Good Morning! Here’s what happened in the world of sports on Tuesday, August 20.

MLB

I’m thankful that there were a lot great baseball games yesterday because that means I don’t have to devote any time to the Milwaukee Brewers crushing the spirit of the St. Louis Cardinals. Here are the actual highlights from yesterday’s Major League action:

• For the fifth time this year, Juan Soto and Aaron Judge hit back-to-back home runs for the Yankees. However, that first inning lead didn’t last. The Cleveland Guardians won a wild game in New York, scoring six runs in the 12th inning to win 9-5.

• You never know what might happen when you watch a New York Mets game. The Baltimore Orioles were gifted a run on this strange play in the fourth inning, and the Mets gave away two more runs on this wacky string of errors in the ninth. They took different paths, but in the end, both New York teams lost 9-5.

• The Atlanta Braves got a huge 3-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Ramon Laureano sealed the victory with two diving catches in the ninth.

• No team is playing better baseball right now than the San Diego Padres. They won another game last night, highlighted by a go-ahead three-run homer in the 8th inning from Jurickson Profar.

• It takes something special to strike out Bobby Witt Jr. It takes something even more special for the Angels to find their way into day’s highlights. Los Angeles reliever Ben Joyce accomplished both those feats, throwing three consecutive pitches of 105, 105, and 103 MPH to close out a win. 

• Sure is nice to be back on the west coast and see the end of the Dodger game… especially when the game is so entertaining! Jason Heyward hit a pinch-hit three-run home run in the eighth inning and the Dodgers beat the Mariners 6-3. Check out the play of the day (below) for more Dodgers and Mariners highlights.

TENNIS

A bit of fallout after the conclusion of the Cincinnati Open…

First, Francis Tiafoe’s post-game press conference made me very proud of my live analysis. Second, apologies for missing this super cool stat– five American men are ranked in the top 20 for the first time since 1997!

Finally, a seriously strange story surrounding Jannik Sinner. The world number one will not be suspended, despite failing two drug tests this year that showed traces of a banned performance-enhancing substance. An independent tribunal accepted Sinner’s story about a trainer inadvertently spreading the substance through an open cut during a massage session. A fine and small deduction of rankings points will be the only punishment. Here are my two main takeaways:

• First of all, the existence of this story is a shame. You never want a rising star to be associated with a cheating scandal. Unfortunately, this will follow Sinner for the rest of his career. It will also follow Sinner’s coach Darren Cahill, who was the coach of the last well-known tennis player suspended and re-instated after a mixup with PEDs, Simona Halep.

• The group that looks the worst in all of this is the governing body of tennis. Sinner’s story, while very odd, sort of makes sense. However, his trial playing out in secret during a season in which he was allowed to keep competing is not a good look. Other pro tennis players are rightfully upset at the way this was all handled. 

READ DEEPER

I sort of already covered the noteworthy news section, so today I wanted to highlight two really awesome pieces published by The Athletic:

• ”The Red Sox have an innovative pitching strategy, but has the league adjusted?” –written by Eno Sarris and Jen McCaffrey

• “The legend of Justin Verlander at Old Dominion: Vanity plates, house parties and high heat” –written by Chandler Rome

PLAY OF THE DAY

I couldn’t pick a favorite play today… so you get to choose! Five top plays are embedded below. Vote for your favorite and crown the play of the day!

TODAY’S BIG GAMES (all times Eastern)

MLB: Phillies @ Braves, 7:20 PM

• Aaron Nola vs Max Fried. Divison rivals. These games are rare, but we’ve got a must-watch August baseball game on the schedule. Plenty of exciting MLB action today, but The Remix is highlighting this NL East battle.

“They’ve done studies you know… 60% of the time, it works every time.” –Brian Fantana, Anchorman