Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Rays play host to the Royals, the PGA Tour hits Quail Hollow, and the Suns try to finish off their set against the Blazers.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
There are two games on the NBA's schedule for Thursday, with Dallas at San Antonio and Phoenix at Portland. The Mavericks avoided elimination in Game 5 of their first-round set on Tuesday night, grabbing a 103-81 home victory to cut the series deficit to 3-2. The Suns hold a 3-2 series lead on the Trail Blazers heading into their Game 6 matchup on Thursday. Phoenix rolled to a 107-88 home win over the Trail Blazers in Game 5 on Monday night. Amare Stoudemire scored 19 points for the Suns in that win, while Channing Frye chipped in with 20 points off the bench. Brandon Roy had five points in 19 minutes for the Blazers.
Meeting up on the diamond . . .
There are just five games on the American League's schedule for Thursday, with Minnesota at Detroit, the White Sox at Texas, the Yankees at Baltimore, Oakland at Toronto, and Kansas City at Tampa Bay. The Royals are slated to send Luke Hochevar (2-0, 3.55 ERA) to the mound in that last contest; righthander Hochevar was knocked around by the Twins in his last start, surrendering four earned runs on eight hits over 6 2-3 innings. The Rays will counter with Matt Garza (3-1, 2.17 ERA); righthander Garza was tagged with his first loss of the year last time out, surrendering five runs over five innings against the Blue Jays.
Over in the National League on Thursday it'll be Arizona at the Cubs, Cincinnati at Houston, Milwaukee at San Diego, Pittsburgh at the Dodgers, and Atlanta at St. Louis. Jair Jurrjens (0-2, 5.48 ERA) will take on Adam Wainwright (3-1, 1.69 ERA) in that last matchup. Righthander Jurrjens took a loss against the Mets in his last trip to the mound, allowing three earned runs over his 6 2-3 innings of work. Righthander Wainwright was the hard-luck loser in his last outing against the Giants, giving up just two earned runs over his eight innings pitched that day.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
The second round of the NHL playoffs begins on Thursday night with Detroit at San Jose in Game 1 of that Western Conference semifinal series. The Red Wings advanced past the Coyotes in the first round with a 6-1 road win in Game 7 of that set on Tuesday night. Pavel Datsyuk and Nicklas Lidstrom both scored twice for Detroit in that game, while Jimmy Howard made 32 saves. The Sharks got past the Avalanche in six games in the first round, taking the clincher 5-2 on the road on Saturday. Joe Pavelski scored twice in that contest for San Jose, and Evgeni Nabokov stopped 16 shots.
Rounding out the Roundup . . .
Finally, the PGA Tour's Quail Hollow Championship begins at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte on Thursday, with Tiger Woods pegged as the 3/1 Vegas favorite. Phil Mickelson is next on that odds list at 8/1, followed by both Lee Westwood and Jim Furyk at 15/1. Anthony Kim sits at 20/1 to win the tournament, while each of Hunter Mahan, Nick Watney, Padraig Harrington, and Retief Goosen are listed at 30/1. Defending champ Sean O'Hair is 35/1 to repeat.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
There are two games on the NBA's schedule for Thursday, with Dallas at San Antonio and Phoenix at Portland. The Mavericks avoided elimination in Game 5 of their first-round set on Tuesday night, grabbing a 103-81 home victory to cut the series deficit to 3-2. The Suns hold a 3-2 series lead on the Trail Blazers heading into their Game 6 matchup on Thursday. Phoenix rolled to a 107-88 home win over the Trail Blazers in Game 5 on Monday night. Amare Stoudemire scored 19 points for the Suns in that win, while Channing Frye chipped in with 20 points off the bench. Brandon Roy had five points in 19 minutes for the Blazers.
Meeting up on the diamond . . .
There are just five games on the American League's schedule for Thursday, with Minnesota at Detroit, the White Sox at Texas, the Yankees at Baltimore, Oakland at Toronto, and Kansas City at Tampa Bay. The Royals are slated to send Luke Hochevar (2-0, 3.55 ERA) to the mound in that last contest; righthander Hochevar was knocked around by the Twins in his last start, surrendering four earned runs on eight hits over 6 2-3 innings. The Rays will counter with Matt Garza (3-1, 2.17 ERA); righthander Garza was tagged with his first loss of the year last time out, surrendering five runs over five innings against the Blue Jays.
Over in the National League on Thursday it'll be Arizona at the Cubs, Cincinnati at Houston, Milwaukee at San Diego, Pittsburgh at the Dodgers, and Atlanta at St. Louis. Jair Jurrjens (0-2, 5.48 ERA) will take on Adam Wainwright (3-1, 1.69 ERA) in that last matchup. Righthander Jurrjens took a loss against the Mets in his last trip to the mound, allowing three earned runs over his 6 2-3 innings of work. Righthander Wainwright was the hard-luck loser in his last outing against the Giants, giving up just two earned runs over his eight innings pitched that day.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
The second round of the NHL playoffs begins on Thursday night with Detroit at San Jose in Game 1 of that Western Conference semifinal series. The Red Wings advanced past the Coyotes in the first round with a 6-1 road win in Game 7 of that set on Tuesday night. Pavel Datsyuk and Nicklas Lidstrom both scored twice for Detroit in that game, while Jimmy Howard made 32 saves. The Sharks got past the Avalanche in six games in the first round, taking the clincher 5-2 on the road on Saturday. Joe Pavelski scored twice in that contest for San Jose, and Evgeni Nabokov stopped 16 shots.
Rounding out the Roundup . . .
Finally, the PGA Tour's Quail Hollow Championship begins at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte on Thursday, with Tiger Woods pegged as the 3/1 Vegas favorite. Phil Mickelson is next on that odds list at 8/1, followed by both Lee Westwood and Jim Furyk at 15/1. Anthony Kim sits at 20/1 to win the tournament, while each of Hunter Mahan, Nick Watney, Padraig Harrington, and Retief Goosen are listed at 30/1. Defending champ Sean O'Hair is 35/1 to repeat.
