Good Morning! Here’s what happened in the world of sports on Tuesday, October 8th.

MLB

The Remix begins this morning in Queens, as the New York Mets won yet another ballgame. Here’s how they did it:

• Pete Alonso got the scoring started for New York with a solo shot in the 2nd inning, and Jesse Winker doubled the lead with a homer of his own in the 4th. Although Phillies starter Aaron Nola struck out eight batters in five innings, he left the game with his team down 2-0.

• By the time the Phillies began a rally in the 8th, the Mets had extended their lead to 6-0. New York made all the big plays in this one– like this bullet throw from right fielder Tyrone Taylor.

• The star of the game, however, was Mets starter Sean Manaea. Manaea pitched into the eighth inning and gave up just one run, leaving to a well-deserved ovation from the Mets faithful. The final score of this one was 7-2, as the Mets find themselves one win away from the NLCS.

The San Diego Padres won a huge game three against the Los Angeles Dodgers last night. And the key to victory was a big swing from their superstar:

• Mookie Betts thought this ball was caught yet again by Jurickson Profar, but he actually hit a home run this time to give LA a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Mookie’s strange home trot across the infield should have been a sign– this one had a few surprises in store.

• It looked like Dodger starter Walker Buehler was going to get out of a jam with minimal damage in the 2nd inning, but everyone was safe on this ground ball to the shortstop. The very next batter, David Peralta snuck a ground ball down the right field line to score two runs on an RBI double. And San Diego wasn’t done in the inning. Fernando Tatis stepped up to the plate with two outs and a runner on first…

• So the Padres led 6-1 after two innings. Tatis majestically bat flipped his home run and the crowd at Petco Park was going bananas. But this game wasn’t over yet. Teoscar Hernandez hit a grand slam just one inning later to bring LA within one run.

• And then… that was it. There were just three hits by either team the rest of the game, as both bullpens shut down any ideas of a rally. After the manic start to this one, the Padres held strong for a 6-5 victory. San Diego is one win away from eliminating the Dodgers from the playoffs. It would be the second such occurrence in the last three seasons.

WNBA

The Minnesota Lynx are going to the WNBA finals! Napheesa Collier scored 27 points and recorded 11 rebounds to lead Minnesota to an 88-77 victory last night over the Connecticut Sun. The WNBA defensive player of the year had four blocks, too, showcasing her all-around game. The number two-seed Lynx have the most championships in league history with four– they’ll attempt to add a fifth title against the New York Liberty in a series that begins tomorrow night.

NHL

The St. Louis Blues scored three goals in three minutes to beat the Seattle Kraken, and the defending champion Florida Panthers began their title defense with a 6-4 win over the Boston Bruins… but the star of the night was Salt Lake City. Congratulations to the Utah Hockey Club on their first ever NHL goal! UHC won their inaugurual game 5-2 over Chicago:

NOTEWORTHY NEWS

The New York Jets have fired head coach Robert Saleh. Apparently the loss on Sunday in London was the final straw for Jets chairman Woody Johnson– “we are not where we should be given our expectations, and I believe now is the best time for us to move in a different direction,” Johnson said. QB Aaron Rodgers is now the official head coach… oh wait, I’m hearing that’s not true. The interim coach of the Jets is defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. Good luck Jeff!

Some QB news from the NFL- Saints quarterback Derek Carr will be out for at least one week due to an oblique injury suffered at the end of Monday night’s game in Kansas City. And the New England Patriots announced they will be starting rookie Drake Maye on Sunday for the first time in his career.

TODAY’S BIG GAMES (all times Eastern)

NHL: Some fun matchups today on the ice, as more teams begin their 2024-25 campaign:

• Maple Leafs @ Canadiens, 7 PM on ESPN+

• Rangers @ Penguins, 7:30 PM on TNT/Max

• Avalanche @ Golden Knights, 10 PM on TNT/Max

MLB: It’s a beautiful day for playoff baseball! Four games on today’s slate, with two teams facing elimination:

• Guardians @ Tigers, 3:08 PM on TBS/Max

  • Detroit hosts their first playoff game since 2014!

• Phillies @ Mets, 5:08 PM on FS1

  • Philadelphia turns to starter Ranger Suarez as they try to stay alive in New York

• Yankees @ Royals, 7:08 PM on TBS/Max

  • The first playoff game at Kauffman Stadium in KC since 2015!

• Dodgers @ Padres, 9:08 PM on FS1

  • Dylan Cease starts on short rest for San Diego as the Padres look to knock out Los Angeles

And that’s a Remix. Thanks for reading!