Luis Severino made a successful return from long-term injury on the hill as the New York Yankees stayed in the American League (AL) Wild Card hunt with a 7-1 win over the Texas Rangers on Tuesday.

Giancarlo Stanton creamed a solo home run, with a recorded 118 mph exit velocity, to get the Yankees on their way to victory.

Joey Galllo homered for the 38th time this season, while Aaron Judge's three-run home run in the seventh inning put the Yankees up 7-1.

But with the game practically done and dusted, Severino's return was one of the game's big highlights.

The 27-year-old was making his first appearance since October 15, 2019 due to injuries, and produced two scoreless innings and two strikeouts.

The win keeps the Yankees (85-67) just behind the Toronto Blue Jays (85-66), who overcame the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2.

Rare air for 10-straight Cardinals

The St Louis Cardinals recorded their 10th straight win to further enhance their Wild Card hopes with a 2-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.

The 10-game winning streak is the Cards' first since 2001, while they became the second team in the Wild Card era to move into a playoff spot with such a September run.

The Brewers almost snatched the win, down 2-1 in the ninth inning with bases loaded after Christian Yelich was walked, but Giovanny Gallegos struck out Pablo Reyes with a vicious breaking ball to close it out.

Xander Bogaerts had a game to remember, delivering his 23rd home run for the season and driving in four runs as the Boston Red Sox won 6-3 over the New York Mets to solidify their grip on an AL Wild Card spot.

LaMonte Wade Jr drove in Brandon Belt in the ninth inning as the San Francisco Giants got past the San Diego Padres 6-5 despite two homers from Manny Machado to hold sole possession of first place.

Albert Pujols drove in Gavin Lux for the game-winning run in the 10th inning as the Los Angeles Dodgers survived a scare to beat the Colorado Rockies 5-4.

Bryce Harper put on the jets to get home from J.T. Realmuto's right-field flyball to seal a crucial walk-off win for the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 over the Baltimore Orioles.

Reds miss golden opportunity

Nicholas Castellanos, Joey Votto and Kyle Farmer all fluffed a golden chance to press the Cincinnati Reds' National League (NL) Wild Card case, getting out on consecutive at-bats trailing 3-2 with bases loaded in the sixth inning. The Reds eventually went down 6-2 to the Pittsburgh Pirates, leaving Cincinnati 78-74, trailing the Cards by four games in the race for the second NL Wild Card spot.

Ohtani homes in on more records

Shohei Ohtani homered for the first time since September 10 as the Los Angeles Angels went down 10-5 to the Houston Astros. Ohtani's solo shot was his 45th home run for the season, pulling him within one of the equal league lead alongside Vladimir Guerrero Jr and Salvador Perez. Ohtani is also now tied with Mike Trout in second for most homers in a single season in Angels franchise history.

Tuesday's results 

Detroit Tigers 5-3 Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Indians 4-1 Kansas City Royals
Pittsburgh Pirates 6-2 Cincinnati Reds
Washington Nationals 7-1 Miami Marlins
Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 Baltimore Orioles
New York Yankees 7-1 Texas Rangers
Boston Red Sox 6-3 New York Mets
Toronto Blue Jays 4-2 Tampa Bay Rays
Minnesota Twins 9-5 Chicago Cubs
St Louis Cardinals 2-1 Milwaukee Brewers
Los Angeles Dodgers 5-4 Colorado Rockies
Houston Astros 10-5 Los Angeles Angels
Seattle Mariners 5-2 Oakland Athletics
Atlanta Braves 6-1 Arizona Diamondbacks
San Francisco Giants 6-5 San Diego Padres

Blue Jays at Rays

The Blue Jays' (85-66) battle for the second AL Wild Card spot is getting tight, and they will look to round out their series with the Rays with another victory, with the Yankees (85-67) breathing down their necks.

The New York Yankees produced their biggest comeback of the season fueled by Aaron Judge's three-run homer as they eclipsed the Minnesota Twins 6-5 in extra innings in MLB on Monday.

The Yankees trailed 5-0 in the sixth before a rally capped by Judge crushing a game-tying home run, which was his 33rd homer of the season.

The win came with an ounce of luck in the eighth inning with Brett Gardner fortunate to be walked on a close call with two strikes, two outs and the Yankees 5-2 down before Judge stepped up to the plate.

In the 10th inning, Gary Sanchez ripped a single down the line to get Gleyber Torres home for the walk-off win.

Earlier, Miguel Sano hit a two-run homer for the Twins, who led 4-0 after the first inning, while Max Kepler made a super catch on DJ LeMahieu in the sixth.

The win improves the Yankees to 80-64 and they are hanging on for the second Wild Card spot in the American League (AL) despite having lost eight of their last 10 games.

Giants book playoff spot, Guerrero tops charts

The San Francisco Giants locked in their first playoff spot since 2016 with an impressive 9-1 win over the San Diego Padres, set up after a five-run opening inning.

Home runs by Evan Longoria, Mike Yastrzemski and Brandon Belt highlighted the Giants win as Yu Darvish struggled again on the mound for the Padres, conceding eight earned runs, three walks and six hits in four innings.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr leapfrogged Shohei Ohtani into top spot on the MLB home run charts as the in-form Toronto Blue Jays won 8-1 over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Guerrero laced his 45th homer of the season with a liner into the left-field corner as the Jays won their 12th game from their past 13 in their battle for a Wild Card spot in the American League.

Clayton Kershaw returned to the hill for the first time since July 3 due to forearm tightness, tossing down five strikeouts in the Los Angeles Dodgers' 5-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Mitch Haniger hit a home run for the third consecutive game to help the Seattle Mariners beat the Boston Red Sox 5-4 and keep alive their Wild Card aspirations.

Rangers hammered as Siri makes history

It has been a tough season for the Texas Rangers and a 15-1 hammering from the Houston Astros added to that as Jose Siri made history in his first start with five RBIs and two homers. The Rangers allowed 16 hits, trailing 9-0 after three innings. Spencer Howard surrendered six hits and six runs early, while AJ Alexy conceded four walks, four hits and six earned runs.

Wainwright proves age no barrier

Adam Wainwright may be 40 years old but the St Louis Cardinals right-hander is not slowing up, pitching six shutout innings in their 7-0 win over the New York Mets. The veteran only allowed four hits while recording four strikeouts, helping the Cardinals stay firmly in the National League Wild Card race. Wainwright improved to 16-7 and lowered his ERA to 2.88.

Monday's results 

New York Yankees 6-5 Minnesota Twins
Miami Marlins 3-0 Washington Nationals
Toronto Blue Jays 8-1 Tampa Bay Rays
St Louis Cardinals 7-0 New York Mets
Houston Astros 15-1 Texas Rangers
San Francisco Giants 9-1 San Diego Padres
Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 Arizona Diamondbacks
Seattle Mariners 5-4 Boston Red Sox

Rays at Blue Jays

The in-form Blue Jays (81-63) have piled on 42 runs in their past four games and take on the Rays (89-55) for the second time in their three-game series in a crunch AL East clash.

Corbin Burnes and Josh Hader teamed up for the Milwaukee Brewers' first no-hitter since 1987 in a 3-0 win over the Cleveland Indians in MLB on Saturday.

The no-hitter was only the second in Brewers' franchise history, led by Burnes with 14 strikeouts across eight innings, before Hader closed it out.

It was also the ninth no-no of the 2021 majors season, topping the previous mark for most in a year in MLB history dating back to 1884.

Burnes, who took a perfect game into the seventh inning, tossed down a career-high 115 pitches before handing the reins over the Hader to finish the job.

Brewers manager Craig Counsell was full of praise for 26-year-old Burnes who looms as a top candidate for the National League (NL) Cy Young Award.

"He’s having a season that’s bigger than just Brewer records," Counsell said. "He’s having a season that’s historical in Major League Baseball."

Burnes has an MLB-best 2.25 ERA, 1.49 FIP, 35.4% strikeout rate (tied with Dodger Max Scherzer) and a NL best 4.9% walk rate.

Judge hits two HRs in New York

Aaron Judge homered twice to help the New York Yankees snap their seven-game skid with an 8-7 victory over the New York Mets in an emotional night in the Big Apple.

With the Yankees leading 4-0 in the second inning, Judge crushed a solo home run taking his season tally to 31 HRs.

But the Mets rallied to lead 7-5 in the eighth inning when Judge tied it up a two-run homer to left-field and his 32nd of the season.

Andrew Velazquez scored the go-ahead run before Judge made a diving catch in the ninth on a night where a stirring pre-game ceremony marked the 20-year anniversary of 9/11.

In the Wild Card race, Mookie Betts delivered a three-run homer in the Los Angeles Dodgers' hard-fought 5-4 win over the San Diego Padres.

Nolan Arenado two-run blast in the eighth inning lifted the St Louis Cardinals to a crucial 6-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds.

The Seattle Mariners' Wild Card hopes copped a blow in a shock 7-3 loss to the struggling Arizona Diamondbacks as Daulton Varsho turned on the power hitting.

A's Wild Card blow as Rangers pile on five

The Oakland Athletics are chasing a Wild Card spot and appeared destined for another win, leading 6-2 heading into the eighth inning before allowing a five-run Texas Rangers rally. The Rangers won 8-6, with DJ Peters crushing a two-run home run and Yohel Pozo hitting in an RBI double from Sergio Romo before Jonah Heim hammered Andrew Chafin for a two-run go-ahead homer.

Blue Jays launch all 11 runs in 7th

The Toronto Blue Jays were hitless after six innings before piling on 11 runs in the seventh inning of their 11-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles in the second game of their double-header. The in-form Jays hit four homers in the seventh, while their 11 runs and 11 hits for the inning tied two franchise records for a single inning.

Saturday's results 

San Francisco Giants 15-4 Chicago Cubs
Texas Rangers 8-6 Oakland Athletics
Toronto Blue Jays 11-10 Baltimore Orioles
Philadelphia Phillies 6-1 Colorado Rockies
Tampa Bay Rays 7-2 Detroit Tigers
Milwaukee Brewers 3-0 Cleveland Indians
Pittsburgh Pirates 10-7 Washington Nationals
Boston Red Sox 9-8 Chicago White Sox
Minnesota Twins 9-2 Kansas City Royals
Los Angeles Angels 4-2 Houston Astros
St Louis Cardinals 6-4 Cincinnati Reds
Miami Marlins 6-4 Atlanta Braves
New York Yankees 8-7 New York Mets
Toronto Blue Jays 11-2 Baltimore Orioles
Arizona Diamondbacks 7-3 Seattle Mariners
Los Angeles Dodgers 5-4 San Diego Padres

Padres at Dodgers

All eyes will be on the Los Angeles Dodgers' meeting with the San Diego Padres with Max Scherzer six strikeouts away from becoming only the 19th pitcher to reach 3,000 career Ks.

Toronto Blue Jays sensation Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani and Fernando Tatis Jr. of the San Diego Padres headline the starters for the 2021 MLB All-Star Game.

The starters for the upcoming All-Star Game, scheduled for July 13 at Coors Field – home of the Colorado Rockies, were revealed after two rounds of fan voting on Thursday.

Guerrero (aged 22 years and 119 days) will be the youngest Blue Jays player to start an All-Star Game, while he is also the youngest player to start at first base since George Scott in 1966.

Son of an MLB Hall of Famer, Guerrero is only second to Ohtani (28) for home runs this season with 26, while he leads the majors in RBI (66), on-base percentage (.442), OPS (1.117) and three-plus hit games (11 – level with Trea Turner).

Ohtani, 26, is set to become the first Japanese-born player to start an All-Star Game since Ichiro Suzuki in 2010.

The Angels' Ohtani has the most homers this season, while he owns a 3.60 ERA and 83 strikeouts across 60 innings on the mound.

As for Tatis, the 22-year-old shortstop will be the youngest player to start for the Padres in an All-Star Game.

Tatis entered Thursday's action leading MLB with an incredible .705 slugging percentage, while leading the National League (NL) in homers.

Elsewhere, Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers will become the first shortstop/third base combo in Boston Red Sox history to start the All-Star Game.

Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr. will join Eddie Matthews as the player in franchise history to start multiple All-Star Games before turning 24, while Nick Castellanos and Jesse Winker will give the Cincinnati Reds multiple outfield starters for the first time since 1956.

All-Star Game starters:

American League

C: Salvador Perez (Kansas City Royals)
2B: Marcus Semien (Toronto Blue Jays)
3B: Rafael Devers (Boston Red Sox)
SS: Xander Bogaerts (Boston Red Sox)
OF: Mike Trout (Los Angeles Angels) 
OF: Aaron Judge (New York Yankees)
OF: Teoscar Hernandez (Toronto Blue Jays) 

National League

C: Buster Posey (San Francisco Giants)
1B: Freddie Freeman (Atlanta Braves)
2B: Adam Frazier (Pittsburgh Pirates)
3B: Nolan Arenado (St Louis Cardinals)
OF: Ronald Acuna Jr. (Atlanta Braves)
OF: Nick Castellanos (Cincinnati Reds)
OF: Jesse Winker (Cincinnati Reds)

Aaron Judge said he is "as fired up as ever" as the New York Yankees star sets his sights on winning the World Series.

The Yankees fell short of expectations during the coronavirus-shortened 2020 season – New York beaten by the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Division Series (ALDS), having finished seven games adrift in the AL East.

Not since 2009 have the Yankees won the World Series, but two-time All-Star and Silver Slugger Judge is continuing to set his sights on MLB glory.

"I'm as fired up as ever," Judge said on Monday. "Every year, I know I come in here and say that's our goal, to win a championship.

"But, for us, the first thing to do is we've got to win our division. That starts with Game 1. … We've got to knock off the Rays first.

"That's the team that won the division last year, got all the way to the World Series, beat us in the Division Series. That's our first goal."

The Yankees head into Opening Day against AL East rivals the Toronto Blue Jays on April 1 boasting a stellar bullpen.

Cy Young winner Corey Kluber was acquired to join ace Gerrit Cole and Aroldis Chapman in New York, while the Yankees re-signed batting star DJ LeMahieu on a six-year deal.

Three-time All-Star LeMahieu finished the season with 10 home runs and 27 RBIs, leading MLB with a batting average of .364.

LeMahieu was also first in the AL in on-base percentage (.421) and on-base percentage plus slugging percentage (1.011), while team-mate Luke Voit (22) tallied the most home runs in the league last season.

Judge added: "We're playing 162 games; it's not a sprint like it was last year. But every game still matters. We want to go out there and win our division and put ourselves a good position in the postseason.

"With this depth, with the pitching we have, with this line-up -- we can be in the right position to go out there and win a championship."

"I wouldn't say our road is any easier," Judge said. "We've still got to go through Houston; the Chicago White Sox have been doing something special the past couple of years with the people they've added.

"It's going to be tough either way, but I'm excited about it. I like our team going into it, and I like our chances."