Five Things for May 30th: Top of Tigers Order Powers Win Over A’s

1.  It was a bit of a battle for Rick Porcello against the Oakland A's yesterday, but he still managed to turn in a solid start.  Porcello struggled with his control and walked 6 batters, but he got through 5.2 innings giving up just two runs.  Victor Martinez, Don Kelly (who was hitting second), and Ian Kinsler all had two hits, and it was enough offense to propel the Tigers to a 5-4 victory.

One growing concern for Brad Ausmus has to be closer Joe Nathan.  Nathan has been a very consistent performer over the last two seasons, but he gave up two runs in the ninth inning yesterday, and has watched his ERA balloon to 5.23.  The 39 year-old has given up four earned runs in his last inning of work, and has already blown four saves this season.

The Tigers will get reacquainted with former hitting coach Lloyd McClendon tonight when they take on the Seattle Mariners.  Justin Verlander pitches for Detroit, and he will face Hisashi Iwakuma.

2.  The home teams continued their dominance in the NBA western conference finals.  San Antonio blew out Oklahoma City 117-89.  The Spurs did a lot of good things in this game, and the most important was keeping OKC out of transition.  The Spurs limited the explosive Thunder to just four fast break points.  San Antonio had their typical balanced scoring attack, having six players score in double figures.

3.  The New York Rangers are going to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in 20 years.  Henrik Lundqvist was very good once again, stopping all 18 shots sent his way in a 1-0 victory.  He made a handful of creative saves, and the defense in front of his was excellent. They will be heavy underdogs in the cup finals, regardless of whether the Kings or Blackhawks are their opponent.

4. In baseball, the Royals ended the Blue Jays 9-game winning streak with an 10 inning win.  In the loss Edwin Encarnacion hit his 16th home run of the month, which ties an AL record.

A local product, Josh Collmenter of Homer, threw an absolute gem last night. He faced the minimum number of batters in a 3-hit complete game shutout.

5. It was announced yesterday that Michigan State's September 6th game against Oregon will start at 6:30.  Also, the game will be broadcast on FOX.