Max Scherzer and the Washington Nationals prevailed 3-2 in a contentious matchup with the rival Phillies that saw Philadelphia manager Joe Girardi ejected from the game after a dispute with the Washington pitcher.
Girardi took advantage of the MLB's new provision cracking down on pitchers for use unlawful substances that help improve grip and spin on the ball, requesting that the three-time Cy Young Award winner be checked by the umpires during the fourth inning after he already had been examined and cleared after the first and third innings.
The final check infuriated Scherzer, who threw his hat and glove to the ground and began to unbuckle his belt before being declared clean again.
"I'll take off all my clothes if you want to see me," Scherzer told reporters afterward. "I've got nothing on me."
After striking out J.T. Realmuto to end the fifth inning, Scherzer stared into the Phillies' dugout as he walked off the field and Girardi emerged from the dugout to shout at the veteran pitcher, leading to his immediate ejection.
That was also the end of the night for Scherzer thanks to his high pitch count (106), but he looked strong in his first appearance since leaving a June 11 start early with a groin injury.
Scherzer allowed just two hits, one of them a long solo home run by Bryce Harper that accounted for Philadelphia's only scoring against the Nationals ace.
Red Sox top Franco, Rays
The Boston Red Sox spoiled the MLB debut of top prospect Wander Franco and handed the Tampa Bay Rays their seventh straight loss in a 9-5 victory at Tropicana Field. The 20-year-old Franco was impressive, tying the game at 5-5 in the fifth inning with a three-run homer for his first major league hit, but the Rays surrendered four runs in the 11th to lose at home to their rivals. According to Stats Perform, Franco is the second player in history to hit a game-tying three-run homer or grand slam in his MLB debut, after Kosuke Fukudome of the Chicago Cubs did it in 2008.
The San Diego Padres got home runs from Jake Cronenworth and pinch-hitter Kim Ha-seong to beat Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 for their sixth consecutive win.
Zack Greinke led the Houston Astros to their ninth straight win, 3-1 over the Baltimore Orioles, to maintain a one-game division lead over the Oakland Athletics.
Mets lose Stroman, game
The New York Mets managed only two hits while striking out 12 times in a 3-0 loss to Charlie Morton and the Atlanta Braves and saw starting pitcher Marcus Stroman depart at the start of the second inning with hip soreness.
A day after breaking their 17-game losing streak, the Arizona Diamondbacks reverted to form, collecting just two hits in a 5-0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.
HR champ Voit is back
Luke Voit returned from the injured list with a bang, as the 2020 MLB home run leader hit a monster 423-foot blast on the first pitch he saw since May 25 after being sidelined with an oblique injury in a 6-5 New York Yankees loss to the Kansas City Royals.
Tuesday's results
Atlanta Braves 3-0 New York Mets
Houston Astros 3-1 Baltimore Orioles
Chicago Cubs 7-1 Cleveland Indians
Oakland Athletics 13-6 Texas Rangers
Milwaukee Brewers 5-0 Arizona Diamondbacks
San Diego Padres 3-2 Los Angeles Dodgers
Cincinnati Reds 10-7 Minnesota Twins
Seattle Mariners 2-1 Colorado Rockies
Detroit Tigers 8-2 St Louis Cardinals
Washington Nationals 3-2 Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates 6-3 Chicago White Sox
Kansas City Royals 6-5 New York Yankees
Boston Red Sox 9-5 Tampa Bay Rays
Toronto Blue Jays 2-1 Miami Marlins
San Francisco Giants 5-0 Los Angeles Angels
Giants at Angels
Shohei Ohtani will face MLB's best team as he takes the mound for the Los Angeles Angels against Kevin Gausman and the San Francisco Giants.
Strasbourg 1-1 Paris Saint-Germain: Messi strikes as PSG seal record-breaking Ligue 1 title
Lionel Messi was on target as Paris Saint-Germain sealed their record-breaking 11th Ligue 1 title, despite being held to a 1-1 draw at Strasbourg on Saturday.
Messi, who will leave PSG when his contract expires at the end of the season, broke the deadlock with his 16th goal of the season just before the hour at Stade de la Meinau.
Strasbourg substitute Kevin Gameiro thwarted Christophe Galtier's side with a 79th-minute leveller, but the point was enough for PSG to secure a successful Ligue 1 title defence with a match to spare.
Strasbourg's top-flight status was also confirmed after the draw for Frederic Antonetti's hosts maintained their six-point cushion over 17th-placed Nantes, who failed to beat Lille.
Inter 3-2 Atalanta: Nerazzurri seal top-four finish after flying San Siro start
Inter secured Champions League qualification in their penultimate game of the Serie A season, dealing a fatal blow to Atalanta's own top-four hopes with a 3-2 win at San Siro.
The Nerazzurri – finalists in Europe's premier club competition this term – stormed into a two-goal lead within just two minutes and 49 seconds after Romelu Lukaku and Nicolo Barella were on target.
Atalanta needed a result to keep their slim hopes of a top-four finish alive, and they were handed a lifeline by Mario Pasalic before the interval on Saturday.
Yet Inter added a deserved third through Lautaro Martinez after the break, proving Andre Onana's late own goal a mere Atalanta consolation, as the Nerazzurri moved eight points clear of their fifth-placed visitors.
Lukaku only needed 39 seconds to put Inter ahead, timing his run from Martinez's throughball before rounding Marco Sportiello and tapping into an empty net.
Atalanta found themselves further behind by the three-minute mark, Barella hammering a rebound into the roof of the net after Sportiello twice saved from Federico Dimarco.
Hakan Calhanoglu was denied a third by the offside flag when he netted with a ferocious volley, before Andre Onana was forced into action by Rasmus Hojlund and Teun Koopmeiners.
Atalanta halved the arrears nine minutes before half-time, Pasalic hooking a finish beyond Onana following a goalmouth scramble.
Calhanoglu drew a flying save from Sportiello as Atalanta wilted after the interval, Inter managing the game in typically assured fashion.
Martinez stretched Inter's lead further when Marcelo Brozovic teed up a tap-in 13 minutes from time, before Luis Muriel's powerful long-range strike deflected in off the unfortunate Onana as the Nerazzurri just held on for victory.
Sevilla 1-2 Real Madrid: Rodrygo powers Los Blancos to comeback win
Rodrygo scored a deadly double as Real Madrid battled from behind to win 2-1 at 10-man Sevilla in LaLiga on Saturday.
Carlo Ancelotti's side strengthened their grasp on second place in the league after recovering from an early setback to triumph at Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan.
Rodrygo's free-kick cancelled out Rafa Mir's early opener in an entertaining first half in Andalusia, where Madrid played without their star duo of Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior.
Rodrygo's second goal with just over 20 minutes remaining proved decisive before Marcos Acuna was dismissed as Madrid moved four points clear of rivals Atletico Madrid, who host Real Sociedad on Sunday.
Mir fired Sevilla into a third-minute lead after reacting quickly to sweep into the top-left corner when Bryan Gil's initial effort ricocheted kindly into his path.
Rodrygo spurned a glorious opportunity to equalise shortly after, dragging wide when unmarked from Lucas Vazquez's low cross – but the Madrid winger soon made amends.
An unsighted Yassine Bounou was deceived as Rodrygo whipped a 25-yard free-kick into the bottom-right corner after 29 minutes, although Sevilla should have been ahead at half-time.
Erik Lamela volleyed against the post with Thibaut Courtois stranded, before the forward lifted a back-post chance over after an inviting Alejandro Gomez delivery.
Rodrygo somehow lofted over when one-on-one with Bounou after the break, while Mir turned narrowly wide from Acuna's pinpoint centre.
Yet Rodrygo proved the difference after 69 minutes, coolly finishing a rapid counter-attack by sliding into the bottom-right corner to down Sevilla, who saw Acuna dismissed later on for a mindless lunge on Vazquez.
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