Houston Astros pitcher Ronel Blanco was ejected following a foreign substance check before Victor Caratini singled home a run in the bottom of the 10th inning in a 2-1 win over the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday.

Blanco was tossed by third base umpire Laz Diaz after a check of his glove before the start of the fourth inning. The umpires, Blanco and Astros manager Joe Espada stood at the mound for a couple of minutes discussing the issue before the right-hander was thrown out.

Blanco, who threw a no-hitter in his season debut, allowed four hits over three scoreless innings.

Blanco denied using an illegal substance.

“Just probably rosin I put on my left arm,” he said in Spanish through a translator. “Maybe because of the sweat, it got into the glove and that’s maybe what they found.”

MLB began cracking down on foreign substances in June 2021, and Blanco will likely face a 10-game suspension.

Houston’s Alex Bregman homered after he went deep twice on Monday. He also doubled in the fourth to become the first player in franchise history with an extra-base hit in five straight at-bats.

Nola goes distance for surging Phillies

Aaron Nola pitched a four-hitter for his fourth major league shutout and the major league-leading Philadelphia Phillies beat the slumping New York Mets, 4-0.

Nola struck out eight without a walk and threw 73 of his 109 pitches for strikes. He notched his sixth career complete game and first since a two-hit shutout against Cincinnati in August 2022.

Philadelphia improved the majors’ best record to 30-13 and earned its first sweep at Citi Field since a three-game series in April 2013. The Phillies have won or tied all 12 of their series since April 5, their best such streak since August 1994 to June 1995 (13 series).

The Mets completed a 1-4 homestand against two NL East rivals and dropped to 10-14 at home.

The Phillies scored twice in the third inning off Jose Butto on a bases-loaded hit by pitch and Brandon Marsh’s bases-loaded walk.

Bryson Stott had a run-scoring single in the ninth and Alec Bohm doubled home a run.          

Butto needed 97 pitches to get through five innings – including 41 in the third. He gave up just one hit but walked four.

Sale sharp again as Braves roll

Chris Sale pitched two-hit ball over seven stellar innings to win his fifth straight start and Matt Olson hit a three-run homer to lead the Atlanta Braves to a 7-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs for their second straight shutout.

Sale (6-1) struck out nine and did not issue a walk to match his win total from all last season. The veteran left-hander is 5-0 with a 1.41 ERA over his last five starts with 41 strikeouts in 32 innings.

Starter Jameson Taillon’s error on Orlando Arcia’s grounder helped set up Atlanta’s six-run fourth inning, including Olson’s blast that made it 7-0. Michael Harris homered to lead off that inning.

The Braves, who have won six of seven, have outscored the Cubs 9-0 in the first two games of the series.

Zack Short broke a scoreless tie with a run-scoring double in the sixth inning, and Reynaldo Lopez and three Atlanta relievers combined on a five-hitter as the Braves opened a three-game series with the Chicago Cubs with Monday's 2-0 win.

Ronald Acuna Jr. plated Short with a single as the Braves scored both of the game's lone runs against reliever Hayden Wesneski, who replaced Shota Imanaga after the Japanese lefty tossed five scoreless innings to deliver another effective start in his debut MLB season.

Imanaga scattered seven hits and struck out eight to lower his MLB-leading ERA to 0.96. The offseason addition extended his team record with an eighth consecutive start of allowing two earned runs or fewer to begin his major league career.

Lopez was just as good while also not factoring in the decision, as the right-hander yielded just two hits and a pair of walks over five innings. Ray Kerr (2-0) received the win with two scoreless innings in relief of Lopez.

Wesneski (2-2) took over in the sixth and struck out the first two Atlanta batters before giving up a double to Travis d'Arnaud. Short, starting at third base with Austin Riley dealing with left-side tightness, then laced a double into the right field corner to put the Braves ahead.

Acuna followed with a single to left to extend the lead to 2-0.

The Cubs threatened in the ninth by putting their first two runners on, but A.J. Minter worked out of the jam to notch his first save of the season and close out the Braves' fifth win in six games.

Stott the hero as Phillies rally past Mets in 10 innings

Bryson Stott ignited a ninth-inning rally with a solo homer, then drove in the go-ahead run in the 10th as the Philadelphia Phillies rallied for a 5-4 win over the rival New York Mets.

The Phillies trailed 4-2 entering the ninth before scoring twice off Mets closer Edwin Diaz, who forced in the tying run by hitting Alec Bohm with a pitch with the bases loaded.

Stott started the comeback with a lead-off homer and pinch-hitter Kody Clemens followed with a single before Diaz issued a pair of walks to load the bases with two out. The two-time All-Star then hit Bohm in the forearm on an 0-2 count to bring in Clemens and force extra innings.

In the 10th, designated runner Bryce Harper advanced from second to third on a wild pitch from Sean Reid-Foley before crossing the plate on Stott's sacrifice fly.

Jose Alvarado then kept the Mets scoreless in the bottom of the 10th to record his eighth save and give the National League-leading Phillies a victory to start this four-game, home-and-home series.

Stott scored the game's first run after reaching on a single in the top of the second inning and later coming home on Garrett Stubbs' infield hit.

The Mets answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning, as Pete Alonso and J.D. Martinez had back-to-back doubles off Philadelphia starter Cristopher Sanchez to tie the game before Tomas Nido brought in Martinez with a single.

Starling Marte doubled off Sanchez in the third and later scored on a bases-loaded walk to Martinez to increase the Mets' lead to 3-1. It remained that way until the top of the seventh, when the Phillies put two aboard on singles by Edmundo Sosa and Brandon Marsh in front of Johan Rojas' run-producing groundout.

New York restored a two-run advantage in its half of the seventh when Alonso scored on Bohm's error on a grounder hit to third off the bat of Tyrone Taylor.

Martinez finished 3 for 4 with two RBIs in the Mets' sixth loss in nine games. Philadelphia has now won 10 of its last 12.

Ramirez's four RBIs helps Guardians extend Rangers' skid

Jose Ramirez went 2 for 3 and drove in four runs as the Cleveland Guardians extended the Texas Rangers' losing streak to a season-high four games with Monday's 7-0 victory.

Ramirez knocked in two of Cleveland's four runs in the eighth inning that broke a scoreless tie as the American League Central leaders took the opener of this three-game series.

The game featured a pitching duel between Cleveland's Tanner Bibee and Texas' Michael Lorenzen, who held the Guardians to one hit through seven innings before the visitors broke through against the Rangers' bullpen in the eighth.

Jose Leclerc (3-3) relieved Lorenzen and was greeted by a double from Estevan Florial, who scored on Brayan Rocchio's single two batters later for a 1-0 Cleveland lead.

The Guardians then loaded the bases on a walk and a single before Ramirez drove in two with a base hit to extend the margin. Texas reliever Jacob Latz later forced in another run with a wild pitch that allowed Andres Gimenez to score from third.

Cleveland tacked on three more runs in the ninth on Gimenez's RBI double and another two-run single from Ramirez.

Bibee allowed just three hits and two walks before being removed with one out in the sixth. 

Yu Darvish tossed seven scoreless innings and was backed by three San Diego homers as the Padres earned a series win over the Los Angeles Dodgers with Sunday's 4-0 victory.

Fernando Tatis Jr., Jake Cronenworth and Xander Bogaerts all had solo homers to support a third straight winning start for Darvish (3-1). The veteran right-hander yielded just two hits and a walk while striking out seven to extend his streak of consecutive scoreless innings to 18.

The Padres also got three hits from Jackson Merrill as they took two of three games from the National League West-leading Dodgers and improved to 8-3 over their last 11 contests.

Darvish retired the first 14 Los Angeles hitters and was staked to a quick 2-0 lead on back-to-back homers from Tatis and Cronenworth off Walker Buehler in the first inning.

Buehler (0-1), making his second start since returning from Tommy John surgery performed in August 2022, ran into more trouble in the fourth as the Padres loaded the bases with one out on a Merrill single, a walk and a hit batter. Ryan Yarbrough then relieved the right-hander and got Luis Arraez to ground into a fielder's choice that brought home Merrill.

Bogaerts' homer off Gus Varland in the fifth extended San Diego's lead to 4-0.

Buehler was removed after 3 1/3 innings and was charged with three runs allowed on five hits and two walks.

Yankees belt five homers to take series from Rays

The New York Yankees hit a season-high five home runs, including two from Jose Trevino, before holding on for a 10-6 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in the rubber match of a three-game series between the American League East rivals.

Gleyber Torres added a three-run homer, while Aaron Judge and Jahmai Jones also went deep as New York bounced back from Saturday's 7-2 loss and won for the seventh time in nine games.

The Yankees also received six scoreless innings from Luis Gil (4-1), who allowed just three hits and two walks to win his third consecutive start.

Tampa Bay lost for the third time in four games despite Jose Siri's grand slam and a solo homer from Yandy Diaz.

New York built a 6-0 lead through six innings, with Anthony Volpe starting the scoring by leading off the game with a triple and crossing the plate on Juan Soto's sacrifice fly.

Jones' homer off Tampa Bay starter Tyler Alexander in the third inning extended the margin to 2-0, and Trevino took Alexander's pitch over the left field wall with Anthony Rizzo aboard in the fourth to increase the lead further.

Soto singled in front of Judge's 10th homer of the season to put New York up 6-0 in the fifth, but the Rays got back in it with five runs against the Yankees' bullpen in the seventh.

Tampa Bay loaded the bases against Caleb Ferguson on Richie Palacios' single, a double from Jonny DeLuca and a walk before Siri connected on his first career grand slam.

Nick Burdi then replaced Ferguson and walked the first two hitters he faced before hitting Randy Arozarena to load the bases again. Luke Weaver was then summoned from the bullpen and promptly hit Isaac Paredes with a pitch to force in a run and cut the lead to 6-5.

The Yankees answered, however, by scoring four times in the eighth. 

A Giancarlo Stanton single and Rizzo's double put two on for Torres, who blasted a pitch from Shawn Armstrong into the left field seats for a 9-5 lead. Two batters later, Trevino took Erasmo Ramirez deep for his second career two-homer game.

Ian Hamilton served up Diaz's homer in the ninth before closing out the contest.

Rockies complete stunning sweep of defending champ Rangers

Ty Blach's five solid innings and a two-run homer from Ezequiel Tovar helped the Colorado Rockies finish a three-game sweep of the defending World Series champion Texas Rangers with Sunday's 3-1 win.

Blach (1-1) scattered seven hits while allowing one run in his second start of the season before turning things over to the Colorado bullpen, where relievers Victor Vodnik, Tyler Kinely and Jalen Beeks combined for four scoreless innings to close out the Rockies' season-high fourth straight win.

Colorado had compiled an MLB-worst 8-28 record prior to its current streak.

Texas, which has dropped three straight for the second time this season, did take an early lead when Corey Seager singled in the top of the first inning and later scored on Adolis Garcia's base hit.

The Rockies answered in the bottom of the inning, however, when Charlie Blackmon reached on a lead-off single and Tovar followed with his fourth homer of the season. 

Those were the only runs allowed by Texas starter Jose Urena (1-3), who threw a season-high 6 2/3 innings and permitted six hits and one walk.

The Rangers couldn't generate any further offence, though, and Colorado tacked on an insurance run in the eighth when Ryan McMahon doubled and later crossed the plate on a bases-loaded walk issued to Brenton Doyle.

Beeks worked around a pair of hits in the ninth to record his third save of the season. 

Max Fried and two relievers combined on a no-hitter for 8 2/3 innings before J.D. Martinez homered to spoil the bid and the Atlanta Braves defeated the New York Mets 4-1 on Saturday.

Fried pitched seven no-hit innings but was pulled after throwing 109 pitches. Joe Jimenez walked two in a hitless eighth and Raisel Iglesias retired the first two batters in the ninth.

Martinez then homered just over the wall in right field on the next pitch off Iglesias, who walked Jeff McNeil and allowed Harrison Bader’s infield single before getting Brett Baty to fly to center.

The Braves fell just shy of their first no-hitter since Kent Mercker against the Dodgers on April 8, 1994. The no-hitter drought is the fourth-longest in the majors.

Orlando Arcia hit a two-run homer and Michael Harris II added three hits for the Braves, who won their fourth straight following a three-game skid.

Skenes debuts as Pirates outslug Cubs

Paul Skenes struck out 7 over four-plus innings in his major league debut and Yasmani Grandal hit a go-ahead three-run homer to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a 10-9 win over the Chicago Cubs.

Skenes, the first overall pick in the 2023 draft, reached 100 mph on 17 of his 84 pitches. He allowed at least one runner in every inning and was pulled after yielding a pair of hits to open the fourth. He was charged with three runs on six hits with two walks and a hit batter.

Pirates relievers Kyle Nicolas, Josh Fleming and Colin Holderman threw 26 balls in a span of 31 pitches sandwiched around a 2 hour, 20-minute rain delay in the top of the fifth.

The Cubs drew six bases-loaded walks in the fifth, the most by a major league team in a single inning since the Chicago White Sox had eight in the seventh on April 22, 1959.

Connor Joe, Oneil Cruz, Andrew McCutchen and Michael A. Taylor homered as Pittsburgh snapped a three-game skid.

Blue Jays rally to cool Twins

Ernie Clement snapped a seventh-inning tie with an RBI single and the Toronto Blue Jays erased a six-run deficit in a 10-8 win over the Minnesota Twins.

Danny Jansen hit a two-run homer and Bo Bichette and Davis Schneider added solo shots for the Blue Jays, who set season highs in runs and hits (16) to send the Twins to just their third loss in 19 games.

Carlos Santana had a three-run home run and Ryan Jeffers also went deep as Minnesota’s seven-game road winning streak was snapped one win shy of matching the team record.

The Twins opened a 7-1 lead headed to the bottom of the third, but the Blue Jays got two runs back in the bottom half and scored three more in the fifth on homers by Schneider and Jansen. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had a two-run single in the sixth to tie it and Clement and Schneider had RBIs in the seventh.

Ranger Suarez continued his stellar start with seven scoreless innings and was backed by home runs from Nick Castellanos and Johan Rojas in the Philadelphia Phillies’ 8-2 win over the Miami Marlins on Friday.

Suarez allowed three hits with nine strikeouts and two walks to become the first seven-game winner in the majors. His 1.50 ERA is the second lowest in MLB.

Rojas and J.T. Realmuto each had three of Philadelphia’s 15 hits, while Bryce Harper had two with an RBI double.

The major league-leading Phillies have won 12 of their last 14 games.

Castellanos took Trevor Rogers deep in the second inning and Rojas added an RBI single later in the inning. He homered off reliever Eli Villalobos in the seventh to make it 7-0.

The Marlins dropped to 10-30 on the season and 1-6 since trading second baseman Luis Arraez to San Diego.

Arraez lifts Padres with walk-off hit

Luis Arraez singled home the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the San Diego Padres a 2-1 victory, ending the Los Angeles Dodgers’ seven-game winning streak.

Playing his first home game since he was acquired from Miami last Saturday, Arraez lined a single to center to score pinch-runner Tyler Wade with one out.

Padres starter Michael King struck out 11 and held the Dodgers to just two hits in seven scoreless innings.

Counterpart Tyler Glasnow was nearly as good, yielding his only hit over seven innings on Luis Campusano’s third-inning home run and striking out 10 for the third time in four outings.

The Padres have won seven of nine to move back over .500 (21-20).

Twins defeat Blue Jays to stay hot

Carlos Santana homered to snap a fifth-inning tie and Joe Ryan pitched one-run ball over seven innings to lead the surging Minnesota Twins to a 3-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Carlos Correa had two hits and two runs to help the Twins win for the 16th time in 18 games.

Ryan limited the Blue Jays to one hit without a walk and struck out seven for his first victory in three starts. Jhoan Duran worked the eighth and Griffin Jax pitched the ninth for his fifth save.

Santan’s home run off Yusei Kikuchi gave Minnesota at least one in 18 consecutive games in Toronto, extending the second-longest such streak in team history.

Isaiah Kiner-Falefa had a home run among his three hits as Toronto lost for the sixth time in eight games.

Corbin Carroll had a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning and Slade Cecconi pitched 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball as the Arizona Diamondbacks won their fourth straight, 5-4 over the reeling Cincinnati Reds.

Joc Pederson homered in the first inning and finished with three hits for Arizona, which got RBIs from five different players.

Spencer Steer’s two-run single in the seventh completed Cincinnati’s comeback from a 4-1 deficit, but the Reds lost their eighth in a row, a stretch during which they scored just 17 runs.

Cincinnati has lost 11 of 13 to drop a season-high five games under .500 (16-21).

Cecconi gave up three hits with two strikeouts before Logan Allen allowed three runs over the next 1 1/3 innings. Paul Seward struck out two in the ninth for his first save of the season.

Twins rough up Gilbert in rout of Mariners

Manny Margot highlighted a five-run first inning with a three-run double off Mariners ace Logan Gilbert and the Minnesota Twins rolled to an 11-1 win over Seattle.

Pablo Lopez struck out 10 and allowed one run over 6 1/3 innings to win his third straight start.

Ryan Jeffers and Max Kepler each homered and knocked in two runs for the Twins, who have won 15 of 17 to move a season-best seven games over .500 (22-15).

Minnesota has averaged 6.6 runs and 10.1 hits over that 17-game span.

Gilbert failed to pitch into the sixth for the first time in eight starts this season and surrendered eight runs on nine hits with two walks in five innings. His AL-leading 1.69 ERA increased to 2.94.

Astros avoid season sweep to Yankees

Yordan Alvarez and Jon Singleton homered in the first inning and the Houston Astros held on for a 4-3 victory over the New York Yankees.

Alvarez hit a two-out shot off Marcus Stroman and Singleton followed Jeremy Pena’s walk for a 3-0 lead.

Pena added a fifth-inning RBI single for the Astros, who were outscored 40-18 in the first six games this season – all losses – against the Yankees.

Ronel Blanco allowed two runs on four hits over 5 2/3 innings and Josh Hader got the final four outs for his fourth save.

Anthony Volpe had a two-run homer and Aaron Judge belted a 473-foot shot in the eighth, but New York had a five-game winning streak snapped.

Gavin Stone continued the Dodgers’ run of strong starts and was backed by Teoscar Hernandez’s two-run homer as Los Angeles won their seventh straight game, triumphing 3-1 over the Miami Marlins on Wednesday.

Hernandez drove in all three runs for the Dodgers, who completed a 6-0 homestand and have won 14 of their last 16 games.

Stone limited the Marlins to one run on six hits with four strikeouts and no walks. Five of the Dodgers’ starters during the homestand went at least six innings and posted a 2.33 ERA with 31 strikeouts and four walks.

Michael Grove pitched the eighth and Daniel Hudson worked a perfect ninth for his second save.

Hernandez’s RBI single marked the fourth consecutive game that Los Angeles scored in the first inning.

Bryan De La Cruz homered for the second straight game as Miami finished a 1-5 road trip.

Blue Jays cool Phillies

Kevin Kiermaier and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. each had three hits and Chris Bassitt pitched into the seventh inning as the Toronto Blue Jays snapped the Philadelphia Phillies’ seven-game winning streak, 5-3.

Philadelphia had an 11-game home winning streak stopped, one off the franchise-record 12 straight victories at Citizens Bank Park, which opened in 2004. The Phillies won 16 consecutive home games at Veterans Stadium in 1977 and 1991.

Bassitt allowed two runs and three hits over 6 1/3 innings with two walks and six strikeouts. Jordan Romano gave up a run in the ninth but retired Kody Clemens and Whit Merrifield with the tying runs on base.

The Blue Jays used five hits to score three runs in the sixth inning. Bo Bichette and Davis Schneider had run-scoring singles before Kiermaier’s hit scored Bichette.

Ozuna hits 2 home runs to back Sale

Red-hot Marcell Ozuna hit a pair of home runs and Chris Sale struck out 10 to beat his former team in the Atlanta Braves’ 5-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox.

Ozuna’s second two-homer game of the season raised his major league-leading totals to 12 home runs and 38 RBIs, to go with a .315 batting average.

Orlando Arcia also went deep for the Braves, who won their second straight following a three-game skid.

Sale, who pitched for Boston from 2018-23, scattered six hits over six innings with one walk to win on his fourth consecutive start. He recorded his 82nd career game with at least 10 strikeouts.

Gavin Stone continued the Dodgers’ run of strong starts and was backed by Teoscar Hernandez’s two-run homer as Los Angeles won its seventh straight, 3-1 over the Miami Marlins on Wednesday.

Hernandez drove in all three runs for the Dodgers, who completed a 6-0 homestand and have won 14 of their last 16 games.

Stone limited the Marlins to one run on six hits with four strikeouts and no walks. Five of the Dodgers’ starters during the homestand went at least six innings and posted a 2.33 ERA with 31 strikeouts and four walks.

Michael Grove pitched the eighth and Daniel Hudson worked a perfect ninth for his second save.

Hernandez’s RBI single marked the fourth consecutive game that Los Angeles scored in the first inning.

Bryan De La Cruz homered for the second straight game as Miami finished a 1-5 road trip.

Blue Jays cool Phillies

Kevin Kiermaier and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. each had three hits and Chris Bassitt pitched into the seventh inning as the Toronto Blue Jays snapped the Philadelphia Phillies’ seven-game winning streak, 5-3.

Philadelphia had an 11-game home winning streak stopped, one off the franchise-record 12 straight victories at Citizens Bank Park, which opened in 2004. The Phillies won 16 consecutive home games at Veterans Stadium in 1977 and 1991.

Bassitt allowed two runs and three hits over 6 1/3 innings with two walks and six strikeouts. Jordan Romano gave up a run in the ninth but retired Kody Clemens and Whit Merrifield with the tying runs on base.

The Blue Jays used five hits to score three runs in the sixth inning. Bo Bichette and Davis Schneider had run-scoring singles before Kiermaier’s hit scored Bichette.

Ozuna hits 2 home runs to back Sale

Red-hot Marcell Ozuna hit a pair of home runs and Chris Sale struck out 10 to beat his former team in the Atlanta Braves’ 5-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox.

Ozuna’s second two-homer game of the season raised his major league-leading totals to 12 home runs and 38 RBIs, to go with a .315 batting average.

Orlando Arcia also went deep for the Braves, who won their second straight following a three-game skid.

Sale, who pitched for Boston from 2018-23, scattered six hits over six innings with one walk to win his fourth consecutive start. He recorded his 82nd career game with at least 10 strikeouts.

Bryce Harper belted a grand slam and Cristopher Sanchez pitched seven strong innings as the red-hot Philadelphia Phillies extended their winning streak to seven games with a 10-1 rout of the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday.

Kody Clemens homered, tripled and tied a career high with four RBIs as the Phillies won their 11th in a row at home and 18th in 21 games overall.

Philadelphia leads the majors with 26 victories and has had more wins through 37 games just twice before, in 1976 and 1993, when it started 27-10 in both seasons.

Sanchez limited the Blue Jays to one run on six hits with two walks and five strikeouts.

Jose Berrios entered play leading the majors with a 1.44 ERA but was tagged for eight runs and seven hits in 3 2/3 innings. He gave up more runs against the Phillies than the seven runs in seven starts over 43 2/3 innings before this game.

Harper chased Berrios with a drive to right with two outs in the fourth to put the Phillies ahead 8-0.

Harper is 6 for 11 with three home runs and 10 RBIs in his last three games.

Yamamoto, Muncy keep Dodgers surging

Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched a season-high eight innings and was backed by Max Muncy’s first-inning grand slam as the Los Angeles Dodgers won their sixth in a row, 8-2 over the Miami Marlins.

Yamamoto allowed two runs and five hits without a walk and struck out five to win his third straight start.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. homered on Yamamoto’s first pitch of the game, but the Dodgers answered with four runs in the bottom half against Edward Cabrera, who walked two and hit Freddie Freeman before Muncy went deep for the ninth time this season.

Gavin Lux hit a two-run homer to cap a four-run third for Los Angeles, which has won 13 of 15 and outscored opponents 42-11 during the six-game run.

Rangers score 10 in 2nd in win over Athletics

Marcus Semien had two hits and three RBIs during a 10-run second inning and the Texas Rangers rolled to a 15-8 rout of the Oakland Athletics.

Semien finished with four hits and five RBIs, Jonah Heim went 4 for 4 with two RBIs and three runs and Leody Taveras had three hits, two RBIs and three runs as the Rangers won their fourth straight.

Texas sent 16 batters to the plate in the second in its biggest inning since May 13, 2015, when it scored 10 in the third against the Yankees.

Ross Stripling allowed a career-high 11 runs – five earned – and 10 hits in 1 2/3 innings.

Kyle McCann and Seth Brown homered for Oakland, which lost its third in a row after six consecutive wins.

Shohei Ohtani's major league-leading 11th home run of the season helped make Walker Buehler's return to the mound a winning one for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who posted a 6-3 victory over the Miami Marlins on Monday.

The Dodgers homered four times in all to take the opener of this three-game series and extend their winning streak to five games. Ohtani and James Outman delivered two-run blasts, while Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernandez had solo shots for the reigning National League West champions.

Making his first MLB start since June 2022 after recovering from the second Tommy John surgery of his career, Buehler did not factor in the decision while allowing three runs on six hits with four strikeouts in four innings.

Buehler's return began in a rocky way, as Jazz Chisholm Jr. opened the game with a single before stealing second and scoring on Bryan De La Cruz's base hit. De La Cruz later scored on Jesus Sanchez's single for a 2-0 Miami lead.

The Dodgers quickly pulled even, as Ohtani followed a lead-off walk to Mookie Betts in the bottom of the first with his fourth homer in three games. Two pitches later, Freeman connected off Miami starter Roddery Munoz to put Los Angeles in front.

Nick Gordon's solo homer off Buehler in the second tied the score once again, but Outman sent Los Angeles back ahead in the bottom of the inning with his blast to center that followed a walk to Gavin Lux.

Hernandez's ninth homer of the season increased the lead to 6-3 in the third, and relievers Ryan Yarbrough, Blake Treinen and Alex Vesia combined for five scoreless innings to protect Los Angeles' advantage.

Chisholm and Sanchez each had two hits for the Marlins. Munoz allowed all six Los Angeles runs in 4 2/3 innings of work.

Wheeler, Harper help scorching Phillies finish sweep of Giants

Zack Wheeler struck out 11 over seven innings, Bryce Harper belted a three-run homer for a second consecutive game, and the torrid Philadelphia Phillies completed a four-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants with a 6-1 victory.

Wheeler allowed one unearned run and four hits in a dominant effort that gave Philadelphia its sixth straight win and 10th in a row at home. The Phillies have now won 10 of their last 11 overall and improved to 17-3 since April 15.

The Phillies did have one streak end, however, as Alec Bohm went 0 for 4 to end a run of 18 straight games with at least one hit.

Giants starter Mason Black, making his major league debut, kept the Phillies off the board until the rookie issued back-to-back walks in the fourth inning and gave up a run-scoring single to Whit Merrifield.

Black ran into greater trouble in the fifth, as Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto began Philadelphia's half of the inning with singles before Harper launched a pitch into the left field seats for a 4-0 lead.

The Giants got their only run in the sixth when Thairo Estrada reached on an error, moved to third on LaMonte Wade Jr.'s single and scored on Wilmer Flores's sacrifice fly.

Schwarber capped the scoring with a solo homer off reliever Tyler Rogers in the eighth.

Black lasted 4 1/3 innings and permitted five runs on eight hits while walking three. 

Twins bounce back, win series opener against Mariners

Simeon Woods Richardson allowed just one hit over six scoreless innings for the Minnesota Twins, who scored twice in the seventh inning to earn a 3-1 win over the Seattle Mariners to open a four-game series.

Carlos Correa went 2 for 4 with an RBI double to help Minnesota get back on track following Sunday's 9-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox, which ended the Twins' 12-game winning streak.

Seattle's Luis Castillo held the Twins to one run through six innings, but was touched for two in the seventh as Minnesota broke a 1-1 tie.

Castillo walked Max Kepler to start the Twins' half of the inning and Correa followed with his second double of the night to put two on. Correa advanced to third on a fielder's choice grounder as Kepler was thrown out at the plate, then scored the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly from Christian Vasquez.

Manuel Margot then greeted reliever Trent Thornton with a run-scoring single that extended the lead to 3-1.

Woods Richardson recorded a career-high eight strikeouts while yielding just a third-inning single to Mitch Garver and a walk to Cal Raleigh in the fifth. The right-hander exited with a 1-0 lead, but reliever Griffin Jax surrendered two hits and a walk in the seventh before Garver got Seattle on the board with a sac fly that plated former Twin Jorge Polanco.

The Twins had gone ahead in the fifth on back-to-back doubles from Kepler and Correa, the first hits Castillo surrendered during the game.

Castillo allowed just three hits overall in 6 2/3 innings, but did walk three and was charged with three runs - two earned - to take the loss.

Shohei Ohtani went 4 for 4 and delivered his first two-homer game as a Los Angeles Dodger to power his new team to a 5-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday.

Ohtani's big performance enabled the Dodgers to complete a sweep of this three-game series between National League clubs who each won their division last season.

Two other notable offseason additions also contributed to Los Angeles' fourth straight win. Teoscar Hernandez added a two-run homer, while James Paxton yielded just one run on five hits over 6 2/3 innings to improve to 4-0.

Ohtani staked the Dodgers to an early lead with a two-run homer off Max Fried in the first inning. The 2023 American League MVP later singled in the sixth before Hernandez launched Fried's curveball into the stands in left center field to extend the margin to 4-0.

Paxton kept Atlanta off the scoreboard until the seventh, when Marcell Ozuna connected for his 10th home run of the season to move into a tie with Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson and injured Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout for the major league lead.

Ohtani joined that group an inning later with a titanic 464-foot blast off A.J. Minter in the eighth.

Fried (2-1) struck out seven in seven innings, but was dealt his first loss of 2024 after allowing four runs on just four hits.

Red Sox end Twins' streak as bats break out

Sparked by two-run homers from Ceddane Rafaela and Rafael Devers, the Boston Red Sox broke out of an offensive funk to snap the Minnesota Twins' 12-game winning streak with Sunday's 9-2 victory.

Boston also received two-run doubles from Vaughn Grissom and Dominic Smith to halt a three-game skid in which it scored a combined four runs. The Red Sox had gone six consecutive games without a home run until Rafaela connected off Minnesota starter Joe Ryan in the fifth inning to break a 1-1 tie. 

The Twins' 12-game run was tied for the franchise's second-longest winning streak since relocating to Minnesota in 1961, surpassed only by a 15-game stretch in 1991.

Minnesota did own a 1-0 lead following Ryan Jeffers' solo homer off Cooper Criswell in the third inning, but Rob Refsnyder doubled home Jarren Duran in the fourth to pull Boston even.

Rafaela then followed Reese McGuire's single with his fifth homer of the season to give the Red Sox a 3-1 advantage in the fifth. The score remained that way until Boston broke the game open with four runs against the Twins' bullpen in the eighth.

After loading the bases with one out on a Devers single, a Tyler O'Neill double and a walk, Grissom drove in two with an opposite-field double that preceded Smith's two-run double that increased the lead to 7-1.

The Twins got a run back in their half of the eighth when Max Kepler doubled and scored on Trevor Larnach's single, but Devers followed a triple by Duran with his blast off reliever Jay Jackson in the ninth.

Brennan Bernardino received the win after retiring both batters he faced in relief of Criswell, who allowed one run in 4 1/3 innings.

Ryan (1-2) surrendered three runs while striking out five in six innings.

Harper's three-run homer helps Phillies stay hot

Bryce Harper's three-run homer in the third inning provided the biggest blow as the scorching Philadelphia Phillies won their fifth straight game by holding on for a 5-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants. 

J.T. Realmuto had three hits and Alec Bohm extended his hitting streak to 18 games to help Philadelphia win for the ninth time in 10 outings. The Phillies, owners of MLB's best record at 24-11, are 16-3 since April 15.

The Phillies also got a strong effort from Taijuan Walker in his second start back from the injured list. The right-hander worked 6 1/3 innings and allowed three runs while striking out seven to move to 2-0.

Walker was touched for a run in the first inning after permitting a single to Lamonte Wade Jr. and a run-scoring double to Michael Conforto. The veteran hurler settled down from there, though, and the Phillies pulled even in the second when Bohm reached second on an error and later crossed the plate on Edmundo Sosa's infield single.

Harper then put Philadelphia ahead in the third when he followed a walk to Kyle Schwarber and a Realmuto single with a drive into the home bullpen off San Francisco starter Logan Webb.

Webb (3-3) struck out six but was removed after throwing 98 pitches in four innings. The Giants' ace was tagged for five runs - four earned - on six hits and two walks.

Walker protected the 5-1 lead until serving up a two-run homer to Thairo Estrada in the seventh. The Giants inched closer on Jakson Reetz's solo homer off Jose Alvarado with one out in the ninth, but the Philadelphia closer retired the next two hitters to record his seventh save of the season.

Reetz's homer was his first in the majors. The catcher had his contract purchased from Triple-A prior to the game.

Bohm kept his hitting streak alive in his final plate appearance when he doubled in the seventh. 

Brent Rooker homered twice in a 10-run third inning and Brett Harris hit the first two home runs of his major league career as the surprising Oakland Athletics reached .500 with a 20-4 pounding of the Miami Marlins on Saturday.

Rooker became the first Athletics player in 30 years to go deep twice in an inning and became the 60th in major league history. Trea Turner of Philadelphia was the last to do it on Aug. 19. The most recent A’s player to do it was Mark McGwire against Seattle in 1996.

Shea Langeliers and JJ Bleday also homered for the Athletics, who have won six straight and eight of nine to get to .500 for the first time since they were 1-1 after a win on April 1, 2023.

Rooker finished with three hits and tied a career high with five RBIs, Bleday had three hits and drove in four, while Langeliers and Darrell Hernaiz added three hits apiece.

Oakland collected 21 hits, its most since it had 25 at Houston on Sept. 10, 2019.

The A’s are the biggest surprise in baseball after losing 112 games last season. Oakland didn’t win its 17th game last season until June 12.

Twins beat Red Sox for 12th straight victory

Max Kepler’s home run backed a strong outing by Pablo Lopez and the Minnesota Twins won their 12th straight game, 3-1 over the Boston Red Sox.

The Twins’ streak matches their run from the 1980 season, tied for the second-longest in team history. The club record for consecutive wins is 15, set in June 1991, the last season Minnesota won the World Series.

Lopez allowed one run on five hits over six innings with one walk and eight strikeouts. Three relievers worked two scoreless innings before Cole Sands pitched the ninth for his second save.

Kepler homered off Cam Booser in the fourth inning to snap a 1-1 tie and Carlos Correa’s sacrifice fly in the sixth closed the scoring.

The Red Sox lost their third in a row and have gone six consecutive games without a home run, their longest streak since six straight in 2022.

Muncy hits three home runs in Dodgers’ win

Max Muncy had the first three-home run game of his career among his four hits and Shohei Ohtani added three hits with a home run to lift the surging Los Angeles Dodgers to an 11-2 rout of the Atlanta Braves.

Freddie Freeman also had three hits for the Dodgers, who have won three straight and 10 of 12.

Muncy hit a two-run shot in the second inning off Bryce Elder and added solo shots in the seventh and eighth innings to become the first Dodger with a three-homer game since Trayce Thompson on April 1, 2023.

Ohtani led off the third with his eighth home run and surpassed manager Dave Roberts for most homers by a Japanese-born player with the Dodgers.

Tyler Glasnow struck out 10 and became the second pitcher in the majors to reach six wins. He allowed two runs on five hits over seven innings.

Chris Paddack pitched two-hit ball over six scoreless innings and Edouard Julien and Ryan Jeffers each drove in two runs to lead the Minnesota Twins to their 11th straight win, 5-2 over the Boston Red Sox on Friday.

The Twins matched win streaks in 2003 and 2006 for their third-longest ever, trailing the club record of 15 straight during their last World Series championship season in 1991. They also won 12 in a row in 1980.

Paddack walked one and struck out six to win his third consecutive start. Jhoan Duran fanned two in the ninth for his second save.

The Red Sox struck out 13 times and lost their second straight following a four-game win streak.

The Twins opened the scoring in the third on Julien’s RBI single and extended to a 5-0 lead with four runs in the seventh.

A throwing error by catcher Reese McGuire scored a run, Julien walked with the bases loaded and Jeffers followed with a two-run double.

Bohm, Marsh lead surging Phillies

Alec Bohm had an RBI single to extend his hitting streak to 16 games and Brandon Marsh drove in two runs as the Philadelphia Phillies remained hot with a 4-3 win over the San Francisco Giants.

Trea Turner added a pair of hits and scored from second on a passed ball for the Phillies, who have won 14 of 17 and lead the majors with 22 victories.

Turner injured his left hamstring running the bases between third and home. He will have further tests on Saturday but said he expects to miss at least a couple of days.

Philadelphia took the lead for good with three runs in the third against Jordan Hicks on Bohm’s RBI single and Marsh’s two-run hit.

Bohm is 30 for 60 with three home runs, 10 doubles and 21 RBIs during his hitting streak.

Sears pitches Athletics to fifth straight victory

JP Sears pitched into the seventh inning and Brent Rooker hit a two-run homer to propel the surprising Oakland Athletics to their fifth consecutive win, 3-1 over the Miami Marlins.

Sears allowed four hits over 6 1/3 scoreless innings with one walk and six strikeouts. Austin Adams and Michael Kelly each got two outs before Lucas Erceg gave up one run over the final 1 1/3 innings for the save.

Oakland improved to 16-17 after it didn’t pick up its 16th win last season until June 10 in the 66th game.

After Rooker’s two-run shot in the fourth inning opened the scoring, Max Schuemann led off the fifth with a double and scored on Esteury Ruiz’s single.

The Marlins, who dropped to 9-25, are working to trade second baseman and reigning NL batting champion Luis Arrez to the San Diego Padres.

Francisco Lindor overcame illness to deliver a walk-off, two-run double in the 11th inning in the New York Mets’ 7-6 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Thursday.

After Nick Madrigal gave the Cubs a 6-5 lead in the top of the 11th with a run-scoring double, Daniel Palencia began the bottom half by hitting Harrison Bader to put two runners on.

Lindor, who didn’t start after leaving Wednesday night’s game with flu-like symptoms, ripped a sharp grounder inside third base and down the left-field line to score automatic runner Brett Baty and Bader.

Lindor also had a two-run double in the sixth inning to forge a 5-5 tie and right fielder Starling Marte made two rocket throws in extra innings to cut down Cubs runners at the plate to end the 10th and 11th.

Brandon Nimo drove in two runs for the Mets, who overcame a 4-0 deficit to salvage a split of the four-game series.

Christopher Morel hit a three-run homer and had one of Chicago’s six stolen bases.

Orioles hit three home runs to beat Yankees

Ryan Mountcastle, Jorge Mateo and Ryan McKenna homered and Kyle Bradish pitched well in his season debut to lead the Baltimore Orioles to a 7-2 win over the New York Yankees.

Bradish allowed one run over 4 2/3 innings with two walks and five strikeouts after he began the season on the injured list with a UCL strain. Four relievers combined to limit the Yankees to one run and two hits over the final 4 1/3 innings.

Mountcastle, Mateo and Jordan Westburg each knocked in two runs as the Orioles took three of four in the series between the top teams in the AL East.

Baltimore’s pitchers allowed just six runs in the four games for a 1.50 ERA.

Carlos Rodon had his worst start of the season, yielding seven runs on eight hits in four-plus innings.

Gleyber Torres hit his first home run of the season for the Yankees but also made the team’s third error of the series to help extend Baltimore’s four-run fifth.

Singleton leads Astros past Guardians

Jon Singleton homered and drove in three runs as the Houston Astros rallied for their fourth win in five games, 8-2 over the Cleveland Guardians.

Singleton’s two-run homer in the sixth gave Houston a 3-2 lead and the Astros broke open the game with five runs in the seventh.

Jose Altuve singled home a run and scored when Jeremy Pena was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Yainer Diaz delivered a two-run single and Singleton’s sacrifice fly capped the outburst.

Spencer Arrighetti had the best of his four major league starts, allowing two runs and four hits over 5 2/3 innings with three walks and six strikeouts.

Will Brennan had three of Cleveland’s seven hits as the Guardians completed a six-game road trip with four losses.

Max Kepler and Jose Miranda delivered run-scoring singles in the seventh inning and the Twins added four runs in the ninth to win their 10th straight game, 10-5 over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday.

Alex Kiriloff had a solo home run, Will Castro and Miranda each finished with three hits and Ryan Jeffers contributed a two-run double for the Twins, whose winning streak is their longest since June 2008.

Minnesota has beaten the major league-worst White Sox seven times during the streak, with the other three wins coming against the 11–20 Angels.

Tommy Pham and Kory Lee homered for Chicago, which lost its third straight to fall to 6-25.

Twins center fielder Byron Buxton left in the second inning with right knee soreness after an unsuccessful attempt to steal second base.

Imanaga sharp again as Cubs hold off Mets

Shota Imanaga continued his historic start with seven scoreless innings and the Chicago Cubs completed a perfect relay for the game’s final out to hold off the New York Mets, 1-0.

Imanaga limited the Mets to three singles with one walk and seven strikeouts to improve to 5-0 with a 0.78 ERA in his first six major league starts.  

He is the first pitcher since 1901 to go 4-0 with a sub-1.00 ERA and at least 28 strikeouts in his first five starts.

The Mets put runners at second and third with one out in the bottom of the ninth against Hector Neris before Jeff McNeil hit a flyball to medium left field. Ian Happ made the catch and relayed to third baseman Nick Madrigal, who threw home to get Pete Alonso for the final out.

Chicago scored the game’s only run in the fifth, when Matt Mervis led off with a double, moved up on a wild pitch and scored on rookie Pete Crow-Armstrong’s sacrifice fly.

Red-hot Lugo wins again

Seth Lugo pitched seven strong innings for his fifth win and Michael Massey hit a three-run homer to lift the Kansas City Royals to a 6-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Lugo allowed just one hit until giving up Danny Jansen’s home run with two outs in the seventh. The right-hander walked two and struck out eight to improve to 5-1 and lower his ERA to 1.60.

Bobby Witt Jr. had two hits, scored once and had an RBI to help the Royals take two of three in the series.

Salvador Perez had an RBI single and extended his career-best streak of reaching base safely to 21 games. He leads the AL with a .355 batting average and 27 RBIs.

Kansas City gave Lugo all the support he needed with a three-run sixth. Kyle Isbel led off with a double, moved up on a sacrifice and scored on Witt’s single. Vinnie Pasquantino then doubled, and Perez’s hit plated Witt before Massey’s groundout made it 3-0.