5 Things For April 6th: Scherzer Dominates Again as Tigers Top Astros

1.  Max Scherzer continues to prove that there was nothing fluky about last year's Cy Young season.  After throwing eight scoreless innings last night, he has not given up a run in his last 14 innings and his ERA has dipped to 1.72.  Max struck out nine batters while giving up just three hits and issuing one walk.  Joe Nathan pitched a scoreless 9th inning to complete the Tigers 2-0 win.

Detroit did not get a ton of offense in this game, but Rajai Davis hit an RBI in the seventh inning to break the ice.  Victor Martinez then hit a solo home run in the eighth inning to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.

Robbie Ray makes his MLB debut tonight.  The left-hander had a 1.53 ERA in 29.1 innings in AAA Toledo.  Brett Oberholtzer goes for Astros.

2.  Chris Paul put up an incredibly efficient stat line last night.  He hit 12 of his 14 shot attempts and went 8-9 from behind the three-point line.  Paul dropped in 10 assists as he led the Clippers to a 122-105 win over the Thunder.

The Pacers tailspin continued as they dropped game 1 to the Wizards 102-96.  Trevor Ariza hit 6-6 three pointers and Brad Beal scored 25 points.  Roy Hibbert put up another goose-egg, with 0 points and 0 rebounds.

3.  Marc-Andre Fleury, one of the most polarizing goalies in the NHL, has now pitched shutouts in back-to-back games.  He got a little help, as the Rangers hit the post three different times.  Regardless, Fleury has played very well and made 35 saves last night.

Sidney Crosby scored his first goal in 13 playoff games:

In Los Angeles, another Stanley Cup winning goaltender is heating up.   Jonathon Quick stopped 36 of the 37 shots he faced, and the Kings have won six straight playoff games.  Marian Gaborik scored his third goal of the series, and he gives them a new offensive dimension that they have not had before.  After winning two straight road games, they lead the series 2-0.

4. There were some good MLB games last night.  The best one was probably in Pittsburgh, where the Giants got an extra-innings win from an unlikely source.

Minnesota beat Cleveland in extra-innings on an Eduardo Escobar home run. The Padres also beat the Royals in extras, and it took 12 innings for the White Sox to top the Cubs.

5. Martin Mayhew met with the media yesterday, and told people that he is not entertaining the idea of trading Ndamukong Suh.  He also said that he will stick to his best player available strategy.