Gerrit Cole helped end the New York Yankees' four-game skid with 15 strikeouts in a 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels in the MLB on Wednesday.
Cole struck out Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani three times in a commanding display across seven innings on the hill, allowing only four hits.
The Yankees pitcher's 15 strikeouts are tied for the second most in a game without a walk in Yankees history. It was Cole's fifth game with 12 or more strikeouts this season.
Cole becomes only the third player this season to have 15 Ks in a game after Corbin Burnes on August 11 against the Chicago Cubs and Jacob de Grom on April 23 against the Washington Nationals.
The 30-year-old right-hander's starring display came at a crucial time for the Yankees who had won 13 straight before their four-game skid, which he ended in the final game of their nine-game road trip.
Leading 3-1 in the eighth inning, Aaron Judge homered for the 30th time this season to seal the win.
Yankees general manager Aaron Boone said: "He’s obviously had some really good ones in his career and certainly with us the last two seasons. That for me was up there. That was a guy in control, I felt like a step ahead of those guys all day."
Rays' hot streak halted by Red Sox
The Tampa Bay Rays' nine-game winning streak was halted by the Boston Red Sox 3-2 despite rookie Wander Franco continuing his on-base run, with the result having implications in the wildcard race.
Franco delivered a two-run homer from Chris Sale to put the Rays 2-1 up at the top of the third inning but the Red Sox replied with a Christian Vasquez's solo shot in the seventh to tie it up.
With Boston at bat in the ninth inning with two on, Jarren Duran hit into right field and Rafael Devers touched down to clinch the Red Sox win.
The win keeps the Red Sox (76-59) hot on the heels of the Yankees (77-56) but it also opens a gap on the Oakland Athletics (73-60) who lost 8-6 to the Detroit Tigers.
Miguel Cabrera homered for the Tigers before a crucial RBI when scores were tied at 6-6.
The Los Angeles Dodgers moved into top spot in the National League (NL) West for the first time in months as they secured a 4-3 win over the Atlanta Braves.
Max Scherzer tossed six scoreless innings with nine strikeouts before the Braves squared it 3-3, with AJ Pollock's low single allowing Justin Turner to get home for the go-ahead run in the eighth inning.
The San Francisco Giants suffered their fourth straight defeat, going down 5-2 to the Milwaukee Brewers, with the Dodgers jumping above them in the NL West.
The Seattle Mariners completed a shut-out of the Houston Astros to stay in the wildcard hunt with a 1-0 win.
Darvish's woes continue
San Diego Padres starting pitcher Yu Darvish had a tough time on the mound in his side's 8-3 loss to the lowly Arizona Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks piled on six runs in the third inning as Darvish was pulled. The Padres pitcher allowed eight hits, one walk and five earned runs.
Edman's flying catch
St Louis Cardinals second baseman Tommy Edman went flying beyond the netting and into the front row of the stands as he took an amazing catch from Tyler Stephenson in his side's 12-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. Edman hustled 120 feet, leaping over the tarp, to make the catch.
Wednesday's results
St Louis Cardinals 5-4 Cincinnati Reds
Colorado Rockies 9-5 Texas Rangers
Arizona Diamondbacks 8-3 San Diego Padres
Seattle Mariners 1-0 Houston Astros
Cincinnati Reds 12-2 St Louis Cardinals
Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 Baltimore Orioles
New York Yankees 4-1 Los Angeles Angels
Boston Red Sox 3-2 Tampa Bay Rays
Detroit Tigers 8-6 Oakland Athletics
Chicago White Sox 6-3 Pittsburgh Pirates
Cleveland Indians 5-3 Kansas City Royals
Chicago Cubs 3-0 Minnesota Twins
Milwaukee Brewers 5-2 San Francisco Giants
Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 Atlanta Braves
A's at Tigers
The wildcard permutations will continue to evolve when the Athletics take on the Tigers again to round out their three-game series.