth. The two-way Japanese star is batting .269 with 15 homers and 38 RBIs to go along with a 5-1 record and 2.91 ERA.

Trout pulled a hanging curve for his 13th home run. Ward hit a two-run homer against Jesse Scholtens in the seventh and Chad Wallach, pinch hitting for Ohtani, had a solo homer in the ninth off Garrett Crochet.

Lynn allowed eight runs, eight hits and two walks while hitting two batters in four innings, raising his ERA to 6.55. He has given up 15 home runs, one short of the major league high of Kansas City’s Jordan Lyles. Lynn had won his previous three starts.

Jake Burger homered for Chicago, which has lost four of five. Burger hit his 11th homer in the ninth and Hanser Alberto had a two run double off Tucker Davidson.

Chicago’s Romy Gonzalez, who’d homered in three straight games, went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts.

The White Sox have not announced a starter for Friday’s series opener against visiting Detroit, which starts RHP Reese Olson in his major league debut. Olson is 2-3 with a 6.38 ERA in 10 starts at Triple-A Toledo.

Jalen Beeks got the final two outs after entering the game with the bases loaded, Brandon Lowe and Jose Siri each hit late two-run homers and Tampa Bay beat the Chicago Cubs 4-3 on Wednesday.

Lowe connected in the seventh. Siri put Tampa Bay ahead in the eighth with his drive against Mark Leiter Jr., and the Rays pulled out a tight one after dropping 1-0 and 2-1 nail-biters.

Beeks came in with one out in the ninth after the Cubs loaded the bases against Kevin Kelly. He struck out Miles Mastrobuoni swinging at a 3-2 pitch and fell behind 3-0 to Yan Gomes.

Beeks got him to look at a strike before fouling off two pitches. He then retired Gomes on a line drive to left field and came away with his first save this year.

Seiya Suzuki chased Eflin with a leadoff double in the seventh and came around on a line-drive single to deep left by pinch hitter Trey Mancini against Colin Poche (4-1), putting Chicago on top 3-2. Mancini got thrown out trying to reach second base on the play, and the lead disappeared in a flash.

Cubs starter Justin Steele retired all nine batters before exiting with tightness in his left forearm. Manager David Ross said he pulled his pitcher for precautionary reasons and he will go for more imaging on Thursday.

Hayden Wesneski pitched one-hit ball over 3 2/3 innings and exited to cheers after walking Manuel Margot with two outs in the seventh.

Struggling RHP Jameson Taillon (0-3, 8.04) seeks his first win as the Cubs open a four-game series at San Diego on Friday. Signed in December to a four-year deal worth about $68 million, Taillon has allowed four or more runs in four straight starts for the first time in his career.

Miles Mikolas pitched eight shutout innings, Nolan Arenado hit an RBI double and Nolan Gorman drove in a run with a sacrifice fly as the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Kansas City Royals 2-1 on Tuesday night to split the two-game set between the I-70 rivals.

Mikolas (4-1) matched a career-high with 10 strikeouts and allowed three hits in working a season-high eight innings. The strikeout total matched the 34-year-old right-hander's effort against Milwaukee in 2019.

The Cardinals got a run in the sixth with two outs against Carlos Hernández (0-2). Paul Goldschmidt reached first on an infield single. Arenado hit a run-scoring double to left-center. Arenado has a team-high 18 RBIs in interleague play this season.

St. Louis extended its lead to 2-0 in the eighth Gorman's sac fly off Aroldis Chapman, scoring Tommy Edman.

Zack Greinke started for the Royals but didn't figure in the decision. The 39-year-old right-hander pitched five scoreless innings, allowing two hits and a walk with six strikeouts. He ranks first in starts (526) and innings pitched (3,309 1/3), second in wins (224) and third in strikeouts (2,929) among active pitchers.

After off days Wednesday and Thursday, the Cardinals return Friday, continuing a stretch of 13 of 15 games on the road between May 22-June 7.

In a game heard on WHOW, Romy González homered in his third straight game, Andrew Vaughn drove in three runs and Chicago beat the Los Angeles Angels 7-3 on Tuesday night.

The White Sox looked as if they were headed toward their fourth straight loss after Los Angeles grabbed a 3-1 lead against Lucas Giolito (4-4). But the White Sox turned it around in a big way, scoring five runs in the fourth against Tyler Anderson (2-1).

Vaughn smacked a three-run double to put Chicago on top. González, a utility player, drove him in with a double, stole third and scored when Urshela allowed catcher Chad Wallach’s throw to wind up in left field, stretching it to 6-3. He made it a four-run game with a solo homer in the sixth against Chase Silseth.

Luis Robert Jr. and Jake Burger each had three hits, and the White Sox came out on top despite a shaky start by Giolito. The right-hander lasted five innings, giving up three runs and four hits.

White Sox RHP Lance Lynn (4-5, 5.83 ERA) looks to win his fourth straight start Wednesday, while the Angels go with RHP Jaime Barría (1-2, 1.55). Lynn has a 1.89 ERA in his past three outings. Barría is set to make his second start and 13th appearance.

Nico Hoerner homered and Chicago made the most of a rare gaffe by Tampa Bay, handing Shane McClanahan his first loss of the season with a 2-1 victory over the Rays on Tuesday night.

The game was tied at 1 when Ian Happ led off the sixth with a shallow fly ball that dropped between Tampa Bay second baseman Brandon Lowe and right fielder Josh Lowe in a miscommunication between the fielders.

Happ hustled into second with a double. After Seiya Suzuki struck out and Trey Mancini bounced to second, Mike Tauchman hit a tiebreaking RBI single into left field.

That was enough for Chicago, which topped the majors' best team for the second straight day after entering the series with a four-game losing streak.

Julian Merryweather (1-0), Mark Leiter Jr. and Adbert Alzolay combined for four innings of one-hit ball in relief of Kyle Hendricks. Merryweather earned his first major league win, and Alzolay got six outs for his second save.

Hendricks yielded six hits, struck out three and walked three in five innings. It was his second start of the season after he was sidelined by a right shoulder strain.

Cubs OF Cody Bellinger (left knee contusion) was scheduled for cage work and throwing. 

Rays right-hander Zach Eflin (7-1, 3.17 ERA) faces Cubs left-hander Justin Steele (6-2, 2.77 ERA) in the series finale on Wednesday afternoon. Eflin is 3-0 with a 3.60 ERA in his last three starts. Steele is coming off his worst outing of the season, yielding five earned runs and 10 hits in 3 2/3 innings in a 9-0 loss to Cincinnati.

NASCAR suspended Chase Elliott for one race on Tuesday, one day after the five-time most popular driver and former Cup champion deliberately wrecked Denny Hamlin in the Coca-Cola 600.

Hendrick Motorsports said in a statement it will not appeal the suspension and Corey Lajoie will replace Elliott in the No. 9 Chevrolet this weekend at Gateway, outside of St. Louis.

Elliott denied deliberately crashing Hamlin with a dangerous left hook into Hamlin’s car during the rain-rescheduled race Monday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Hamlin countered with simulated data he posted on social media after the crash, then double-downed on calls for Elliott to be suspended on his Tuesday podcast.

Hamlin owns the car driven by Bubba Wallace, who was suspended one race last year for deliberately hooking Kyle Larson in a race in Las Vegas. The move is considered one of the most dangerous in NASCAR.

Corey LaJoie, the driver of the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro for Spire Motorsports, announced on social media Tuesday he will slide into the No. 9 for Hendrick Motorsports Sunday. 

In a game heard on WHOW, Matt Thaiss and Brandon Drury homered during a fast start for the Angels, who graciously welcomed Hendriks back to the majors before holding off the Chicago White Sox for a 6-4 victory Monday night.

Drury hit a three-run shot and Thaiss followed with another drive during a four-run first inning against a shaky Michael Kopech. Griffin Canning (4-2) struck out nine in six innings, and Mike Trout finished with two hits.

Hendriks pitched the eighth in his first big league appearance since he was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The crowd of 23,599 roared when he walked out to the bullpen after the fourth, and then saluted the All-Star closer with a standing ovation when he entered the game.

Hendriks stood behind the mound and soaked in the scene as the crowd cheered. The Angels also applauded, and Thaiss waited before stepping into the batter’s box - giving Hendriks more time to appreciate the moment.

The Angels scored two runs on Zach Neto’s sacrifice fly and Trout’s RBI single, but the crowd still cheered as Hendriks walked to dugout when the inning was over.

Eloy Jiménez, Andrew Vaughn and Romy González homered for Chicago in its third consecutive loss. Kopech (3-5) struck out 10 in 4 1/3 innings, but he also hit two batters, threw two wild pitches and walked two.

After Canning departed, Ben Joyce pitched an impressive seventh in his big league debut for the Angels. He struck out two on sinkers of 101.8 mph and 100.6 mph.

Carlos Estévez got three outs for his 13th save. Jiménez hit a leadoff homer and Chicago put two on with one out, but pinch-hitter Jake Burger popped out and Yasmani Grandal was robbed of a hit on a diving play by Neto.

Angels slugger Shohei Ohtani was shaken up after he was hit on his right shin by a pitch in the first. He stayed in the game after he was visited by a trainer and Nevin.

With Trout on third and Ohtani on second following a wild pitch, Drury drove a 1-0 fastball deep to left-center for his ninth homer. Thaiss then made it 4-0 with a 414-foot shot to center.

Chicago got one back on Jiménez's two-out RBI single in the first, extending his hitting streak to 10 games. Vaughn went deep in the fourth and González connected in the fifth.

Angels left-hander Tyler Anderson (2-0, 4.81 ERA) and White Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito (3-4, 3.98 ERA) take the mound on Tuesday night. Anderson pitched six innings of one-run ball in a 7-3 win against Boston last week. Giolito is 2-2 with a 4.57 ERA in his last four starts.

Marcus Stroman threw a one-hitter, and the Chicago Cubs beat the major league-leading Tampa Bay Rays 1-0 on Monday.

Stroman (5-4) dazzled in his fourth complete game and second shutout in nine major league seasons. His only other shutout was against the Cubs during his 2014 rookie season with Toronto.

Stroman set a season high with 105 pitches and matched one with eight strikeouts. The right-hander walked one in winning his third straight start and helped the Cubs bounce back from a weekend sweep by Cincinnati.

The only hit Stroman allowed was when Wander Franco delivered a flare for a clean single to left leading off the seventh. Stroman walked Brandon Lowe and got out of that jam by getting Randy Arozarena to fly out and Josh Lowe to ground into a double play. The only other Rays runner to reach base was when Luke Raley was hit by a pitch leading off the third.

The shutout was the sixth this season for Chicago. Stroman was the first Cubs pitcher to go the distance without allowing a run since Alec Mills' no-hitter at Milwaukee on Sept. 13, 2020.

Stroman made a neat play in the second when he snagged Taylor Walls’ comebacker and flipped the ball from his glove to his throwing hand before delivering an underhand toss to first for the out.

When it came to hits, there weren't many close calls before Franco's single. And he ended the game by retiring Franco on a grounder to first, just the third shutout against the Rays this year.

The Cubs got their run in the fourth when Seiya Suzuki led off with a single, took second on a wild throw by third baseman Taylor Walls and scored on Mike Tauchman’s sacrifice fly. 

Rays LHP Shane McClanahan (8-0, 1.97 ERA) looks to increase his major league-leading win total, while Cubs RHP Kyle Hendricks (0-1, 6.23) makes his second start since returning from a capsular tear in his right shoulder.

Josh Staumont and Mike Mayers came within six outs of the first combined perfect game in major league history before Nolan Arenado lined a leadoff single in the eighth inning of the Kansas City Royals' 7-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday.

St. Louis was shut out for the sixth time and has scored 13 runs in its last six games.

Adam Wainwright (2-1) allowed three runs and nine hits in five innings for the Cardinals, playing their 18th game in a stretch of 19 days in a row. The Cardinals and the Royals have back-to-back days off Wednesday and Thursday.

Zack Greinke (1-5, 4.55) starts Tuesday for the Royals and RHP Miles Mikolas (3-1, 4.23) for the Cardinals. Grienke is 13-7 with a 3.48 ERA against St. Louis. Mikolas pitched a four-hit shutout in his only game against the Royals on May 21, 2018.

Ryan Blaney held off William Byron to win the rescheduled Coca-Cola 600 on Monday at Charlotte Speedway, giving team owner Roger Penske a sweep of the Memorial Day weekend’s top races in the United States.

Blaney took the lead from Byron on a restart and led the final 26 laps to win his first Cup Series race since the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona in August of 2021.

Byron finished second, followed by Martin Truex Jr., Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick.

The 5 1/2-hour race included five wrecks in the final 50 laps, including one with 26 to go when last week's All-Star race winner Kyle Larson spun and took out defending Cup champion Joey Logano, Kyle Busch and Christopher Bell.

Blaney had passed Byron on the previous restart, and then got the jump on him again on the final restart and ran away with the checkered flag.

It was a rain-soaked weekend at Charlotte, which washed out practice and qualifying and postponed the race to Monday. That meant drivers began the race without ever having turned a lap in the NextGen cars at the 1.5-mile oval for the first time in Coca-Cola 600 history.

More rain caused the race to be red-flagged for nearly an hour after 158 laps, making the longest Cup race of the year even longer.

Defending race champion Denny Hamlin was left fuming after his day ended with a wreck on lap 186, prompting him to call for NASCAR to suspend its most popular driver Chase Elliott.

Hamlin claimed the Hendrick Motorsports driver intentionally wrecked him by hooking his right rear bumper following a dust-up earlier in the race.

Elliott denied intentionally wrecking Hamlin in retaliation.

Hamlin wasn't the only one fired up.

During the rain delay television cameras caught Aric Almirola throwing punches at Wallace after the two exchanged words. Wallace refused to say what sparked the altercation, and said he wasn't surprised at what unfolded.

Kevin Harvick finished 11th in his final Coca-Cola 600.

Alex Bowman returned to the No. 48 Chevy after missing a month with a fractured vertebra and managed to complete all 400 laps. Bowman finished 12th.

The Cup Series heads to Madison, Illinois, on Sunday, where 2022 Cup champion Joey Logano outdueled Kyle Busch in overtime to win the inaugural race at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Remember WHOW is your home for Chicago White Sox baseball. Our next broadcast is tonight at 6:30pm versus the Los Angeles Angels.
 

José Ramírez hit a two-run double with two out in the ninth inning, lifting the Cleveland Guardians to a 4-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.

Ramírez’s clutch hit off Ryan Helsley (3-4) rolled to the wall in right-center, scoring Myles Straw and Steven Kwan, who had drawn one-out walks.

Helsley retired Andrés Giménez to start the ninth, but walked both Straw and Kwan on four pitches. Amed Rosario was retired on a fly ball before Ramírez delivered.

Xzavion Curry (1-0) pitched three scoreless innings for his first major league win.

Paul Goldschmidt hit one of three solo homers for St. Louis in the fifth inning. Goldschmidt, Arenado and Alec Burleson each had two hits.

The Cardinals trailed 1-0 before breaking out in the fifth against Hunter Gaddis.

Burleson led off with a shot to right for his fourth homer. After Tommy Edman flied out, Andrew Knizner hit a drive to left for his fourth homer. Lars Nootbaar then grounded out before Goldschmidt's 10th homer capped the rally.

Nolan Gorman’s single chased Gaddis, who allowed five hits in 4 2/3 innings.

St. Louis left-hander Jordan Montgomery was charged with two runs and seven hits in five-plus innings. The Cardinals have dropped his last eight starts.

Cardinals reliever Génesis Cabrera worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth by getting pinch-hitter Will Brennan to bounce into a double play.

Matt McLain had a career-high four hits in his 12th big league game, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the slumping Chicago Cubs 8-5 on Sunday for a three-game series sweep.

Spencer Steer hit a two-run homer in Cincinnati's fourth win in its last five games. Kevin Newman reached five times on two singles and three walks, and Nick Senzel had two hits and two RBIs.

Patrick Wisdom homered twice and drove in five runs in Chicago's fourth straight loss. He hit a three-run shot in the second and a two-run drive in the eighth in his eighth career multihomer game.

Cincinnati starter Graham Ashcraft (3-3) pitched five innings of three-run ball in his first win since April 15. The right-hander was 0-3 with a 12.98 ERA in his previous four starts.

Alexis Díaz worked the ninth for his 12th save. Dansby Swanson singled with one out, but Díaz struck out Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki to close it out.

Cubs left-hander Drew Smyly (5-2) permitted five runs and seven hits in 4 2/3 innings in his first loss since April 3. He went 5-0 with a 2.13 ERA in his previous nine starts.

Cincinnati went ahead to stay with two runs in the fifth. TJ Friedl had a pinch-hit RBI single, and Newman's bases-loaded walk in a 13-pitch at-bat against Jeremiah Estrada brought home another run.

Steer's seventh homer drove in Jonathan India and gave the Reds a 7-3 lead in the sixth. Senzel added an RBI double in the eighth.

Clinton science teacher and baseball coach John Hickman has sat in the same middle-school-sized school desk chair in the Maroons dugout for over 25 years as the baseball coach of Clinton High School.

It's a seat that's treated the Maroons' head man well in that time. A front row spot for five Sectional Championship appearances, several Okaw Valley Conference titles, and numerous skilled athletes that went on to incredible things at the next level. 

In Coach Hickman's tenure, five players have gone on to play Division I baseball while numerous others have made the next level. He says each of those individuals had to work very hard to become the type of player that reached that level of success. 

While many in the community know Coach Hickman for his baseball coaching, many more in the community and across the country know him for his teaching and impact in the classroom. As a biology teacher, Hickman says it was simply his goal to effectively teach students and get them to enjoy learning.

Many programs, including Clinton, have struggled to keep up numbers in their baseball programs. While it's not just baseball, Coach Hickman lays out some of the unique challenges facing youth baseball in America today.

Coach Hickman has compiled over 300 wins at Clinton High School. When the Maroons beat Argenta-Oreana 11-1 on May 3, that was Coach Hickman's 300th win. 

Coach Hickman has a busy summer coming up with family milestones on the calendar but hopes when it all settles he might be able to give golfing a try and is hoping a chance to help coach at Millikin University might work out for him. 

Alex Faedo struck out a career-high 10 batters in six innings and the Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox 7-2 on Thursday night.

Hear tonight's action on WHOW.

Nolan Gorman hit a tiebreaking double in the eighth inning and scored on a wild pitch, helping the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 2-1 on Thursday for their 13th win in 18 games.

Miles Mikolas (3-1) won his third straight decision, allowing five hits over seven scoreless innings, which matched his season high. He struck out five and walked none.

Giovany Gallegos gave up a two-out RBI single to Stuart Fairchild in the ninth before striking out Luke Maile for his fifth save in six chances.

Matthew Liberatore (1-0) is to start Friday’s series opener at Cleveland in his second start an third appearance this season.

Pete Alonso launched his major league-leading 19th home run and Carlos Carrasco earned his first win this season as the New York Mets routed the Chicago Cubs 10-1 on Thursday to avoid a three-game sweep.

Brett Baty knocked in New York's first two runs and the Mets pounded out 15 hits on a chilly night at Wrigley Field to ruin Kyle Hendricks’ season debut for the Cubs in his return from a serious shoulder injury.

Jeff McNeil had three hits and scored three times. New York got four straight base hits with two outs in a three-run third inning and took a 4-1 lead on Starling Marte's two-run single.

Alonso added a two-run homer in the seventh and Brandon Nimmo laced a two-run triple in a three-run eighth.

Dansby Swanson homered in the first off Carrasco (1-2), who pitched 6 2/3 effective innings in his fifth start this year and second since missing about a month with an elbow injury.

Justin Steele (6-1, 2.20) opposes Cincinnati RHP Hunter Greene (0-4, 4.68) when the Cubs host the Reds.

Marcus Ericsson held off Pato O’Ward after a late restart and won under caution to give Chip Ganassi Racing its fifth Indy 500 victory. 

The 107th running of the Indy 500 runs Sunday morning. Alex Palou inherited the lead on Lap 65, then drove away from the pack to win the Indianapolis Grand Prix by 16.8006 seconds over Pato O’Ward.

Race time is 10 am Sunday morning.

Kyle Larson rallied from the rear to win the non-points All-Star Race in the series’ return to historic North Wilkesboro Speedway for the first time since 1996. 

The cup series takes its annual Memorial Day Weekend place at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca Cola 600. Denny Hamlin needed overtime to earn his first win in 31 starts at the track. He led three times for 15 laps after starting on the pole, including the final lap last year. 

The second half of the regular season begins with Ross Chastain atop the standings but still seeking his first victory. Christopher Bell is second, 27 points back, followed by Kevin Harvick (-29) and Denny Hamlin (-36). 23XI teammates Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick were second and third in the All-Star Race, respectively.

Race time is 5 pm Sunday evening.

Kyle Larson outmuscled John Hunter Nemechek in the final lap to win at Darlington. He earned his first series win this season and 14th career as the Xfinity Series returns this week at Charlotte. 

Josh Berry earned his fourth career victory, leading the final 23 laps and five times for 89 laps overall last year at Charlotte. Race time is noon Saturday afternoon. 

Kyle Larson substituted for an injured Alex Bowman and won the Tyson 250 in overtime at North Wilkesboro. He led 138 of 252 laps as the Craftsman Truck Series heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend. 

Larson’s Trucks win kicked off a successful weekend highlighted by his All-Star Race victory. Ty Majeski was second, Matt DiBenedetto third and Carson Hocevar fourth. Points leader Corey Heim finished sixth after starting on the pole to hold a seven-point edge over Majeski in the standings with Zane Smith 16 back.

Last year, Ross Chastain passed Christian Eckes late and held off Grant Enfinger for the victory.

Race time is 7:30 pm tonight.

Formula One heads the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix Sunday morning at 8 am. 

Michael Kopech struck out nine and allowed two hits over seven dominant innings, and Romy González had a two-run double for the Chicago White Sox in a 6-0 victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday.

Kopech (3-4), who retired the first 16 batters in his last start against Kansas City, did not allow a baserunner until Josh Naylor singled leading off the fifth. He walked one and extended his shutout streak to 15 innings in his last two outings, helping Chicago climb to 21-30 - a game behind Cleveland for third in the AL Central.

The Guardians only pushed one player into scoring position and were blanked for the sixth time. Andrés Giménez had the other hit off Kopech, who held the Royals and Cleveland to a combined three singles while striking out 19 in back-to-back wins.

In the month of May, Kopech is 3-1 with a 1.99 ERA in five starts, striking out 33 while surrendering just 13 hits in 31 2/3 innings. The turnaround has been dramatic after posting an 0-3 record and 7.01 ERA in April.

González’s drive into the right-field corner highlighted a five-run fourth against Guardians starter Cal Quantrill (2-3). Jake Burger and Zavala added sacrifice flies in the inning as the White Sox went up by six.

Reynaldo López and Jimmy Lambert wrapped up the combined four-hitter for Chicago, which is 7-2 since falling a season-low 14 games below .500 on May 14. The White Sox won their third straight series by taking two of three from the Guardians.

Quantrill entered the year with a perfect 14-0 record at Progressive Field but lost for the third time in four home decisions. The right-hander went four innings, giving up four hits and a season-high six earned runs, one of them on a wild pitch.

Giménez had a pair of hits and was thrown out trying to advance for the Guardians, who are 12-22 after starting the season with a 9-6 record. The defending AL Central champions have lost six of their eight home series.

Tim Anderson singled home Clint Frazier in the third to open the scoring. Former Cleveland first-round pick Frazier had two runs, singled and stole a base.

White Sox OF Luis Robert Jr. (right quadriceps) was held out of the lineup after exiting the game Tuesday, but doesn’t plan on missing additional time. 

White Sox RHP Lucas Giolito (3-3, 3.62 ERA) works Thursday against Detroit as the teams begin a four-game set at Comerica Park.