Good Morning! Today is Monday, August 19. Here’s what happened over the weekend in the world of sports.

MLB

Each day, we inch closer to the postseason. Every pitch, every hit, every decision matters just a little bit more now. Of course, Major League Baseball picked this past weekend as “Player’s Weekend” and devoted extra energy to having fun. I’m not quite sure of the timing, but the decision did make for some good highlights:

• Bobby Witt Jr. got in the spirit with a custom Pablo Sanchez-themed bat. The Royals shortstop then channeled the power of the classic Backyard Sports video game character and hit his 25th home run of the season. It was a great few days for Kansas City, who swept the Reds and scored a whopping 28 runs.

• Our second contender for “coolest home run with a fun bat” is Ryan Jeffers. The Twins catcher swung a giant pencil and was handsomely rewarded, knocking out this longball in a Minnesota win on Saturday. Jeffers and the Twins completed a four-game sweep of Texas.

• Jackson Holliday, Jackson Chourio, and Jackson Merrill made history on Saturday, becoming the first trio of Jacksons to hit triples on the same day. File this one under “meaningless but pretty awesome.”

• Lastly, Parker Meadows hit a walk-off in the bottom of the 10th inning of the Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The Tigers celebrated under a sky full of fireworks, then shook hands with the Yankees as if they were all 12-years old again. It was like a scene out of The Sandlot… a pretty special conclusion to the weekend.

GOLF

It got real close towards the end, but Hideki Matsuyama birdied the final two holes and won the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Xander Schauffele and Viktor Hovland tied for second, just two strokes behind the leader.

This tournament was the first round of the PGA playoffs. The field will be cut to the top 50 in the world for round two on Thursday. A tough break for young Tom Kim, who finished Sunday with a bogey and two double-bogeys, dropping him down to 51st.

TENNIS

Even with multiple rain delays, there was so much great tennis the weekend at the Cincinnati Open. If you ever want to go to a professional tennis tournament, I highly recommend choosing this one. The tournament has the unique combination of an accessible location and the top players in the world. The facilities are exceptional and the access to professional athletes is one-of-a-kind.

There were a lot of great matches over the weekend– Gael Monfils upset Carlos Alcaraz in a thrilling three-set battle, while American Ben Shelton rode his big serve all the way to the quarterfinals. 17-year old Mirra Andreeva made an impressive run to the quarters, too, and Aryna Sabalenka crushed her longtime rival and number one women in the world Iga Swiatek. Check out top plays and today’s big matches (below) for more. I’ll leave you with a few photos:

NOTEWORTHY NEWS

The WNBA is back in action, and so is Caitlin Clark. Clark had 29 points, five rebounds, and 10 assists in a win on Friday. She followed that up by breaking the single-season rookie assist record in another victory last night. After starting 3-11, Clark and the Indiana Fever are just two games under .500 on the season.

After an impressive showing at the Olympics, French forward Guerschon Yabusele has signed a deal with the Philadelphia 76ers. Yabusele last played in the NBA for the Celtics during the 2018-19 season.

Yesterday, Kylian Mbappe played his first league game for Spanish soccer team Real Madrid. To say that fans were excited for his debut is an understatement… ESPN even announced a special channel on ESPN+ with an isolated camera for on the electric forward. Naturally, Real Madrid tied 1-1 and Mbappe was held scoreless.

TOP PLAYS OF THE WEEKEND

10: A game-winning goal on your debut for Manchester United? Congratulations to 23-year old Joshua Zirkzee on the top play.

9: Cardinals centerfielder Victor Scott is too fast– he almost makes this leaping catch at the wall look routine.

8: Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran showed off the wheels and the hops when he robs this home run.

7: A pair of Shane Lowry golf shots sneak into the seven spot on our list. On Friday, Lowry holed out from the bunker on 18. He followed that up with a 57-foot eagle putt on Saturday.

6: The Hartford Yard Goats have a fantastic team name… their first baseman made a catch that’s somehow even better.

5: Alec Bohm must have been watching Yard Goats highlights… what a play by the Phillies slugger!

4: The degree of difficulty on this play is absolutely insane. Braves third baseman Austin Riley robs Jo Adell of extra bases.

3: Two shots from Jannik Sinner tie for this spot. First, an absolutely ridiculous backhand passing shot from a full sprint. And second, otherworldly athleticism by both Sinner and his opponent. The first-ever top play where I was in the crowd watching it happen live!

2: I know it’s preseason, but Patrick Mahomes is better at football than anyone on the planet. Seriously, who else could make this pass?

And the NUMBER ONE play of the weekend is this insane double play. The catch, the relay, AND the throw!

TODAY’S BIG GAMES (all times Eastern)

TENNIS: Cincinnati Open finals: Aryna Sabalenka vs Jessica Pegula, not before 3 PM and Jannik Sinner vs Francis Tiafoe, not before 6 PM

• We’ve reached the conclusion of the Masters 1000 event in Cincy! Two Americans are the underdogs in the finals of the last big tournament before the US Open. The atmosphere and the shot-making have been electric all week– expect that to continue in these blockbuster finals.

SOCCER: Leicester City @ Tottenham, 3 PM

• Newly-promoted Leicester kick off their return to the Premier League against top-four favorite Tottenham Hotspur. I anticipate a lot of goals in this one.

MLB: Red Sox @ Astros, 8:10 PM; Mariners @ Dodgers, 10:10 PM

• Red Sox and Astros fans do not like each other. Throw in a wild card race where they’re separated by two games? It’s going to be a great three-game series. And out west, a great pitching matchup between Bryan Woo and Gavin Stone, two young starters for playoff teams.

Exciting stuff scheduled for this week... Have a great Monday!