Gerrit Cole pitched brilliantly and Anthony Rizzo cracked the game-sealing home run as the New York Yankees defeated the Cleveland Guardians 4-1 in the first game of the ALDS on Tuesday.

Starting on the mound, Cole pitching six-and-a-third innings, giving up just one run off four hits and one walk, courtesy of a Steven Kwan home run in the third frame.

Harrison Bader replied for the Yankees later in the first inning, becoming the only Yankee to ever hit their first home run for the franchise in a playoff game, after being acquired at the deadline and struggling to find his power down the stretch.

Bader's 406-foot shot was the longest hit of the game, but the one that sent the Yankees fans into raptures came in the sixth inning.

After Jose Trevino's sacrifice-fly gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead, Rizzo came through with a runner on base in the sixth, connecting on a two-run home run to give New York some breathing room.

The Yankees' bullpen was rock solid, not allowing a baserunner in the final two innings to see out the game unscathed.

Likely AL MVP Aaron Judge had a poor outing, finishing with one walk and three strikeouts from his four at-bats, and Josh Donaldson was the only Yankee to register multiple hits, going two-for-two with a walk.

Phillies hang on by the narrowest of margins

The Philadelphia Phillies would have felt great going into the final inning of their Game 1 against the Atlanta Braves leading 7-3, but barely hung on for a 7-6 win after plenty of late drama.

Three RBIs from three Nick Castellanos hits and a pair of RBIs for Alec Bohm helped build a 7-1 Philadelphia lead in the fifth inning, but a two-run double from Travis d'Arnaud later in the fifth and three-run homer for Matt Olson in the ninth cut that lead to one.

Zach Eflin was the man entrusted with closing things out on the mound for the Phillies, but despite giving up three runs with only one out, the Phillies stuck with him, and he delivered the final two outs.

Dodgers ride early runs to Game 1 win

The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres 5-3 in Game 1 of the NLDS, but they did not score a run after the third inning.

It looked like it would be a high-scoring contest after Trea Turner hit a home run as the first Dodgers batter of the game, and RBIs to Gavin Lux, Will Smith and Max Muncy had them up 5-0 through three frames.

But once Padres starter Mike Clevinger was removed, their bullpen proved to be impressively stout, pitching six-and-a-third innings of shutout baseball.

Ultimately, the early advantage proved to be enough, as the Padres grabbed three runs back in the fifth inning, but could not make any impression late as Chris Martin and Alex Vesia shut things down out of the Dodgers bullpen.

Aaron Judge stands alone at the top of home run history in the American League after breaking Roger Maris' 61-year single-season homer record with his 62nd blast in the New York Yankees' 3-2 loss to the Texas Rangers on Tuesday.

Judge, who had hit just one homer in his previous 13 games coming in, blasted a 1-1 slider off Rangers' pitcher Jesus Tinoco over the left-field fence for a lead-off homer to break the mark.

The Yankees outfielder's home run was his 62nd of the season, surpassing Maris' 61-homer mark from 1961, which he had matched last Wednesday against the Toronto Blue Jays.

The blast came in the Yankees' penultimate game of the regular season, with Judge's 62 homers sitting seventh for most in a single season in MLB history.

Ahead of Judge are only three players, all from 1997 to 2001; Barry Bonds (73 in 2001), Mark McGwire (70 in 1999 and 65 in 1999) and Sammy Sosa (66 in 1998, 64 in 2001, 63 in 1999).

The home run means 11 of Judge's past 14 blasts have come on the road. Gerrit Cole also made franchise history, reaching 257 strikeouts for the most in a single season for the Yankees.

The Yankees were beaten after the Rangers added two fifth-inning runs, with the visitors having won the first game in the double header 5-4 when Judge went one-for-five with a single.

Braves complete turnaround to clinch NL East

Following their sweep over the New York Mets, the Atlanta Braves clinched their fifth straight National League (NL) East title with a 2-1 victory over the Miami Marlins.

William Contreras drove in the go-ahead run in the fifth inning with an infield single, earning the reigning world champions a first-round bye as the NL second seed. The achievement comes after the Braves had trailed the Mets by 10-and-a-half games in June.

Jake Odorizzi had seven strikeouts across five innings, while Kenley Jansen recorded his 41st save with a perfect ninth inning. Ronald Acuna Jr hit a second-inning single to give the Braves an early lead.

AL seeds locked in as Verlander stars for Astros

The Seattle Mariners locked in the number five seed in the AL playoffs with a 7-6 walkoff win over the Detroit Tigers, highlighted by back-up catcher Luis Torrens pitching the 10th inning.

Entering extras ahead of the postseason, the Mariners shuffled their deck, with Torrens becoming the first position player other than Shohei Ohtani to earn a win since John Baker in 2014 for the Chicago Cubs. Abraham Toro's sacrifice fly allowed Carlos Santana to score the walkoff run.

That result meant the Tampa Bay Rays were locked for the third AL Wild Card spot, not helped by a 6-0 loss to the Boston Red Sox where Xander Bogaerts delivered a fifth-inning grand slam.

Meanwhile, the Houston Astros go into the postseason as the AL top seed after a 10-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies where Cy Young Award favourite Justin Verlander had 10 K's and kept the opposition hitless until the ninth inning.

Luis Severino was pulled from the New York Yankees' 3-1 win against the Texas Rangers seven innings through a no-hitter.

Severino finished with 94 pitches, giving up no hits and one walk with seven strikeouts. The strong performance means he will finish this season with an ERA of 3.18, which is his best return since 2017 after only pitching in seven games across the past two seasons.

The Rangers broke up the no-hitter two outs after Severino was removed, but their one run was not enough after both Marwin Gonzalez and Giancarlo Stanton hit solo home-runs for the Yankees in the eighth inning.

Stanton's was particularly impressive, connecting on a monstrous 457-foot bomb to left-center for his 30th homer of the season. He is tied for 20th in the majors for home runs, and no other member of the top-20 has played in fewer than Stanton's 109 games.

Still one home run away from the American League and Yankees' single-season record, Aaron Judge remained on 61 as he finished one-for-four at the plate with an infield single. He has three more games to hit one homer if he is to break Roger Maris' 61-year-old record set back in 1961.

Pujols hits 703rd career home run

It appeared incredibly unlikely Albert Pujols would reach the magical 700 home run mark at the midpoint of this season, but he has comfortably sailed past that figure and knocked number 703 in the St Louis Cardinals' 3-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Pujols' two-run homer in the sixth inning was responsible for all of the Cardinals' runs in the game, giving him his 24th of the season – his highest tally since 2016. With his two RBIs, he passed Babe Ruth for the second most in the history of the league, trailing only Hank Aaron.

After a combined four home runs in the first three months of the season, Pujols has caught fire and hit 19 in the last four months.

Luzardo pitches a gem for the Marlins

Miami Marlins starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo struck out 12 batters in six scoreless innings to help his side to a 4-0 win against the Atlanta Braves.

Luzardo gave up four hits and no walks, getting through the sixth inning in 101 pitches. He was then backed up with terrific work from the bullpen, not allowing a single baserunner in the final three innings.

With the bat, Bryan De La Cruz drove in three of the Marlins' four runs, with an RBI double in the first inning and a two-run home run in the third.

The Los Angeles Dodgers became the first National League (NL) side in 113 years to reach 110 wins in a single season after rallying for a 6-4 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Saturday.

The last NL side to achieve that fear were the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1909. The Dodgers better their record still, with four regular-season games remaining.

The Dodgers also became just the seventh side in MLB history to record 110 wins in a single season, joining the 2001 Mariners (116), 1906 Cubs (116), 1998 Yankees (114), 1954 Cleveland (111), 1927 Yankees (110) and 1909 Pirates (110).

It was not easy this time, trailing 4-1 entering the seventh inning before a patient batting performance where they drew five straight walks, before Cody Bellinger's sacrifice fly tied the game.

Joey Gallo's sac fly put the Dodgers ahead in the eighth inning before Bellinger's RBI single padded the win.

The victory was the Dodgers' 47th comeback of the season, improving their overall record to 110-48.

Swanson steps up as Braves edge Mets

Dansby Swanson underlined his quality in the big moments with a game-changing two-run blast from Max Scherzer in the Atlanta Braves' crunch 4-2 win over the New York Mets in the NL East battle.

Trailing 2-1 at the bottom of the fifth inning with one out on a 3-2 pitch, Swansby blasted Scherzer over center field to homer for the second consecutive day.

The result means the Braves (99-59) lead the NL East by one game with four remaining, sitting ahead of the Mets (98-60).

Padres slug three home runs

Jake Cronenworth, Manny Machado and Juan Soto all crushed homers as the San Diego Padres sliced their magic number to one with a 5-2 win over the Chicago White Sox.

At 1-1 at the bottom of the sixth inning, Cronenworth deposited a slider from Cy Young hopeful Dylan Cease for a two-run blast over right field.

The Padres' win, combined with the Milwaukee Brewers' 4-3 loss to the Miami Marlins was significant in the NL Wild Card race.

San Diego are in the second slot with a 87-71 record, while the Brewers are fourth at 84-74, either side of the Philadelphia Phillies (85-73) who beat the Washington Nationals 8-2 after Kyle Schwarber's leadoff blast.

Jacob deGrom's 11 strikeouts were not enough to deliver a result for the New York Mets, going down 5-2 on the road to the Atlanta Braves on Friday.

DeGrom, arguably the best pitcher in all of baseball, made it through six full innings while allowing five hits and no walks. Unfortunately for him, three of those hits travelled at least 422 feet each for a trio of monster home runs.

After Luis Guillorme gave the Mets a 1-0 lead in the second inning, the Braves' top power bat responded instantly, with Austin Riley sending a solo home run 422 feet to center-field later in the frame. The Braves then took the lead before the second inning ended with a 430-foot bomb from Matt Olson to center-field.

Atlanta's pitching dominated the middle portion of the game, holding the Mets scoreless between the second and eighth innings, and Dansby Swanson took the opportunity to give his side a couple of runs of breathing room when he smoked a ball 441 feet to make it 3-1 in the sixth frame.

An eighth-inning Tomas Nido home run proved to be just a consolation as the Braves closed things out with Kenley Jansen's 38th save of the season.

After this result, the Braves and the Mets are now tied for the second-best record in the National League at 98-59, and they have two games remaining in the series.

Pujols hits number 701

The baseball world stopped and applauded Albert Pujols for his 700th home run earlier this week, and he added one more to his tally in the St Louis Cardinals' 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Pujols' big swing came in the fourth inning with his side trailing 1-0, hooking a ball 398 feet over the left-field wall to tie the game. Nolan Arenado then delivered what ended up being the winning run with an RBI single in the fifth.

The 42-year-old future Hall-of-Famer trails only Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714) for the most home runs in history.

Guerrero, Springer homer in Blue Jays win

Vladimir Guerrero Jr and George Springer treated the Toronto Blue Jays fans to some big hitting in their 9-0 home win against the Boston Red Sox.

With the Red Sox eliminated from the playoff hunt and the Blue Jays marching towards a big October, the two sides played to their records as Alek Manoah and Yusei Kikuchi combined to pitch a shutout.

Guerrero hit one of the longest home runs of the week with his 447-foot nuke to left-field, and Springer was not much shorter, launching his shot 431 feet.

The Atlanta Braves are bringing back Charlie Morton for 2023, reaching a one-year, $20million contract extension with the veteran right-hander.

The deal was announced Friday and includes a $20million club option for 2024 and does not include a buyout.

One of the most reliable starters in the Braves’ rotation this season, the 38-year-old Morton has made a team-high 30 starts while going 9-6 with a 4.29 ERA and 200 strikeouts – fifth most in the NL.

A two-time All-Star, Morton helped the Braves to last year’s World Series championship, going 14-6 with a 3.34 ERA and 216 strikeouts. In four starts in the playoffs, he posted a 3.24 ERA with 22 strikeouts over 16 2/3 innings.

Drafted by Atlanta in 2002, Morton made his major league debut for the Braves in 2008 before being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates prior to the 2009 season.

After seven seasons with the Pirates, he was with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2016 before spending the next two with Houston, where he was a member of the 2017 World Series champion Astros.

The next two seasons were spent with the Tampa Bay Rays, before he re-joined the Braves prior to last season.

Aaron Judge made American League (AL) history with his record-tying 61st home run of the season as the New York Yankees won 8-3 over the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday.

Judge's seventh-inning two-run blast moved him to 61 single-season homers, equaling Roger Maris' long-held AL and franchise record set in 1961.

The homer ended Judge's run of seven homerless games, along with 31 consecutive plate appearances without a blast.

Judge delivered the shot in his fourth plate appearance of the game, going over left-field deep in the seventh from Tim Mayza, batting leadoff as the designated hitter.

"When I hit it, I thought I got enough but it's been a couple of games since I did that," Judge said.

"So, you never really know if it was going to get out out or, so, I tried to sprint around the bases a little bit then once it got over the fence, just relief that now we're leading the game.

"Getting a chance to tie Roger Maris, you dream about that kind of stuff, it's unreal."

Judge's blast came with scores tied at 3-3, opening up a two-run lead for the AL East-winning Yankees.

Harrison Bader had a single later in the seventh, before driving in two at the top of the ninth, reaching on a fielder's choice.

Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole allowed three hits and three hits in six-and-one-third innings, striking out four to match Ron Guidry's franchise single-season record of 248 from 1978.

Escobar stars in Mets' walk-off win

Eduardo Escobar hit five RBIs including the walk-off game-winner in the 10th inning as the New York Mets got past the Miami Marlins 5-4.

The victory was critical for the Mets, giving them a one-game lead ahead of the Atlanta Bin the National League East, moving their magic number to clinch the division to six.

Trailing 4-0 at the bottom of the seventh inning, Escobar cut the lead in half with a two-run blast, before delivering an eighth-inning two-run single.

Escobar produced the walk-off single in the 10th inning, punching one through the hole of the left-side of the infield to drive in Francisco Lindor from second base.

Braves lose ground after Nats upset

The Braves let slip a huge opportunity to keep the pressure on the Mets, slumping to a 3-2 walk-off loss to the lowly Washington Nationals.

C.J. Abrams chopped a career-first walk-off single to right-field to drive in Alex Call for the game-winning run in the 10th inning. It was Abrams' third hit of the game.

Matt Olson crushed his 30th homer of the season among his two hits, while Michael Harris II hauled in a brilliant leaping catch at the center-field wall before driving in the game-tying eighth inning run for Dansby Swanson.

The Braves and Mets are set to meet in a crucial three-game series starting on Friday in Atlanta, weather permitting.

Aaron Judge made American League (AL) history with his record-tying 61st home run of the season as the New York Yankees won 8-3 over the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday.

Judge's seventh-inning two-run blast moved him to 61 single-season homers, equaling Roger Maris' long-held AL and franchise record set in 1961.

The homer ended Judge's run of seven homerless games, along with 31 consecutive plate appearances without a blast.

Judge delivered the shot in his fourth plate appearance of the game, going over left-field deep in the seventh from Tim Mayza, batting leadoff as the designated hitter.

"When I hit it, I thought I got enough but it's been a couple of games since I did that," Judge said.

"So, you never really know if it was going to get out out or, so, I tried to sprint around the bases a little bit then once it got over the fence, just relief that now we're leading the game.

"Getting a chance to tie Roger Maris, you dream about that kind of stuff, it's unreal."

Judge's blast came with scores tied at 3-3, opening up a two-run lead for the AL East-winning Yankees.

Harrison Bader had a single later in the seventh, before driving in two at the top of the ninth, reaching on a fielder's choice.

Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole allowed three hits and three hits in six-and-one-third innings, striking out four to match Ron Guidry's franchise single-season record of 248 from 1978.

Escobar stars in Mets' walk-off win

Eduardo Escobar hit five RBIs including the walk-off game-winner in the 10th inning as the New York Mets got past the Miami Marlins 5-4.

The victory was critical for the Mets, giving them a one-game lead ahead of the Atlanta Bin the National League East, moving their magic number to clinch the division to six.

Trailing 4-0 at the bottom of the seventh inning, Escobar cut the lead in half with a two-run blast, before delivering an eighth-inning two-run single.

Escobar produced the walk-off single in the 10th inning, punching one through the hole of the left-side of the infield to drive in Francisco Lindor from second base.

Braves lose ground after Nats upset

The Braves let slip a huge opportunity to keep the pressure on the Mets, slumping to a 3-2 walk-off loss to the lowly Washington Nationals.

C.J. Abrams chopped a career-first walk-off single to right-field to drive in Alex Call for the game-winning run in the 10th inning. It was Abrams' third hit of the game.

Matt Olson crushed his 30th homer of the season among his two hits, while Michael Harris II hauled in a brilliant leaping catch at the center-field wall before driving in the game-tying eighth inning run for Dansby Swanson.

The Braves and Mets are set to meet in a crucial three-game series starting on Friday in Atlanta, weather permitting.

The Boston Red Sox emerged 13-9 victors in an action-packed game against the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday.

It continued a high-scoring series after the Orioles won the opener on Monday 14-8, marking the first time either team have played in back-to-back games this season totaling 22 or more runs.

Despite the loss, it was a memorable game for Orioles left-fielder Anthony Santander as he finished three-for-five at the plate with two home runs. Incredibly, it is the third time in the past four games he has hit multiple home runs, rocketing him up to 12th in the majors with 33 this season.

The Red Sox only had one home run in the game – a two-run shot from rookie Triston Casas, who finished three-for-four at the plate – but they scored all 13 runs within the first four innings.

Lead-off hitter Tommy Pham led the way with three RBIs, while Casas, Rafael Devers and Connor Wong had two each.

Standout Orioles rookie Adley Rutschman also went deep for his 13th home run of the season, quickly becoming one of the best young catchers in the sport.

In a difficult start on the mound for Boston's Michael Wacha, his six earned runs in three-and-a-third innings raised his ERA for the season from 2.70 up to 3.06.

Blue Jays walk Judge four times in Yankees win

The Toronto Blue Jays made headlines when they intentionally walked New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge in extra innings on Monday, and they still wanted nothing to do with him in Tuesday's 5-2 loss.

Toronto only issued four walks in the whole game, and all four went to Judge. None were credited as intentional walks, with all four coming after he worked his way to a full-count.

With Judge not getting much of a chance to swing the bat, it was Gleyber Torres picking up the slack, going three-for-five at the plate with three RBIs, while Anthony Rizzo and Aaron Hicks also drove in one run each.

Jameson Taillon pitched a quality start for the Yankees, giving up two earned runs in seven-and-a-third innings.

With the win, the Yankees clinched the AL East for the 20th time – the second-most division titles for any team, trailing only the Atlanta Braves with 21.

Acuna delivers for the Braves

Ronald Acuna Jr hit home runs in back-to-back at-bats in the Atlanta Braves' 8-2 road win against the Washington Nationals.

Both of Acuna's home runs were solo shots, while Rookie of the Year hopefully Michael Harris II also collected a pair of RBIs as he finished two-for-five with a triple and an infield-single.

The Braves are tied with the New York Mets for the lead in the NL East, with a three-game series between the two sides still to come.

Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr treated his home fans to a 3-2 walk-off win against the New York Yankees in extra innings.

Guerrero, 23, is considered one of the best young hitters in the sport, and he was one of only three players in the game to tally more than one hit on Monday.

After a Gleyber Torres sacrifice-fly and an Isiah Kiner-Falefa solo home run gave the Yankees a 2-0 lead heading into the fourth inning, singles to Bo Bichette and Guerrero set the table for Teoscar Hernandez's game-tying two-run double.

That 2-2 score would hold for the rest of regulation as both bullpens delivered five consecutive scoreless innings, and the Blue Jays had no interest in dealing with AL MVP favourite Aaron Judge in the 10th frame.

With runners on first and second base and two outs, the Blue Jays opted to intentionally walk Judge as he remains one home run away from the Yankees' and American League single-season record of 61, set 61 years ago by Roger Maris in 1961. The next batter, Anthony Rizzo, would harmlessly ground-out with bases loaded.

New York could have walked Guerrero with two outs and a runner on second base, but chose to pitch to him, and were punished with a walk-off single.

The win trimmed the Yankees' lead in the AL East to seven-and-a-half games, although the Blue Jays will likely make the playoffs regardless as they lead the race for the AL Wildcard spots.

Braves rookie pitches a shutout

The Atlanta Braves appear to have unearthed another stud rookie pitcher, with 23-year-old Bryce Elder pitching a complete game shutout in his side's 8-0 win against the Washington Nationals.

In just the eighth start of his career, Elder made it through all nine innings in 106 pitches, allowing six hits and one walk with six strikeouts. His emergence is a bonus for the Braves, who already have both contenders for National League Rookie of the Year in starting pitcher Spencer Strider and center-fielder Michael Harris II.

Albeit a small sample size, Elder now boasts an ERA of 2.76, and he has rattled off four consecutive quality starts, including a 10-strikeout outing against the Miami Marlins.

Santander hits two homers in high-scoring Orioles win

Anthony Santander hit two of the Baltimore Orioles' four home runs in a 14-8 win against the Boston Red Sox, with the two sides combining for 29 hits.

Of the 18 starters from both sides, only three players failed to get a hit in the game, while Santander, Cedric Mullins, Austin Hays, Rougned Odor and Kyle Stowers all collected at least two each for the Orioles.

Star 21-year-old prospect Gunnar Henderson also had a strong day for Baltimore, hitting a two-run home run and drawing three walks.

Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber hit his 41st and 42nd home runs of the season in his side's 9-8 loss against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday.

Schwarber connected on his first of the day as the Phillies' very first batter, and he did it again with his next at-bat in the third inning for a pair of solo shots. He is second in the league in home runs, trailing only Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees.

While the Phillies got two RBIs from their lead-off hitter, the Braves got three from theirs, with Dansby Swanson leading the way for Atlanta offensively.

Swanson finished three-for-six, including a massive 417-foot two-run home run in the fourth inning to turn a 4-3 deficit into a 5-4 lead.

After a pair of sacrifice-flies from Phillies Bryce Harper and Alec Bohm in the fifth inning, William Contreras tied things at 6-6 in the eighth inning when he came home to score on a wild pitch, sending the game to extra innings.

In extras, after a scoreless 10th inning, hits to rising stars Ronald Acuna Jr and Michael Harris II drove in a run each, and the Phillies were only able to claw one back.

Braves reliever Jackson Stephens was credited with the win after pitching both extra innings, striking out three batters and allowing one unearned run.

Trout goes deep in Angels win

Mike Trout's strong season continued in the Los Angeles Angels' 10-3 win against the Minnesota Twins, hitting his ninth home run of September.

Trout, who is now tied for the fourth-most home runs in the league with 37, finished three-for-four at the plate and scored three times, highlighted by a 416-foot bomb to left-field.

Fellow Angels star Shohei Ohtani also had a strong outing, collecting two hits and an RBI from five at-bats, while Jose Suarez took the win on the mound with two earned runs in five-and-two-thirds innings.

Javier pitches a gem for the Astros

Houston Astros starting pitcher Cristian Javier gave up only one hit in his six innings against the Baltimore Orioles to help his side to a 6-3 road victory.

Javier had a perfect game through four-and-a-third innings before allowing his sole hit of the contest, quickly following it with a double-play to end the inning. That hit was the only baserunner he allowed as he also finished with no walks, and he lowered his ERA for the season down to 2.65.

The Astros are the only team with three starting pitchers who all boast ERAs under 2.70, with American League Cy Young Award favourite Justin Verlander leading the league at 1.82, while the league-leader in quality starts, Framber Valdez, is at 2.69.

The Baltimore Orioles gave their fans a glimpse into an exciting future as starting pitcher Dean Kremer and rookie catcher Adley Rutschman delivered in a 6-0 win against the Houston Astros.

Houston entered the contest with a seven-game lead atop the American League standings, but they were no match for Kremer in what ended up being the first complete game shutout of his career.

Kremer, 26, is in the midst of a breakout season, with nine scoreless innings against the Astros bringing his ERA to 3.07 from 114 innings this year – a sharp improvement from his 7.55 ERA in 53 innings a season ago.

Overall, Kremer allowed four hits and two walks in the complete game, and he received some solid run support from another young star on his team.

Rutschman, 24, would be considered a strong chance for Rookie of the Year if Seattle Mariners phenom Julio Rodriguez had not already locked up the award, and the young catcher finished three-for-three at the plate on Friday.

He singled in his first at-bat, followed by a solo home run in the fourth inning, and a double in the seventh.

With the win, the Orioles are now three games behind the Mariners in the race for the last AL Wildcard spot.

The wrong Aaron homers for the Yankees

Aaron Judge remains one home run away from the American League and New York Yankees' single-season record, but his side emerged 5-4 victors against the Boston Red Sox with the help of his namesake.

It was Aaron Hicks doing the damage for the Yankees, hitting a solo home run in the third inning and an RBI single in the fifth to score the first two runs, before Gleyber Torres' two-run single doubled their advantage to 4-1.

A three-run homer to Boston's Alex Verdugo tied things at 4-4 in the sixth inning, but All-Star catcher Jose Trevino tacked on the winner for the Yankees with a single in the eighth inning.

Judge finished one-for-four with a single and two strikeouts.

Nola, Hoskins dominate the reigning champions

Aaron Nola and Rhys Hoskins were at the peak of their powers to help the Philadelphia Phillies to a dominant 9-1 home win against the reigning World Series champion Atlanta Braves.

Already leading 2-0 in the second inning, Hoskins stepped up to the plate and added two more runs with a double, and he chipped in another two with a homer in the fourth inning on his way to final figures of three-for-four with four RBIs.

On the mound, Nola was terrific, striking out eight batters in six scoreless innings, allowing four hits and three walks.

Travis d'Arnaud focused on the Atlanta Braves' "marathon" pursuit of the New York Mets after their postseason place was confirmed for a fifth straight year on Tuesday.

The defending World Series champions defeated the Washington Nationals 3-2 at Truist Park, with their playoff spot clinched shortly afterwards as the Mets rallied to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-5.

It was not necessarily the outcome the Braves wanted, however, as a victory for the Brewers would have seen Atlanta level with the Mets atop the NL East.

As it is, the Braves are one game back, but d'Arnaud warned their rivals they have plenty still left in the tank.

"It's a marathon, it's not over," d'Arnaud said. "So we'll just keep going after it until the end."

All-Star catcher d'Arnaud had extended his career-high home run total to 18, while William Contreras, his backup, has 19.

They are just the fourth catching duo in NL or AL history to each hit at least 18 homers in a season with at least two-thirds of their games played at catcher.

And Arnaud was effusive in his praise of Contreras, adding: "It's been so much fun.

"The energy he brings every day honestly inspires me and makes me feel young. So I don't know if I'd be having as good of a year if he wasn't here."

The Braves face the Nationals again on Wednesday, looking for a clean sweep as the Mets do likewise against the Brewers.

Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies will miss at least the rest of the regular season after the two-time All-Star broke his right pinky finger sliding head-first into second base in the fourth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday night. 

The two-time Silver Slugger Award winner just returned from the 60-day injured list on Friday after missing 81 games due to a fractured left foot, which he suffered on June 13 against the Washington Nationals. 

"I hate it for him because my heart breaks for him," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "After everything he went through to get back here and then have that happen, God it's horrible for him. He was having so much fun, being the old Oz, playing ball. What he loves to do."

Albies is batting .247 with eight home runs and 35 RBIs in 64 games this season for the defending World Series champion Braves, who beat Philadelphia 4-3 to remain one game behind the first-place New York Mets in the NL East. 

Atlanta is a lock to make the playoffs as they own a 10-and-a-half-game lead over the Phillies for the top wild card spot in the NL.  

Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies will miss at least the rest of the regular season after the two-time All-Star broke his right pinky finger sliding head-first into second base in the fourth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday night. 

The two-time Silver Slugger Award winner just returned from the 60-day injured list on Friday after missing 81 games due to a fractured left foot, which he suffered on June 13 against the Washington Nationals. 

"I hate it for him because my heart breaks for him," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "After everything he went through to get back here and then have that happen, God it's horrible for him. He was having so much fun, being the old Oz, playing ball. What he loves to do."

Albies is batting .247 with eight home runs and 35 RBIs in 64 games this season for the defending World Series champion Braves, who beat Philadelphia 4-3 to remain one game behind the first-place New York Mets in the NL East. 

Atlanta is a lock to make the playoffs as they own a 10-and-a-half-game lead over the Phillies for the top wild card spot in the NL.