5 Things For April 13th: Benches Clear in Tigers Win Over Baltimore

1.  The Tigers got another excellent outing from Rick Porcello, who has taken a nice step forward this season.  Rick went six innings, giving up just one run on five hits and no walks.  The bullpen pitched three scoreless innings after he departed to shut down a pretty good offense.

Ian Kinsler hit a two-run bomb in the eighth inning to give the Tigers a 4-1 lead.  The next pitch, Bud Norris drilled Torii Hunter and the benches cleared.  Here is the video:

No punches were thrown, and nothing too serious came of this.  However, with two games left in this series, it is definitely something to keep an eye on.  Drew Smyly pitches tonight for Detroit.

2.  LeBron James went off against the Brooklyn Nets, scoring 49 points on 16-24 shooting.  He also knocked down 14 free throws.  Miami took a 3-1 series lead with a 102-96 win.

The Spurs are firmly in control of their series against the Blazer, holding a 3-0 lead going into last night's game.  Portland prolonged the series by getting a 103-92 win over San Antonio.  Damian Lillard had 25 points for the Blazers.

3.  With their backs up against the wall, the Montreal Canadiens delivered an excellent performance.  They were all over the Bruins in the first period, and grabbed a 1-0 lead on Lars Eller's early goal.  Boston began pushing back, but a fortunate clearing attempt ended up on the stick of Max Pacioretty and he buried his second goal of the playoffs.  The Canadiens got a crucial 4-0 win to send this series to a game seven.

In Anahiem, the legend of John Gibson continues.  The rookie goaltender notched his second win of the postseason, and another youngster stepped up for the Ducks.  Devante Smith-Pelly scored his fourth and fifth goals of the postseason en route to a 4-3 win.

4. A couple of former MSU Spartans got NFL tryouts.  Andrew Maxwell will work out for the San Diego Chargers, and Blake Treadwell will try out for the Raiders.

5. Some rough news in baseball, as stud young pitcher Jose Fernandez's season may be over.  Fernandez leads the MLB in strikeouts, and is one of the most exciting players in the league.