Good Morning! Here’s what happened in the world of sports on Monday, August 19.

MLB

We’ve got highlights! Some really fun games yesterday across Major League Baseball:

• Miami native Adrian Del Castillo hit a grand slam in his hometown. The rookie drove in six runs, leading the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 9-6 win over the Marlins.

• Tie ballgame, one out in the ninth inning. Francisco Alvarez steps up to the plate… and crushes one to deep centerfield. Is there anything better than a walk-off home run? The Mets beat the Orioles 4-3.

• Tie ballgame, one out in the ninth inning. Yainer Diaz steps up to the plate… and crushes one to deep centerfield. Is there anything better than two walk-off home runs? The Astros beat the Red Sox 5-4.

• Slugger Max Muncy returned to the lineup for LA last night, and super-utility man Tommy Edman made his debut for the Dodgers, too. LA was tied 0-0 with the Mariners at the time of The Remix publishing, although Gavin Stone already has seven strikeouts! More importantly, the Los Angeles Dodgers are getting healthy. And with the playoffs right around the corner…

TENNIS

Aryna Sabalenka cruised to a 6-3, 7-5 victory over American Jessica Pegula in the finals of the Cincinnati Open. Sabalenka was dominant all tournament, winning the title without dropping a single set. She has set herself up nicely to avenge her defeat in the final of last year’s US Open.

The Remix is proud to bring you something very special for our coverage of the men’s final. Jannik Sinner took on American Francis Tiafoe last night, and yours truly was there to see it. The following is a live blog, written as the match was taking place…

6:00 PM: Sinner vs Tiafoe: It’s the favorite vs the crowd favorite. The man who’s won at the highest level vs the one in his first big final. Settle in…

6:31 PM: 3-2 Sinner

• This is a chess match. Who will blink first on their serve?

• Sinner hits shots and everyone just nods, like “yep, that’s why he’s number one”

• Feels like Francis has no margin for error. Much more drama on his service games

6:34 PM: Sinner misses a forehand badly, and the score is even at 3-3

• I wonder how the wind is affecting the longer rallies. Something to keep an eye on as the sun goes down

6:42 PM: 40-30, break point and a chance for Big Foe!

• The crowd is really into it and cheering loudly for the American… but a few points later, Jannik holds serve. Go to the dictionary and look up “calm, cool, and collected.” It’s a picture of Jannik Sinner

6:56 PM: Tiafoe serving down 5-6

• A real tight backhand dumped in the net by Francis. But he recovers nicely to win the next point, gives a big fist pump.

• Point of the match at 30-30 is a super long rally won by Sinner. Crowd rallies for Francis as he faces a break and set point…

• A rare error from the Italian, missing a second serve return long. Tiafoe blasts a forehand winner and hypes up the crowd— we are going to a tiebreaker!

7:02 PM: Sinner goes up 2-1 in the tiebreak on a forehand winner. Lots of “oohs” on that one

7:04 PM: We switch sides at 3-3. Who can manage the wind and the pressure the best? Who will come up with that one big shot?

55 minutes into the match, Jannik Sinner takes the first set. Super high quality tennis, decided by the thinnest of margins. Time for round two…

7:16 PM- 0-0, a long, long service game for Tiafoe

• Bad drop shot from Francis and Jannik has a break point…

• What did I say were the keys? Miss too many first serves and you don’t get any free points… Sinner breaks on an errant Tiafoe backhand and takes a 1-0 lead. Crowd is restless, they know this one could all of a sudden go very quickly

7:33 PM: A long service game in process for Tiafoe. Trying to stay alive down 3-1

• When you have to play flawless tennis, even the easiest shots became difficult. That’s what happened here to Francis Tiafoe— Sinner covers every inch of the court and puts so much extra pressure on you. 

7:38 PM: Sinner goes up 4-1

• Woah! What a shot! I have a feeling that one ends up as play of the day…

• That might be the match right there. Foe (with the help of an adoring crowd) gave it all he had, but the Italian tennis robot was just too good. It’s not actually over, but it sure feels like this one is over.

7:44 PM: Sinner is up 5-1, 40-0. He’s won nine points in a row!

And at 7:50, Jannik Sinner wins the Cincinnati Open, with a final score of 7-6, 6-2. The world number one turned 23 last weekend, and now he’s the favorite at next week’s US Open in New York. That’s a wrap from Cincinnati!  

NOTEWORTHY NEWS

All-star third baseman Austin Riley will be out for six to eight weeks with a broken hand. Riley, Ronald Acuna, Spencer Strider– the hits keep coming for the Atlanta Braves… and not the hits that baseball teams normally want.

American winger Timothy Weah scored an awesome goal in his debut for Juventus. Great to see the young American playing his best for one of the biggest clubs in the world.

PLAY OF THE DAY

As promised, Jannik Sinner’s electric forehand:

That’s a championship-winning shot if I’ve ever seen one.

TODAY’S BIG GAMES (all times Eastern)

MLB: Guardians @ Yankees, 7:03 PM; Phillies @ Braves, 7:20 PM; Brewers @ Cardinals, 7:45 PM

• Three HUGE series begin tonight. First, two of the top teams in all of baseball meet in New York. Then, two NL division leaders travel to the teams trying to chase them down in the standings. The Phillies hold a seven game lead over the Braves, while the Brewers are up 11 on the Cardinals. Both Atlanta and St. Louis desperately need a good result.

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” –Ferris Bueller