Carlos Rodon joined Seth Lugo as the American League's lone nine-game winners this season by out-pitching his counterpart in the New York Yankees' 4-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Monday.
Rodon held the Royals to one run and five hits over seven sharp innings to move to 9-2 and win a duel with Lugo (9-2), who was tagged for four runs in seven innings to receive his first loss since April 21.
Jose Trevino went 2 for 3 with a two-run single to pace a Yankees' lineup bolstered by the return of Juan Soto. The star outfielder missed the entirety of New York's three-game weekend series with the Los Angeles Dodgers while plagued by a sore left forearm.
Soto singled in his first at-bat and scored the Yankees' first run when Alex Verdugo followed Gleyber Torres' single with a base hit to center. Torres then advanced home on a sacrifice bunt put down by DJ LeMahieu to give New York a 2-0 lead in the opening inning.
That was all Rodon would need, as the left-hander had a shutout going until allowing three hits in the seventh inning, including Freddy Fermin's single that knocked in Salvador Perez.
The Royals were trailing 4-0 at that point after the Yankees scored twice more in the fourth. LeMahieu singled and Lugo hit Trent Grisham with a pitch before each advanced on a bunt in front of Trevino's single that brought home both runners.
Kansas City got within 4-2 when Bobby WItt Jr.'s two-out double in the eighth scored Dairon Blanco, who had reached base on a single before stealing second.
Michael Tonkin struck out two during a scoreless ninth, however, to earn his first save of the season and close out the opener of this four-game series.
The win was the Yankees' 10th in their last 12 games, while the scuffling Royals have dropped two straight and are 5-9 since May 26.
Orioles complete first four-game road sweep of Rays
Gunnar Henderson went 3 for 5 with a lead-off home run that sparked the Baltimore Orioles to a 5-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays for their first-ever four-game series sweep at Tropicana Field.
Ryan O'Hearn also had three hits while driving in three runs to support another strong outing from Baltimore's Corbin Burnes (7-2), who notched his ninth consecutive quality start after allowing just two unearned runs and striking out six in seven innings.
James McCann added two hits, including a solo home run, to help hand the Rays a 13th loss in their last 17 home games.
Ryan Pepiot (4-3) struck out nine in six innings for Tampa Bay, though his night began ominously when Henderson sent the game's first pitch well over the center field wall for his 21st homer of the season, which was measured at 430 feet.
The Rays regrouped to take the lead an inning later when Jose Caballero reached on a error and Alex Jackson followed with a two-run homer, his first time going deep in a major league game since August 2021.
McCann's homer in the third tied the game at 2-2, and the Orioles scored twice more off Pepiot in the fifth to forge ahead.
Singles by McCann and Henderson put two aboard for O'Hearn, who laced a double to right to plate both runners for a 4-2 Baltimore lead.
Henderson doubled in the seventh and scored on O'Hearn's single to extend the margin, and Craig Kimbrel held the Rays scoreless in the ninth to record his 15th save and finish off the series sweep.
Tatis extends hitting streak in Padres' win over A's
Fernando Tatis Jr. homered to extend his career-high hitting streak to 16 games and help the San Diego Padres to a 6-1 win over the struggling Oakland Athletics in the opener of a three-game series.
The Padres also got a solo homer from Jake Cronenworth and six strong innings from Dylan Cease to earn their third win in four games and hand the A's a ninth loss in their last 12.
Cease (6-5) scattered eight hits and struck out eight while permitting just one run, a solo homer from Tyler Soderstrom in the second inning that gave Oakland a 1-0 lead.
Cronenworth's blast off Joey Estes in the third pulled San Diego even before the Padres went ahead an inning later. Jackson Merrill doubled for his second of three hits on the night and scored on Ha-Seong Kim's single.
Tatis put San Diego up 3-1 in the fifth with his 13th homer of the season, and the Padres broke open the game with three runs against Oakland's bullpen in the seventh.
After the Padres loaded the bases with one out on a walk, hit batter and Manny Machado's single, A's reliever Michel Otanez walked Donovan Solano to force in a run. Merrill followed with a single to extend the lead to 5-1 before Kim drove in the final run with a sacrifice fly.
Estes (2-2) worked five innings and allowed three runs on eight hits.
Orioles hammer Gil, roll to 17-5 rout of Yankees
The New York Yankees turned to the American League ERA leader in their series finale with the Baltimore Orioles.
The Orioles turned the tables on Luis Gil.
Baltimore scored seven runs off Gil and clubbed three homers in rolling to a 17-5 win over the Yankees in the Bronx on Thursday.
Cedric Mullins hit a two-run homer off Gill as part of a six-run second inning, while Anthony Santander and Austin Hays also homered for the Orioles, who improved to 5-2 against the Yankees this season.
Baltimore (49-25) set a major league record by winning a 22nd consecutive series against an AL East opponent and moved one-half game back of New York (51-26) for first place in the division.
Gil entered the game with a league-leading 2.03 ERA, but was tagged for seven runs and recorded just four outs in his shortest outing of the season. His ERA ballooned to 2.77 after the Orioles battered him, and New York was forced to use seven relief pitchers.
Baltimore pounded out a season-high 19 hits - including seven doubles - with Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman and Ryan Mountcastle each registering three hits apiece.
Mountcastle had a bases-clearing double and an RBI single, while Ryan O'Hearn also drove in four runs.
Aaron Judge hit his major league-leading 27th homer in his return to the lineup after missing Wednesday's 7-6, 10-inning loss to the Orioles, one day after he was hit on the left hand by a pitch in Tuesday's 4-2 series-opening win.
Judge also hit a run-scoring single for the Yankees, who got a homer from Gleyber Torres before he exited with a groin injury in the fifth inning.
Cardinals beat Giants in game honouring Mays, Negro Leagues
The St. Louis Cardinals held on for a 6-5 win over the San Francisco Giants in the first MLB game played at historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama.
Played at the 114-year-old stadium - the oldest professional ballpark in the United States - the game had been scheduled to honour former Negro League players, including Hall of Famer Willie Mays, who played for the Birmingham Black Barons.
The tribute produced an additional emotional element with Mays passing away on Tuesday.
In the game, the Cardinals jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning - highlighted by Brendan Donovan's two-run homer.
Donovan, who grew up in Alabama, also singled and doubled and finished with three RBIs.
Alec Burleson scored three runs and Masyn Winn scored twice for the Cardinals (37-37), who won for the first time in three games to move back to .500.
Heliot Ramos hit a game-tying three-run home run in the third inning for the Giants (36-40), but St. Louis quickly responded with two runs in the bottom half of the inning.
Ohtani homers as Dodgers beat Rockies
Shohei Ohtani led off with a homer and the Los Angeles Dodgers went on to beat the Colorado Rockies 5-3 to take three of four in the series.
Ohtani's homer was his 21st, while Will Smith and Freddie Freeman each hit their 11th home run, going back-to-back in the fourth inning for the Dodgers (47-30).
Freeman had two hits, and is batting .378 with three homers and nine runs in his last 10 games, while Ohtani is 10 for 21 (.476) with four home runs, three doubles, nine RBIs and eight runs in his last five contests.
The Dodgers next play Friday against the Los Angeles Angels, which will be Ohtani's first game against his former team since signing a 10-year, $700million deal with the Dodgers in the off-season.
Gavin Stone won his fourth straight decision and improved to 8-2, permitting two runs while matching a season high with seven strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.
Since giving up eight runs in his first two starts of the season, Stone has allowed two runs or fewer in 10 of 12 starts.
Ryan McMahon hit his 13th homer and had his third straight two-hit game for the Rockies (26-49), who lost for the fourth time in five games.
Orioles hold off Yankees in 10 innings after Cole makes season debut
The Baltimore Orioles' Cedric Mullins ended Gerrit Cole's long-awaited season debut in the fifth inning.
Five innings later, he sent the New York Yankees to a loss.
Mullins hit the go-ahead single in the 10th inning and later scored on a throwing error as the Orioles held on to beat the Yankees 7-6 on Wednesday.
The game went to extras on Giancarlo Stanton's run-scoring single off Baltimore closer Craig Kimbrel with one out in the ninth.
Two innings earlier, Stanton's three-run home run off reliever Yennier Cano pulled New York within one run at 5-4.
In the 10th, Mullins' tie-breaking single scored Anthony Santander, and he made it to second base on the throw to the plate. He then stole third and came around to score as catcher Jose Trevino overthrew third baseman DJ LeMahieu.
With the win, Baltimore (48-25) pulled within 1 1/2 games of New York for first place in the AL East.
The Yankees (51-25) were playing without Aaron Judge after he was hit on the left hand by a pitch in Tuesday's 4-2 win in the series opener.
While New York was without its star slugger it did get its pitching ace back.
Cole had been on the injured list since experiencing nerve inflammation and swelling in his pitching elbow during spring training and delivered an encouraging performance.
The 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner allowed two runs and three hits while striking out five and walking one in four-plus innings.
He permitted a single to Mullins to lead off the fifth inning and was promptly pulled after throwing 62 pitches.
Bibee, Naylor lead Guardians in rout of Mariners
Tanner Bibee struck out a career-high 12 batters and Josh Naylor homered twice as the Guardians rolled to an 8-0 win over the Seattle Mariners in a matchup of American League division leaders.
Naylor drove in four runs, and got things started with a run-scoring single in the first inning.
That would be all the offence Bibee would need, as he limited the Mariners to three hits and a walk over six innings.
Steven Kwan hit a two-run homer and singled and has hit safely in all 13 games since missing nearly four weeks with a strained left hamstring, batting .510 with nine RBIs and 13 runs scored during his hitting streak.
Jose Ramirez and Bo Naylor also each had a pair of hits for the AL Central-leading Guardians (45-26), who snapped a three-game losing streak and bounced back from Tuesday's 8-5 setback in the series opener.
The AL West-leading Mariners (44-32) lost for just the second time in 10 games and were shutout for the first time since May 30.
Rangers break up no-hitter to end Mets' seven-game winning streak
Leody Taveras came off the bench to hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning to lead the Texas Rangers to a 5-3 win over the New York Mets.
The Rangers (34-40) ended a five-game losing streak and snapped the Mets' seven-game winning streak.
Texas prevailed despite being no-hit into the sixth inning.
Mets starter Sean Manaea retired the game's first two batters before issuing three consecutive walks to load the bases. He then hit Wyatt Langford with a pitch to force in a run before getting Nathaniel Lowe to ground into a fielder's choice to end the inning.
Manaea then retired the next 13 batters before giving up his first hit on Robbie Grossman's single with one out in the sixth inning.
Pete Alonso hit his 16th homer for the Mets (35-38), who lost for just the third time in 14 games.
MLB: Judge injures hand in Yankees' win over Orioles
Nestor Cortes pitched six scoreless innings and the New York Yankees overcame the loss of Aaron Judge in a 4-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles in the opener of a three-game series between the top teams in the American League East on Tuesday night.
Judge, the major league leader with 26 home runs and 64 RBIs, left one inning after he was hit on the left pinkie by a 94.1 mph fastball from Albert Suarez.
Judge remained in the game and scored on Giancarlo Stanton’s single. He played center field in the top of the fourth but was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the bottom half.
Judge said X-rays and a CT scan were negative. He said there is some swelling, and he hopes not to miss any games.
Cortes allowed five hits with six strikeouts and no walks to improve to 4-2 with a 1.57 ERA at home this season.
Anthony Volpe, Gleyber Torres and DJ LeMahieu each drove in a run for the Yankees, who extended their lead in the East over Baltimore to 2 ½ games.
Anthony Santander hit a two-run homer in the ninth off closer Clay Holmes for all the Orioles’ offence. Santander has a major league-best nine home runs this month.
Orioles third baseman Jordan Westburg left in the middle of the second inning with left hip discomfort after colliding with baserunner Juan Soto.
Mets rally for 7th straight win
Pete Alonso delivered a tiebreaking double in the ninth inning and the New York Mets rallied for their season-high seventh straight victory, 7-6 over the slumping Texas Rangers.
The Mets trailed 6-2 after the Rangers put up a five-run fifth, but they scored once in the sixth, once in the seventh and tied it in the eighth on Francisco Alvarez’s two-run double.
Rangers closer Kirby Yates walked Brandon Nimmo with one out in the eighth and J.D. Martinez reached on a catcher’s interference call and Alonso’s double into the left-field corner put New York on top.
Mark Vientos and Nimmo homered for the Mets (35-37), who have won 11 of 13 to get within two games of .500 for the first time since mid-May.
Defending World Series champion Texas (33-40) has lost five in a row to fall a season-worst seven games under .500.
Dodgers stun Rockies with 7-run 9th
Jason Heyward hit a pinch-hit grand slam and Teoscar Hernandez added a go-ahead, three-run homer as part of a seven-run ninth inning as the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied for a shocking 11-9 win over the Colorado Rockies.
Heyward’s blast came off Tyler Kinney and followed walks by Andy Pages and Miguel Vargas around a single by Miguel Rojas. That drew the Dodgers within 9-8 with one out in the ninth after they trailed 7-2 in the fifth inning.
Shohei Ohtani singled off Victor Vodnik before Will Smith struck out. After a wild pitch, Freddie Freeman was walked intentionally to bring up Hernandez. He checked his swing at a 1-2 fastball and first base umpire Lance Barksdale ruled it wasn’t a swing, as Colorado manager Bud Black argued and was ejected.
On the next pitch, Hernandez hit his 18th home run to make it 11-9. After the ball cleared the wall, Rockies right fielder Jake Cave immediately took a few steps toward Barksdale and began yelling.
Alex Vesia got the first two outs in the ninth and Evan Phillips retired the only batter he faced for his 11th save.
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