DETROIT _ There was uncertainty early over whether Wednesday's game would be played.
As boycotts across the NBA and MLB amassed, the Detroit Tigers and Chicago Cubs chose to play. The contest started, as scheduled, at 7:10 p.m., with the Tigers sending right-hander Michael Fulmer to the mound at Comerica Park.
And the Tigers (13-16) were successful, picking up a 7-6 win against the Cubs (18-12) behind a five-run sixth inning in the rubber match of the three-game series. Chicago starter Jon Lester kept the Tigers to one run through five innings, but the bullpen squandered his work.
About three hours before first pitch, the Bucks announced they would not play their NBA playoff game. Shortly after, the five other teams scheduled to play did the same, and then the Milwaukee Brewers followed suit. Games in Milwaukee (Brewers-Reds), San Diego (Padres-Mariners and San Francisco (Giants-Dodgers) were postponed because of Sunday's police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
"Given the pain in the communities of Wisconsin and beyond following the shooting of Jacob Blake, we respect the decisions of a number of players not to play tonight," MLB responded in a statement. "Major League Baseball remains united for a change in our society and we will be allies in the fight to end racism and injustice."
Still, manager Ron Gardenhire's squad played on.
Detroit continues its homestand tonight with a four-game series against the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins, beginning with a clash between left-hander Matthew Boyd and righty Randy Dobnak.
