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.

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.

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.

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.

Shohei Ohtani had a career-high three doubles and the Los Angeles Dodgers collected 20 hits in an 11-2 rout of the Washington Nationals on Wednesday.

Ohtani went 3 for 6 with RBI doubles in the eighth and ninth innings. He leads the majors in batting average (.371), slugging (.695), OPS (1.128), extra-base hits (21) and doubles (14).

Mookie Betts and Will Smith each had four hits and rookie Andy Pages homered as the Dodgers won their third straight following a three-game skid.

Landon Knack earned his first win in his second career start, allowing two runs and three hits in six innings. He retired his last 13 batters and struck out five.

Nick Senzel homered for the Nationals, who didn’t have a baserunner after the second inning.

Trout hits MLB-leading 10th home run in loss

Mike Trout became the first player in the majors to reach 10 home runs this season, but Gunnar Henderson had three hits and three RBIs as the Baltimore Orioles held off the Los Angeles Angels, 6-5.

Trout got the Angels on the board with a solo shot off starter Dean Kremer in the sixth inning. This is the third time in the past seven seasons that Trout has been the first in MLB to reach double digits in homers.

Los Angeles rallied back from a 6-0 deficit and had the tying run on first in the ninth, but Jo Adell was caught stealing to end the game.

Henderson homered for the second straight game and added a two-run single in Baltimore’s four-run sixth. He is 9 for 20 in the past five games and 18 for 40 with five home runs and 11 RBIs in his last 10 games, helping the Orioles win eight.

Kremer struck out 10 over 5 2/3 innings and allowed two runs and three hits for his first win of the season.

Surging Braves win in 10 innings

Michael Harris II doubled home Ronald Acuna Jr. in the 10th inning and the red-hot Atlanta Braves topped the Miami Marlins, 4-3, after blowing a two-run lead in the ninth.

The Marlins scored twice in the ninth off Braves closer Raisel Iglesias to tie it but failed to score in the top of the 10th.

Harris led off the bottom half with a single to center to score the winning run and send Atlanta to its ninth win in 10 games.

Harris went 3 for 5 and Marcell Ozuna had three hits and two RBIs, giving him an MLB-best 29.

The Marlins were swept for the third time this season and dropped to an NL-worst 6-20.

Tyler Freeman and Bryan Rocchio delivered RBIs in the seventh inning and Jose Ramirez homered to lift the Cleveland Guardians to their fifth straight victory, 4-1 over the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday.

The Guardians improved the majors’ best record to 17-6, matching their best start through 23 games. Cleveland also was 17-6 in 1999 and 1966.

Ben Lively allowed one run and five hits over 6 1/3 innings in his Progressive Field debut. He walked one and struck out seven.

Scott Barlow and Hunter Gaddis got the next five outs before Emmanuel Clase struck out the side in the ninth for his seventh save.

Tanner Houck, who threw a three-hit shutout against Cleveland last week, held the Guardians scoreless through six innings before Freeman singled home Will Brennan and Rocchio’s sacrifice fly in the seventh put Cleveland ahead.

Rob Refsnyder had three hits as Boston had a three-game winning streak snapped.

Fried dominates Marlins

Max Fried pitched a three-hitter for Atlanta’s first complete game since 2022 and Adam Duvall belted a two-run homer as the surging Braves blanked the Miami Marlins for the second straight night, 5-0.

Fried didn’t walk anyone and struck out six, needing just 92 pitches to become the first Braves pitcher to complete nine innings since Bryce Elder in an 8-0 win over Washington on Sept. 26, 2022.

Fried notched his fourth career shutout and fifth career complete game as Atlanta won its eighth in nine games.

The Marlins have gone 20 innings without scoring a run and dropped to 6-19.

Duvall’s second home run of the season capped a three-run sixth and extended the lead to 5-0.

Cubs keep Astros reeling

Mike Tauchman hit his first two home runs of the season and the Chicago Cubs scored five first-inning runs in a 7-2 win over the Houston Astros, who dropped 10 games under .500 for the first time since 2016.

Cody Bellinger had a two-run blast in the first inning off J.P. France and Tauchman capped the fast start with a three-run shot. He added a solo home run in the eighth.

Houston has lost three straight and six of seven and, at 7-17, is 10 games under .500 for the first time since an 18-28 start in 2016.

Jordan Wicks limited the Astros to two runs and five hits over a season-best six innings with no walks and four strikeouts.

The New York Yankees received eight stellar innings from Nestor Cortes and three-run homers from Juan Soto and Anthony Volpe to continue their hot start with Monday's 7-0 win over the floundering Miami Marlins.

Cortes retired 24 of the 26 batters he faced, yielding just a pair of singles, to record his first victory since May 30 and help New York match the best 11-game start to a season in franchise history at 9-2. The left-hander struck out six while throwing 70 of 102 pitches for strikes.

The Yankees have opened a season 9-2 seven times previously, most recently in 2020.

Volpe and Soto's homers both came in the fourth inning off Jesus Luzardo, with Soto's blast his first at Yankee Stadium since New York acquired the star outfielder from the San Diego Padres in the offseason.

Soto finished 2 for 3 and Alex Verdugo went 3 for 3 with an RBI as the Yankees extended Miami's early-season woes. The Marlins have now lost 10 of their first 11 games for the second time in team history, having previously done so in 1998.

Luzardo permitted all seven runs while being tagged for eight hits and five walks in 4 2/3 innings.

The Miami left-hander had kept the Yankees scoreless until Volpe followed fourth-inning singles by Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo with a drive into the left field seats.

Verdugo then doubled and Luzardo walked Jose Trevino before retiring the next two batters to bring up Soto, who launched the first pitch he saw over the wall in right for a 6-0 lead.

Stanton doubled to open the bottom of the fifth before scoring the Yankees' final run on Verdugo's two-out single.

Nationals rout Giants to spoil Snell's San Francisco debut

Lane Thomas went 3 for 5 with a home run and three RBIs as the Washington Nationals spoiled Blake Snell's San Francisco Giants debut with an 8-1 rout in the opener of a three-game series.

Trey Lipscomb also had three hits, including an RBI single, and delivered a steal of home to help pin a loss on Snell in the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner's first start as a Giant.

Snell, who went 14-9 with an MLB-leading 2.25 ERA and 234 strikeouts with the San Diego Padres last season, joined San Francisco on a two-year, $62 million contract in March.

The ace left-hander struck out five in three innings, but surrendered three runs on three hits while walking two.

Washington received a more effective outing from starter Trevor Williams, who held San Francisco to one run on three hits over five innings to move to 2-0 on the season.

Snell's trouble came in the second inning, as he issued consecutive one-out walks before Lipscomb singled to left to drive in a run and tie the score at 1-1. 

Luis Garcia followed with an infield RBI single that put Washington ahead before stealing second base, with Lipscomb running home from third on the play and beating the throw to the plate.

The Giants had taken a 1-0 lead when Jung Hoo Lee singled and LaMonte Wade doubled two batters later, with Lee crossing the plate on an errant throw from Nationals left fielder Jesse Winker.

Thomas' two-run homer off Landen Roupp in the fifth pushed Washington's lead to 5-1, and the Nationals tacked on another run in the inning on Ildemaro Vargas' RBI double.

Washington scored twice more in the ninth via an RBI single from Thomas and a bases-loaded walk to Vargas that forced in Winker.

Ohtani's homer, three hits power Dodgers past Twins

Shohei Ohtani tied a career high with three extra-base hits, including a solo homer, as the Los Angeles Dodgers got back on track with a 4-2 win over the Minnesota Twins.

Ohtani added two doubles along with his third homer in five games to help Los Angeles take the opener of this three-game series. The Dodgers entered Minnesota off two losses in three games to the Chicago Cubs over the weekend.

James Paxton did his part for Los Angeles by holding the Twins to two runs on three hits over six solid innings to win his second straight start to begin the season.

Paxton's lone blemish came when he served up a two-run homer to Manuel Margot in the third inning that gave Minnesota a 2-1 lead.

The Twins maintained a one-run edge until the sixth, when Ohtani greeted reliever Steven Okert with a double and later scored on Will Smith's single.

Okert came on for Bailey Ober, who allowed just one run and three hits over five innings before departing in line for the win.

James Outman put Los Angeles ahead with a solo homer off Jay Jackson in the seventh. Two batters later, Ohtani connected for an opposite-field blast off Jackson that increased the lead to 4-2.

Ober's lone run allowed came after issuing a lead-off walk to Mookie Betts in the first inning. Ohtani followed with a double before Betts crossed the plate on Freddie Freeman's sacrifice fly. 

Pete Alonso belted a tying homer in the ninth inning and Tyrone Taylor delivered a game-winning single to lift the New York Mets to their first win of the season, 2-1 over the Detroit Tigers on Thursday for a doubleheader split.

After blowing a 3-0 lead in a 6-3, 11-inning loss in the opening game, the Mets were held hitless in the second game until Harrison Bader led off the eighth with a single against reliever Tyler Holton.

Alonso’s tying home run – and his 500th career RBI - came off Alex Faedo and Brett Baty walked before Starling Marte sacrificed. Taylor then lined a single to left for his first career walk-off hit.

The win was the first for Mets manager Carlos Mendoza as New York avoided opening 0-6 for the first time since its second season in 1963.

Detroit improved to 5-0 with the Game 1 win, as Colt Keith stroked a tiebreaking double in the 11th before Gio Urshela’s bloop scored a pair.

Matt Manning pitched 5 2/3 hitless innings in the opener with four walks and three strikeouts.

Cardinals rally past winless Marlins

Nolan Gorman highlighted a five-run seventh inning with a two-run double and the St. Louis Cardinals rallied for an 8-5 victory in their home opener to keep the Miami Marlins winless.

The Marlins took a 5-3 lead into the seventh, but the Cardinals scored five times on Ivan Herrera’s RBI single, Gorman’s big hit, Alec Burleson’s two-out, run-scoring single and Masyn Winn’s RBI triple.

Herrera also hit his first major league home run leading off the second inning.

Jake Burger hit a pair of home runs for the Marlins, who dropped to 0-8 for the worst start in the 33-year history of the franchise. Their start is the worst in the majors since Atlanta and Minnesota each opened 0-9 in 2016.

Bibee, bullpen power Guardians

Tanner Bibbee allowed one run over 5 1/3 innings and Steven Kwan had three hits as the Cleveland Guardians spoiled the Minnesota Twins’ home opener with a 4-2 win.

Bibee struck out nine and four relievers followed, with Emmanuel Clase pitching a perfect ninth for his third save. Cleveland's pitchers totalled 15 strikeouts.

Cleveland reached Pablo Lopez for three runs in the sixth. Jose Ramirez singled home Kwan and Tyler Freeman had an RBI single before Will Brennan lofted a sacrifice fly.

Carlos Correa had three hits and Edouard Julien homered for the Twins, who stranded nine runners and were 0 for 12 with runners in scoring position.

Brandon Hyde of the Baltimore Orioles was named American League Manager of the Year on Tuesday and Skip Schumaker of the Miami Marlins took home the award in the National League.

Hyde guided the Orioles to the AL East title and a league-best 101 victories just two years after a 110-loss season.

Hyde earned 27 of a possible 30 first-place votes, with Bruce Bochy of the Texas Rangers receiving the other three. Two-time winner Kevin Cash of the Tampa Bay Rays finished third.

Schumaker led the Marlins to an 84-78 record – including 33-14 in one-run games – and a 15-game improvement in his first season as a major league manager with Miami earning a surprise wild-card spot.

He received eight first-place votes, three more than runner-up Craig Counsell of the Milwaukee Brewers, and Atlanta’s Brian Snitker was third.

Hyde became the fourth Baltimore manager to win the award, following Buck Showalter in 2014, Davey Johnson in 1997 and Frank Robinson in 1989.

Schumaker is the fourth Marlins manager to win the award, joining Jack McKeon in 2003, Joe Girardi in 2006 and Don Mattingly in 2020.

For just the fourth time in franchise history the Miami Marlins will play in the postseason.

The Marlins punched their ticket to the playoffs with a 7-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday.

Jazz Chisholm hit his 19th homer and Josh Bell drove in three runs as the Marlins secured their first trip to the playoffs since the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

It's the club's first time making the playoffs after a full season since the 2003 team won the franchise's second World Series. The postseason berth completes an improbable turnaround after Miami went 69-93 last season.

The Marlins have won 18 of their last 27 games to vault past the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants and into the playoffs. They have also taken a half-game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks for the National League's second wild card. 

In their postseason clinching-win, Chisholm, Jorge Soler and Jon Berti each scored twice, while Tanner Scott struck out the side in the ninth to notch his 12th save as the final of eight pitchers used by Miami.

Rangers beat Mariners to return to playoffs for first time since 2016

The Texas Rangers are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2016 with a 6-1 win over the Seattle Mariners.

The Rangers plated four runs in the third inning en route to their 90th victory of the season - a 22-win improvement from 2022.

One more win over the Mariners in Sunday's regular-season finale and Texas will claim the AL West title and the No. 2 seed in the AL playoffs. The Rangers, who are scheduled to start 12-game winner Dane Dunning in the finale, can also wrap up the division should the Houston Astros lose to the Diamondbacks.

Jonah Heim had a two-run single and finished with three RBIs to lead the Texas offence, while Andrew Heaney threw 4 1/3 shutout innings in a spot start.

The Mariners were eliminated from the postseason with the wins by the Rangers and Astros. Their loss also allowed the Toronto Blue Jays to secure a wild-card berth

Luis Castillo struggled mightily, yielding four runs and throwing 86 pitches before being pulled after just 2 2/3 innings - tied for the second-shortest start of his career.

Verlander helps Astros beat Diamondbacks, yet both teams clinch postseason spots

The Houston Astros defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 1-0, but both teams got the desired result.

The Astros clinched a playoff berth with the victory and the Diamondbacks secured a wild-card spot with the Cincinnati Reds' 15-6 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

While Arizona is battling with Miami for the NL's second wild card, Houston can win the AL West with a victory over the Diamondbacks in Sunday's finale, coupled with a Rangers loss to the Mariners.

Justin Verlander struck out five and allowed two hits over five innings and Jose Abreu put the Astros ahead with a run-scoring double in the fourth inning.

Merrill Kelly threw seven innings of one-run ball for Arizona, which is just two years removed from a 110-loss season and is in the playoffs for the first time since 2017.

Matt Olson hit two of the six home runs for the Atlanta Braves and baseball’s hottest team rolled to a 16-4 rout of the Miami Marlins on Friday.

Olson went 4 for 5 with his National League-leading 27th and 28th home runs and fell a double shy of the cycle as Atlanta won its sixth straight to finish June with a major league-best 21-4 record.

The 21 victories tied the Atlanta record for most wins in a calendar month, a mark that was set in May 1998 and matched in August 1999, in June 2002 and in June 2022.

Ronald Acuna Jr., Austin Riley, Sean Murphy and Eddie Rosario also went deep to help Atlanta raise its home run total to 153, by far the most in the majors.

Mike Soroka won in his first home start since Aug. 3, 2020, when he tore his Achilles tendon for the first of two times. He allowed three runs and five hits in six innings without a walk and seven strikeouts.

Atlanta scored five runs in the first inning and never looked back. Riley doubled home Acuna and Olson followed with a 434-foot, opposite-field blast to centre. After Murphy struck out and Marcell Ozuna walked, Rosario belted his 14th home to make it 5-0.

Olson’s second homer of the game – another two-run shot – in the fifth inning extended the lead to 10-3 and Rosario’s groundout made it 11-3.

The Marlins ended a five-game winning streak and a seven-game run on the road.

Steer’s walk-off homer in 11th gives Reds wild win

Spencer Steer delivered a walk-off home run in the 11th inning after Matt McLain had a game-tying two-run homer in the 10th to lift the Cincinnati Reds to a wild 7-5 win over the reeling San Diego Padres.

After Elly De La Cruz doubled home the tying run in the 11th, he tried to score from third on Nick Senzel’s grounder but was called out because he didn’t touch the plate before Gary Sanchez’s tag.

Steer made that irrelevant shortly after when he belted a 2-2 pitch from Drew Carlton over the left-field wall for his 13th home run.

Cincinnati won its third straight despite Alexis Diaz’s save streak being stopped at 23 in a row. San Diego has lost a season-high six in row.  

Ohtani hits 30th home run in Angels’ loss

Shohei Ohtani's hit the longest home run of his career for his major league-leading 30th of the season but the Los Angeles Angels lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks, 6-2.

The Japanese sensation took Tommy Henry 493 feet out to right field in the sixth inning for the longest homer in the majors this year. He became the first player since 2013 to hit 30 homers by the end of June.

He also extended his own team record for home runs in a month with 15 and tied the AL mark for June homers.

The Tampa Bay Rays have officially made the best home start to a season in over 140 years after defeating the Houston Astros 8-3 on Monday.

With the win, the Rays extended their unbeaten home record to 14-0, breaking their tie with the 2009 Los Angeles Angels for the best start in modern history, while they are seven wins away from tying the 21-0 mark set by the 1880 Chicago White Stockings.

While one modern day record was born, another ended, as it was the first game this season that the Rays have not hit a home run. They had broken the record with a home run in each of their first 22 fixtures to start the campaign.

With no long-ball to lean on, the Rays piled up 14 hits, including a four-for-five day at the plate from 22-year-old franchise player Wander Franco.

Franco collected two singles and two doubles, and he also stole the show in the field, coming down with a remarkable over-the-shoulder, bare-handed catch in foul territory.

Rays left-fielder Randy Arozarena currently owns the sixth-best batting average in the majors (.353), and he improved on that figure by going two-for-three with a sacrifice-fly and a hit-by-pitch. 

He was one of five Rays with multiple hits, joining Franco, Yandy Diaz, Isaac Paredes and Cristian Bethancourt.

At 20-3, Tampa Bay are four games clear in the race for the best record in the majors.

Strider flirts with perfection

Atlanta Braves young ace Spencer Strider took a perfect game into the eighth inning of his side's 11-0 shutout against the visiting Miami Marlins.

Strider, 24, retired the first 22 batters he faced, before Jean Segura finally broke up the perfect game bid in the eighth frame. He ended up finishing eight innings in 101 pitches, striking out 13 batters while only allowing two hits and no walks.

Strider's 13.8 strikeouts per nine innings as a rookie would have led the majors had he pitched enough innings to qualify, and he does lead the MLB this year with a figure of 14.7.

Gray pitches a gem for the Twins

Veteran starting pitcher Sonny Gray was at his best as his Minnesota Twins defeated the visiting New York Yankees 6-1.

Gray, 33, came into the contest having not allowed more than one earned run in any of his four previous starts this season, and he pitched another seven scoreless frames, allowing three hits and two walks with eight strikeouts.

The performance lowered his ERA to a league-leading 0.62 – joining Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani (0.64) and Yankees ace Gerrit Cole (0.79) as the only players allowing fewer than one run per nine innings.

The Atlanta Braves won a 5-4 extra-innings thriller against the Cincinnati Reds on Monday thanks to a walk-off home run from catcher Sean Murphy.

Despite the teams eventually combining for nine runs, the contest was scoreless through five innings.

The tie was eventually broken in the sixth as Murphy connected on an RBI double to put the Braves up 1-0, and Orlando Arcia made it 2-0 in the seventh frame when he came home on a wild pitch.

Jake Fraley brought the Reds back into it with an RBI single to cut the lead to one run in the eighth inning, but Arcia's RBI single later in the frame put Atlanta up 3-1 and meant Cincinnati would need to produce something special in the last.

After Wil Myers started the top of the ninth with a lead-off single, pinch-hitter Stuart Fairchild flipped the game on its head with an RBI triple, leaving the tying run on third base with no outs.

When Spencer Steer followed that at-bat with an RBI single, the Reds would have felt they were in position to run over the top and steal the win, but Braves closer A.J. Minter was able to get a crucial double-play to send things to extra innings despite registering his first blown save of the season.

A Jonathan India RBI single in the top of the 10th meant the Braves would have to come from behind to get the victory, but home fans would not have to wait long, as Murphy connected with the walk-off home run on relief pitcher Derek Law's very first pitch.

The win snaps the Braves' (7-4) three-game losing streak at the hands of the San Diego Padres, while the Reds will be content with their 4-5 start.

Rays become first team since 1987 to start 10-0

The Tampa Bay Rays are the first team since the 1987 Milwaukee Brewers to start a season with 10 consecutive wins after a hard-fought 1-0 home triumph against the Boston Red Sox.

In a game with only two total extra-base hits, the Rays finally made the breakthrough in the eighth inning as Brandon Lowe sent a Chris Martin fastball 404 feet over the left-field wall.

It was the third game in a row that Lowe has hit a home run, and with it he kept the Rays' chances alive of tying or beating the all-time best start of 13-0, held by the 1987 Brewers and the 1982 Braves.

Tampa Bay fell one game short of becoming the first team since the 1939 New York Yankees to win 10 games in a row by at least four runs each.

Phillies beat up Alcantara

Reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara had a miserable day on the mound as his Miami Marlins were hammered 15-3 by the Philadelphia Phillies.

Alcantara, who gave up just 58 earned runs in 32 starts in 2022, allowed the Phillies to rack up 10 hits and a walk, resulting in nine earned runs through four innings.

Alec Bohm led the way for Philadelphia with six RBIs as he went three-for-five with a home run, while Brandon Marsh and Jake Cave also went deep.

The Tampa Bay Rays are the only unbeaten team remaining after improving their record to 5-0 with a come-from-behind 10-6 road victory over the Washington Nationals on Tuesday.

Tampa Bay began their season with a three-game series sweep at home against the Detroit Tigers, and they have now won all five of their games by at least four runs.

But it was far from smooth sailing against the Nationals, despite the Rays jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning.

Alex Call brought home two runners for Washington in the bottom of the first with a single, and after Jose Siri put Tampa ahead 4-2 with his solo home run in the second frame, the Nationals began to take over.

Lane Thomas tied the game up in the second with a two-RBI double, and Thomas then gave the Nats their first lead with his next at-bat in the fourth inning with an RBI single in an impressive three-hit, three-RBI showing from the right-fielder.

The Rays did not score from the third inning through the seventh, but Randy Arozarena injected some life back into the visitors with his second RBI double of the contest to cut the Nationals' lead to 6-5 going into the last.

Tampa Bay first baseman Luke Raley tied the contest with a solo home run from the very first pitch of the ninth inning, and just three pitches later the Rays had the lead after Josh Lowe followed suit with his own solo homer.

A single from Taylor Walls and a double from Siri put two more runners on base, setting up Yandy Diaz for the 414-foot, three-run bomb to seal the comeback win.

Alcantara shuts out the Twins

The Minnesota Twins came into Tuesday's action unbeaten, before running into a spectacular showing from reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara in a 1-0 Miami Marlins triumph.

Alcantara, who had a shaky start in his season opener against the New York Mets, looked right back to his best against the Twins. He pitched the complete nine innings for only three hits and one walk, while striking out five in his 100 pitches.

The only run of the contest came from a solo home run in the second inning from Miami right-fielder Avisail Garcia, snapping a three-game Marlins losing streak.

Another Riley rocket lifts the Braves

Atlanta Braves slugger Austin Riley hit his second home run in as many days to help lift his side to a 4-1 road win against the St Louis Cardinals.

Despite the loss, all 10 Cardinals players to take an at-bat finished with exactly one hit each, but they could not match the power of the Braves.

Following his monstrous 473-foot blast in the opening inning of Monday's game, Riley again went deep in the first inning, this time taking Steven Matz 410 feet over the left-field wall. Orlando Arcia followed Riley's two-run shot with his own solo home run in the second inning.

In his very first start in the majors, 24-year-old Braves rookie Dylan Dodd collected the win as he made it through five innings while giving up six hits and no walks for one run, striking out three in his 73 pitches.

Shohei Ohtani homered for the second straight game with a go-ahead fifth-inning two-run blast in the Los Angeles Angels 7-3 in over the Seattle Mariners on Monday.

The Japanese two-way star creamed George Kirby's 1-1 pitch over right-center field for a 431-foot blast with a runner, Mike Trout, on first base to put the Angels up 4-2.

Kirby only surrendered one long ball during the final three months of last season, making Ohtani's shot more spectacular, having earlier grounded out with his first two at-bats.

Ohtani had hammered a solo shot in the fifth inning of the 6-0 win over the Oakland Athletics on Sunday, with the Angels improving to 3-1 with their third straight triumph.

Taylor Ward's eighth-inning two-run shot all but settled Monday's contest after Eugenio Suarez's RBI single in the fifth cut the margin to one run.

Suarez also managed an RBI double in the first inning to put Seattle 1-0 up. The Mariners managed five hits for the game, with Angels starting pitcher Reid Detmers tossing down seven strikeouts.

Ohtani and Ward got the accolades for their blasts, but Brandon Drury went three-of-five with one RBI, driving in Hunter Renfroe with a ninth-inning double.

Tigers win as Alvarez makes Astros history

Matt Vierling scored a tie-breaking two-run homer in the 11th inning as the Detroit Tigers edged the Houston Astros 7-6 for their first win of the new season.

The Tigers had spurned a 4-0 fifth-inning lead, with the Astros launching a four-run fifth-inning rally which was ended by Vierling's backhand catch, before the late drama as the game went to extras.

Yordan Alvarez had led the world champions' fifth-inning rally with a monster three-run blast, which was his 100th career home run.

Alvarez reached 100 homers in only 372 games which is a franchise record, beating Lance Berkman's 452.

Rays and Twins stay perfect

The Tampa Bay Rays maintained their perfect record with a 6-2 win over the Washington Nationals led by outfielder Luke Raley.

Raley blasted two home runs for the game, with a first-inning two-run shot followed by another blast at the top of the eighth over left field.

Drew Rasmussen was outstanding on the mound, with six scoreless innings with two hits and seven strikeouts as well as a brilliant piece of backhand fielding in the fifth.

The Rays are 4-0, with the Minnesota Twins (4-0) the only other remaining team with an unbeaten record after their 11-1 victory over the Miami Marlins.