Good Morning! Here’s what happened in the world of sports on Tuesday, June 11.

MLB

It ain’t over till it’s over! The Tampa Bay Rays scored four runs in the ninth to beat the Chicago Cubs 5-2, capped off by a three-run walk-off home run from second baseman Brandon Lowe. And in San Diego, Padres catcher Kyle Higashioka hit a walk-off homer of his own to beat the Oakland Athletics 4-3.

Teams on the coast really beat up on the central time zone last night– the New York Yankees crushed the Royals 10-1, led by home runs from sluggers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. Out west, the Los Angeles Dodgers absolutely embarrassed the Texas Rangers, winning 15-2! Five different players hit home runs for LA, including back-to-back homers from Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani.  

HITTER OF THE DAY

It was a rough start to the day for the Philadelphia Phillies,who learned they would be without their All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto for a few weeks with a knee injury. When it came to take the field, however, former catcher and current DH Kyle Schwarber put the team on his back, blasting two home runs and leading Philly to a 4-1 victory at Fenway Park against the Red Sox. Schwarber now has more home runs per at-bat in the month of June than anyone in baseball history, passing some guy named Babe Ruth. 

PITCHER OF THE DAY

Paul Skenes starts are quickly becoming appointment television. The rookie phenom struck out eight and gave up no runs against the St. Louis Cardinals, pitching into the 7th inning for the first time in his big-league career. Despite an equally dominant performance from opposing starter Miles Mikolas, Skenes and the Pirates eked out a 2-1 victory. 

WNBA

After an 0-12 start, the Washington Mystics got their first win of the season, taking down the Atlanta Dream 87-68.

The two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces are off to a rough start this season. With their loss last night against the Minnesota Lynx, the Aces have dropped three in a row and are now 5-5 on the year. It appears the absence of injured point guard Chelsea Gray is having an extremely significant impact. 

NOTEWORTHY NEWS

The USA Women’s Basketball Olympic Committee officially announced their roster for the upcoming games in Paris. You can read more about their logic behind leaving Caitlin Clark off the roster, as well as a breakdown of the group going for gold in Paris at this link here.

Kristaps Porzingis is day-to-day with a rare calf injury. The seven-footer is a key contributor for the Boston Celtics, who hold a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals over the Dallas Mavericks.

Golfer Jon Rahm officially withdrew from this weekend’s US Open. The two-time major champion won the US Open in 2021, but a toe injury has left him unable to play this year’s edition.

Joey Chestnut has been banned from the July Fourth Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. You might be asking, is competitive eating really a sport? That’s not for this publication to decide… either way, the greatest to ever do it will not be participating in this year’s event.

PLAY OF THE DAY

Check out this wild one from Comerica Park in Detroit–

The Nationals got the last laugh, winning 5-4 in 10 innings.

TODAY’S BIG GAMES (all times Eastern)

NBA Finals: Boston Celtics @ Dallas Mavericks, 8:30 PM on ABC

The Celtics have a 2-0 lead, and now the Mavs must step up and defend home-court advantage. Only five teams in NBA history have come back to win a title from a 2-0 deficit.

Men’s soccer: USA v Brazil, 7 PM on TNT

Coming off a miserable 5-1 defeat against Colombia, the US has one last friendly before the Copa America, a tournament among the top countries of North and South America. The pressure is on the red, white, and blue to prove they can compete with the best of the best.

That’s all for today, folks. Have a great Wednesday!