Five Things for May 19th: Tigers Finish off Sweep of Red Sox

1. The Tigers made a statement this weekend.  They completed a sweep of the defending world champs last night after getting home runs from Victor Martinez and Torii Hunter.  Ian Kinsler had a four-hit night, and Miguel Cabrera had three hits of his own.

Anibal Sanchez went five innings and gave up two runs in his first start since coming off the disabled list.  The bullpen was strong, pitching four scoreless innings.  The pitching staff gave up a total of ten runs in their six game road trip against Baltimore and Boston, two formidable foes.

This team is playing like the best team in baseball.  They have won 15 of their last 18.  Rick Porcello has been excellent, but his next start will be pushed back because he has a sore left side.  Robbie Ray will make his third major league start in his place on Thursday.

2. Many people have written the Indiana Pacers off, but it appears they are a real threat to to knock off the Miami Heat.  Indiana won game one 107-96 while out-rebounding Miami 38-29.  Paul George led the way with 24 points and seven assists.

Oklahoma City and San Antonio tip off their series tonight at nine.  OKC will be without Serge Ibaka for this series, which would appear to give the Spurs a leg up in this series.

3. In the NHL, the past two champions are playing in the western conference finals.  The Blackhawks drew first blood over the Kings with a 3-1 win.  LA outshot Chicago 27-20, but Corey Crawford played extremely well for the Hawks.  Brandon Saad had two points for Chicago.  Jonathon Toews and Duncan Keith also added goals.  I still think this will be a long series that the Kings have a great chance at winning.

In the other series, Montreal was blown out by the Rangers over the weekend.  However, the biggest loss could be Canadiens goaltender Carey Price, who was run into by Chris Krieder.  Price did not participate in Montreal's optional skate yesterday morning.

4. There are some interesting rumors floating around in the NBA right now.  Frank Isola of the Daily News is reporting that Derek Fisher has emerged as a leading candidate for the Knicks job.  Fisher, currently a member of the Thunder, played under Jackson for the Lakers.

Kevin Love has informed the Timberwolves that he will not resign with the team.  That hurts their ability to land a quality coach, and you would think the T'Wolves would be willing to shop him.

5. In baseball, Albert Pujols moved into a tie with Eddie Murray for 25th all time on the home run list.

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