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

MLB

The Grimace era is finally over, as the Mets lost their first game since the McDonalds mascot threw out the first pitch. The good news for Mets fans? After a rough start to the season, New York is just one game out of a playoff spot.

What a series between the Miami Marlins and the St. Louis Cardinals! For the second day in a row, the Marlins won a walk-off. This time it was Otto Lopez who got the job done, winning the game on a two-out single in the ninth inning. 

Josh Naylor hit two home runs, Steven Kwan added one of his own, and Tanner Bibee threw six shutout innings with 12 strikeouts. No, that’s not a made up list of names– those are three of the best players on the Cleveland Guardians, who took down the Mariners last night 8-0. Cleveland’s unheralded group has continued to impress, as they lead their division and find themselves among the best teams in baseball.

SOCCER

Three electric games took place yesterday at the European championships–

• In the first game, Albania came up with a shocking stoppage-time equalizer, stealing a 2-2 draw with Croatia.

• Wearing their brand-new pink jerseys, host country Germany secured their spot in the knockout stage of the tournament, taking down Hungary 2-0. With his second goal in two games, 21-year old Jamal Musiala showed once again why he is one of the most exciting young players in the world.

• And finally, Switzerland tied Scotland 1-1. The scoreline doesn’t show the intensity of the back-and-forth nature of this thrilling affair. Plus, my favorite goal of the tournament so far, courtesy of Xherdan Shaqiri. They say hips don’t lie– neither do Swiss left feet.

NCAA BASEBALL

It was a tale of two very different nine innings for the Florida baseball team. In game one, the Gators crushed Kentucky 15-4. Later in the evening, however, they were shutout 6-0 and eliminated from the tournament by Texas A&M.

On the other side of the bracket, number one seed Tennessee dominated all game, defeating Florida State 7-2. The win sets up a championship series between the Vols and the Aggies, two conference rivals. The SEC champs defeated Texas A&M earlier this season during the conference tournament, but neither team has lost since arriving in Omaha. Each side has a few days off before game one of the best-of-three series begins Saturday.

NOTEWORTHY NEWS

The Detroit Pistons have parted ways with head coach Monty Williams. Just one year ago, the Pistons signed Williams and made him the highest-paid coach in the NBA. The Pistons had the worst record in the league this season, but that was true before Williams got there, too.

In other NBA news, the Indiana Pacers agreed to re-sign Pascal Siakam to a four-year, $189.5 million max contract. Siakam joined the Pacers in a mid-season trade with the Raptors, and was a big part of Indiana making it to the Eastern Conference Finals a few weeks ago.

The PGA announced a new special exemption for Tiger Woods, allowing him to play in high-level events that he otherwise would no longer qualify for. The announcement came on the same day Tiger’s son Charlie Woods qualified for his first U.S. Junior Amateur. The legacy continues.

Yesterday, we saw Los Angeles Sparks rookie Cameron Brink leave the game early with a knee injury. Today, our worst fears were confirmed– Brink has a torn ACL. Wishing a speedy recovery for the young star.

And finally, if you aren’t feeling ready for the Summer Olympics yet, the US Olympic trials will get you pumped up real quick. Just yesterday we saw Katie Ledecky continuing her dominance, the youngest male swimmer to qualify since 2000, and multiple photo-finishes like this one in the men’s 100-meter freestyle. The action from the pool continues all week on NBC/Peacock, with track and field trials set to begin soon, too.

PLAY OF THE DAY

An incredible 52 goals were scored across 13 games in the MLS last night. Not a single one of them were better than this…

That’s pretty ridiculous.

TODAY’S BIG GAMES (all times Eastern)

SOCCER: Denmark vs England at Noon, Spain vs Italy at 3 PM on Fox; Argentina vs Canada at 8 PM on FS1

• Two heavyweight matchups take place in the Euros, while the Copa America gets underway with Lionel Messi and Argentina taking on Canada. The summer of soccer is in full swing!

MLB: Giants vs Cardinals @ Rickwood Field in Alabama, 7:15 PM on Fox

• Major League Baseball plays a historic game at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama. Rickwood is the oldest ballpark in America, and was the home of the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro Leagues. A special game at a special place provides a timely opportunity to honor Barons and Giants legend Willie Mays.

That’s all for today, folks. Enjoy your Thursday!