New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom matched an MLB record, but it was not enough to avoid a 1-0 loss to the Boston Red Sox.
DeGrom tied Nolan Ryan's record for most strikeouts through a pitcher's first five starts of a season, however, the Mets were beaten on Wednesday.
Mets star DeGrom tallied nine strikeouts over six innings to improve his five-game total to 59, matching Ryan's feat in 1978.
DeGrom, who has allowed two earned runs all season while boasting a National League (NL)-leading ERA (0.51), saw Christian Vazquez hit an early RBI double which produced the winning run in the second inning at Citi Field midweek.
World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers, meanwhile, snapped a three-game skid by shutting out the Cincinnati Reds 8-0.
Seeking to avoid a series sweep, the Dodgers benefited from a trademark Clayton Kershaw performance at home to the Reds.
Kershaw was dominant over seven innings, yielding just four hits while striking out eight batters with one walk as Justin Turner homered for the Dodgers.
Padres in 11-year first
The San Diego Padres humbled the Arizona Diamondbacks 12-3. During the rout, the Padres tallied seven successive hits without recording an out in the fifth inning – the first time they have managed to do so since April 2010 (also in the fifth).
A five-homer game from the Atlanta Braves inspired a 10-0 demolition of the Chicago Cubs. Marcell Ozuna homered in a four-run first inning, while Huascar Ynoa hit his first career home run in the fourth. Freddie Freeman posted his seventh home of the season, while Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley also went deep.
All good things must end as Matz struggles
Steven Matz had won his first four starts for the Toronto Blue Jays after being acquired from the Mets in January. However, Matz lasted less than four innings in an 8-2 defeat to the Washington Nationals. In George Springer's long-awaited Blue Jays debut, Matz gave up six runs and eight hits, including a three-run shot in the fourth inning.
Rizzo strikes out Freeman…
Anthony Rizzo versus Freeman. It is a showdown you do not often see but the Cubs star sensationally came out on top. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Rizzo took to the mound and struck out reigning NL MVP Freeman – his first career strikeout as a pitcher as both players smiled.
Wednesday's results
Minnesota Twins 10-2 Cleveland Indians
Miami Marlins 6-2 Milwaukee Brewers
Los Angeles Dodgers 8-0 Cincinnati Reds
Kansas City Royals 9-6 Pittsburgh Pirates
Boston Red Sox 1-0 New York Mets
New York Yankees 7-0 Baltimore Orioles
Washington Nationals 8-2 Toronto Blue Jays
Tampa Bay Rays 2-0 Oakland Athletics
Atlanta Braves 10-0 Chicago Cubs
Philadelphia Phillies 5-3 St Louis Cardinals
Los Angeles Angels 4-3 Texas Rangers
Houston Astros 7-5 Seattle Mariners
San Diego Padres 12-3 Arizona Diamondbacks
San Francisco Giants 7-3 Colorado Rockies
Detroit Tigers-Chicago White Sox (postponed)
Dodgers at Brewers
After returning to winning ways, the Dodgers (16-9) will open their series against the Brewers (14-10) on Thursday. Trevor Bauer gets the nod on the mound for the Dodgers, while Milwaukee's Eric Lauer starts.
MLB: Quintana earns 100th victory as Mets extend winning streak
Jose Quintana pitched into the seventh inning for his 100th career victory and J.D. Martinez capped a four-run seventh with a two-run double as the New York Mets won their ninth straight game, 4-0 over the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday.
Quintana allowed five hits over 6 2/3 innings with two walks and six strikeouts. He became the 19th active pitcher with 100 wins.
Adam Ottavino, Danny Young and Edwin Díaz completed the six-hitter for New York's seventh shutout this season - all since July 11.
A slumping Harrison Bader homered to spark the big sixth for the Mets, who have won nine straight games for the first time since April 2018. New York hasn’t trailed in its last 72 innings since Aug. 30 - the longest streak in the majors this season.
Bader was mired in skids of 0 for 15 and 2 for 43 before connecting off Sam Moll in the sixth. It was Bader's 11th home run of the year, and first to the opposite field.
Pete Alonso hit a one-out RBI single before Martinez’s double capped the outburst.
Francisco Lindor’s career-high 16-game hitting streak ended as he went 0 for 3, but his sixth-inning walk pushed his on-base streak to 35 games, the longest active run in the majors and the longest single-season streak in Mets history.
Royals rally past Twins
Bobby Witt Jr. highlighted a four-run eighth inning with a tiebreaking single, and the Kansas City Royals defeated Minnesota 4-2 to open a 1 1/2-game lead over the Twins for the second AL wild card.
Held to one hit over seven innings by Bailey Ober, the Royals rallied against Jhoan Durán and Griffin Jax, winning their third straight following a season-high, seven-game losing streak.
Kansas City is second behind Cleveland in the AL Central and Minnesota is third after losing four of five.
Duran entered with a 2-0 lead and gave up a one-out single to Freddy Fermin, then hit Robbie Grossman with a pitch. Kyle Isbel hit an RBI single and Jax relieved, trying for a five-out save.
Tommy Pham hit a slow four-hopper to Brooks Lee and reached on an infield hit as the shortstop barehanded the ball and bounced his throw past first. Pinch-runner Dairon Blanco, who had been on second, scored on the error.
Witt looped a single into short center as Isbel scored for a 3-2 lead. MJ Melendez drove in Pham with a two-out single off Jax, who blew a save for the fifth time in 13 chances.
Yankees shut out Cubs again
Clarke Schmidt and Nestor Cortes combined on a four-hitter, and the New York Yankees clinched their 32nd straight winning season by blanking the Chicago Cubs 2-0.
Schmidt pitched 4 2/3 innings of four-hit ball in his first big league game since May 26 and Cortes closed it out in his first relief appearance since 2021.
Coupled with Baltimore's 7-1 loss to Tampa Bay, New York moved back into first in the AL East. The Yankees lead the Orioles by a half-game.
New York posted its second straight shutout to secure its first series win since it took two of three against Colorado from Aug. 23-25. The 32 straight seasons with a winning record is the second-longest such period in major league history, trailing a run of 39 consecutive seasons for the Yankees from 1926-64.
Chicago has lost four of five on a crucial homestand as it tries to rally in the race for the third NL wild card. It beat Pittsburgh 12-0 on Wednesday, but has managed a total of three other runs in its last five games, getting shut out three times.
MLB: Quintana earns 100th victory as Mets extend winning streak to 9
Jose Quintana pitched into the seventh inning for his 100th career victory and J.D. Martinez capped a four-run seventh with a two-run double as the New York Mets won their ninth straight game, 4-0 over the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday.
Quintana allowed five hits over 6 2/3 innings with two walks and six strikeouts. He became the 19th active pitcher with 100 wins.
Adam Ottavino, Danny Young and Edwin Díaz completed the six-hitter for New York's seventh shutout this season - all since July 11.
A slumping Harrison Bader homered to spark the big sixth for the Mets, who have won nine straight games for the first time since April 2018. New York hasn’t trailed in its last 72 innings since Aug. 30 - the longest streak in the majors this season.
Bader was mired in skids of 0 for 15 and 2 for 43 before connecting off Sam Moll in the sixth. It was Bader's 11th home run of the year, and first to the opposite field.
Pete Alonso hit a one-out RBI single before Martinez’s double capped the outburst.
Francisco Lindor’s career-high 16-game hitting streak ended as he went 0 for 3, but his sixth-inning walk pushed his on-base streak to 35 games, the longest active run in the majors and the longest single-season streak in Mets history.
Royals rally past Twins
Bobby Witt Jr. highlighted a four-run eighth inning with a tiebreaking single, and the Kansas City Royals defeated Minnesota 4-2 to open a 1 1/2-game lead over the Twins for the second AL wild card.
Held to one hit over seven innings by Bailey Ober, the Royals rallied against Jhoan Durán and Griffin Jax, winning their third straight following a season-high, seven-game losing streak.
Kansas City is second behind Cleveland in the AL Central and Minnesota is third after losing four of five.
Duran entered with a 2-0 lead and gave up a one-out single to Freddy Fermin, then hit Robbie Grossman with a pitch. Kyle Isbel hit an RBI single and Jax relieved, trying for a five-out save.
Tommy Pham hit a slow four-hopper to Brooks Lee and reached on an infield hit as the shortstop barehanded the ball and bounced his throw past first. Pinch-runner Dairon Blanco, who had been on second, scored on the error.
Witt looped a single into short center as Isbel scored for a 3-2 lead. MJ Melendez drove in Pham with a two-out single off Jax, who blew a save for the fifth time in 13 chances.
Yankees shut out Cubs again
Clarke Schmidt and Nestor Cortes combined on a four-hitter, and the New York Yankees clinched their 32nd straight winning season by blanking the Chicago Cubs 2-0.
Schmidt pitched 4 2/3 innings of four-hit ball in his first big league game since May 26 and Cortes closed it out in his first relief appearance since 2021.
Coupled with Baltimore's 7-1 loss to Tampa Bay, New York moved back into first in the AL East. The Yankees lead the Orioles by a half-game.
New York posted its second straight shutout to secure its first series win since it took two of three against Colorado from Aug. 23-25. The 32 straight seasons with a winning record is the second-longest such period in major league history, trailing a run of 39 consecutive seasons for the Yankees from 1926-64.
Chicago has lost four of five on a crucial homestand as it tries to rally in the race for the third NL wild card. It beat Pittsburgh 12-0 on Wednesday, but has managed a total of three other runs in its last five games, getting shut out three times.
MLB: Vientos hits 2nd home run of game in 10th to give Mets eighth straight win
Mark Vientos’ second home run of the game was a walk-off two-run shot in the 10th inning that gave the New York Mets their season-high eighth straight win, 6-4 over the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night.
New York is riding its longest winning streak since an eight-game run in August 2019. Vientos also connected in the first inning for the Mets, who remained tied with Atlanta for the last National League wild card.
Mets closer Edwin Díaz and younger brother Alexis, the Reds' ace reliever, pitched in the same game for the first time in their major league careers.
Edwin Díaz struck out all three batters in the top of the ninth, fanning Elly De La Cruz and Spencer Steer with 100 mph fastballs.
Alexis Díaz worked a hitless bottom of the ninth to keep the score tied.
With automatic runner Brandon Nimmo on second base, Vientos drove a 2-2 fastball from Justin Wilson to left field for his 24th home run.
Cincinnati was coming off a three-game sweep of AL West-leading Houston and had won four in a row overall.
Machado ties Padres’ home run record
Manny Machado hit a pair of home runs to tie Nate Colbert for the franchise’s all-time record with 163 as the San Diego Padres defeated the San Francisco Giants, 5-1.
Machado had a solo shot in the first and then matched Colbert with a drive into the second deck in left field leading off the eighth.
He tied Colbert with 20 games to go in his sixth season in San Diego. Colbert hit 163 in six seasons with the Padres, from their expansion season of 1969 through 1974. He played for four other teams in his career and had 173 total homers.
Machado's 25th of the season gave him 42 multi-homer games since his rookie year of 2012.
Machado has 338 homers in his 13-year career. He had 162 with Baltimore and then 13 after being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 18, 2018. He signed as a free agent with the Padres on Feb. 21, 2019.
Astros’ Alvarez hits pair of 3-run homers
Yordan Alvarez hit two three-run homers and Framber Valdez pitched seven innings in the Houston Astros' 8-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
AL West-leading Houston got back on track after being swept in a three-game series at Cincinnati to remain 4 ½ games ahead of Seattle.
Houston led by a run when Alvarez, whose six RBIs are a season high, connected off Brandon Pfaadt in the fifth inning to make it 4-0. Jose Altuve hit an RBI single in the sixth, and Alvarez homered again in his next at-bat, this time to the bullpen in right-center off Jordan Montgomery, to extend it to 8-0.
Alvarez had his seventh multi-homer game to tie Chris Carter (2014) for the most in a season in franchise history. It’s his second this week after also slugging two in a win over Kansas City at home Sunday after he hadn’t homered at Minute Maid Park since June 22.
Valdez allowed just two singles and struck out seven after pitching seven innings of no-hit ball in his last start.
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