The Boston Red Sox came from behind on the back of power hitting from Adam Duvall and Rafael Devers to defeat the Detroit Tigers 6-3 away from home on Thursday.

It was the Tigers taking the early lead through a big two-run homer from Jake Rogers in the second inning, and after Enrique Hernandez pulled one run back for the Sox in the third frame with a fielder's choice groundout, legendary Detroit designated hitter Miguel Cabrera came through with an RBI single later in the third to restore a 3-1 advantage.

But the Boston bullpen would shut things down the rest of the way, holding Detroit scoreless for the final six innings.

Red Sox franchise centrepiece Rafael Devers trimmed the margin to one run when he blasted a solo home run in the fourth inning, and he delivered again in the sixth inning with an RBI double to tie the contest at 3-3.

While Devers is the future of the team, there is no Red Sox player hotter than Adam Duvall to start this season.

Through his first five games, the 34-year-old Duvall combined for 10 hits, including three doubles, two home runs and a triple.

He added another home run on Thursday – a three-run bomb later in the sixth inning – to give the Red Sox a winning break, and with it he climbed up to second on the early OPS leaderboard with an on-base plus slugging figure of 1.577. For reference, that is nearly double the best season-long OPS of his career, which was .882 through 41 games in 2019.

It was also the third multi-hit game of the season for 29-year-old AL Rookie of the Year hopeful Masataka Yoshida, with an infield single and a double for the man who signed a five-year, $90million free agent deal out of the Japanese league in the offseason.

Arcia walks it off for Atlanta

Atlanta Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia came up big with a walk-off base hit to defeat the San Diego Padres 7-6 at home.

Arcia, batting last in the Braves' line-up, made some noise early when he got hold of a 400-foot solo home run in the third inning, and he ignited his side's comeback with a double in the eighth inning, later coming around to score as Atlanta turned a 6-4 deficit into a 6-6 tie heading into the last.

The contest looked destined for extra innings until Amed Rosario's two-out double in the bottom of the ninth, with Arcia stepping up next for the game-winning base hit.

It was a great showing for last season's NL Rookie of the Year runner-up Spencer Strider, who followed his nine-strikeout opening performance with another nine strikeouts against the Padres in five innings. 

His 18 strikeouts through two starts is tied for the second-most, trailing only New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole (19).

Giants pile on 16 runs in Chicago

The San Francisco Giants put up the equal-biggest score of the season so far in a 16-6 drubbing of the Chicago White Sox away from home.

Blake Sabol, Wilmer Flores, Michael Conforto, J.D. Davis and Mike Yastrzemski all hit home runs for the Giants, and while Davis and Conforto both finished with three hits each, Davis led the way with a game-high five RBIs.

All nine Giants starters ended up with at least one hit as they racked up 20 knocks as a team, and the victory clinched their high-scoring three-game series against the White Sox after also taking the opener 12-3.

The Tampa Bay Rays are the only unbeaten team remaining after improving their record to 5-0 with a come-from-behind 10-6 road victory over the Washington Nationals on Tuesday.

Tampa Bay began their season with a three-game series sweep at home against the Detroit Tigers, and they have now won all five of their games by at least four runs.

But it was far from smooth sailing against the Nationals, despite the Rays jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning.

Alex Call brought home two runners for Washington in the bottom of the first with a single, and after Jose Siri put Tampa ahead 4-2 with his solo home run in the second frame, the Nationals began to take over.

Lane Thomas tied the game up in the second with a two-RBI double, and Thomas then gave the Nats their first lead with his next at-bat in the fourth inning with an RBI single in an impressive three-hit, three-RBI showing from the right-fielder.

The Rays did not score from the third inning through the seventh, but Randy Arozarena injected some life back into the visitors with his second RBI double of the contest to cut the Nationals' lead to 6-5 going into the last.

Tampa Bay first baseman Luke Raley tied the contest with a solo home run from the very first pitch of the ninth inning, and just three pitches later the Rays had the lead after Josh Lowe followed suit with his own solo homer.

A single from Taylor Walls and a double from Siri put two more runners on base, setting up Yandy Diaz for the 414-foot, three-run bomb to seal the comeback win.

Alcantara shuts out the Twins

The Minnesota Twins came into Tuesday's action unbeaten, before running into a spectacular showing from reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara in a 1-0 Miami Marlins triumph.

Alcantara, who had a shaky start in his season opener against the New York Mets, looked right back to his best against the Twins. He pitched the complete nine innings for only three hits and one walk, while striking out five in his 100 pitches.

The only run of the contest came from a solo home run in the second inning from Miami right-fielder Avisail Garcia, snapping a three-game Marlins losing streak.

Another Riley rocket lifts the Braves

Atlanta Braves slugger Austin Riley hit his second home run in as many days to help lift his side to a 4-1 road win against the St Louis Cardinals.

Despite the loss, all 10 Cardinals players to take an at-bat finished with exactly one hit each, but they could not match the power of the Braves.

Following his monstrous 473-foot blast in the opening inning of Monday's game, Riley again went deep in the first inning, this time taking Steven Matz 410 feet over the left-field wall. Orlando Arcia followed Riley's two-run shot with his own solo home run in the second inning.

In his very first start in the majors, 24-year-old Braves rookie Dylan Dodd collected the win as he made it through five innings while giving up six hits and no walks for one run, striking out three in his 73 pitches.

Atlanta Braves general manager Brian Snitker has signed a three-year contract extension through the 2025 season with the 2021 World Series champions.

Snitker, who has been in the role since 2016, has guided the Braves to five consecutive National League (NL) East titles, highlighted by their 2021 World Series.

The 67-year-old Braves boss led the side to a 101-61 regular-season record in 2022, before bowing out to the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL Division Series.

Snitker has a 542-451 managerial record, but is the first manager in franchise history to lead the Braves to five post seasons in his first six seasons. He won the 2018 NL Manager of the Year.

Dansby Swanson has detailed his decision to join the Chicago Cubs, explaining the sentimental reasons behind the move.

The shortstop left his hometown team, the Atlanta Braves, to pen a seven-year, $177million contract that stands as the second-richest deal in franchise history.

That ended a six-year stint with Atlanta and Swanson revealed a sentimental motive to making the move to Chicago. Indeed, he used to watch the Cubs' games with his grandfather, who died a week ago.

"Every time I walked in, he would have the Cubs game on," he said in his introductory press conference on Wednesday.

"He just loved baseball so much. Being a Cub means more to me than people will realise. It's no secret I left my hometown team to be here."

Swanson did concede that his first choice was to remain with the Braves, though it was a feeling he believes was not reciprocated.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't hope that I would be back home," he admitted. "Atlanta is where I always envisioned myself, especially after I got traded. I'm a homebody, my family is there.

"There are deep roots there, but at the end of the day, I reached out [to the Braves] plenty in the offseason, and got the pretty clear sense that they were going to move on.

"We were on our honeymoon, and we felt this is where we were supposed to be regardless."

Swanson married professional soccer player Mallory Pugh, who plays for Chicago Red Stars, just a day before the death of his grandfather, and thinks the cards fell exactly how they should have.

"I walked down to the field today and looked at my wife and said: this is where we're supposed to be," he added.

The Chicago Cubs took the last star shortstop off the free-agent market on Saturday, agreeing to a 7-year, $177 million contract with Dansby Swanson, sources told ESPN.

The deal, which is pending a physical, includes a full no-trade clause, according to two people familiar with the negotiations.

Swanson was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 amateur draft, but he was traded to Atlanta in a multiplayer deal that December.

He spent each of his seven MLB seasons with the Braves, helping them to a World Series championship in 2021 after batting .248 with 27 home runs and 88 RBIs.

He followed that by hitting .277 last season with 25 homers and a career-best 96 RBIs in 162 games. Swanson made the NL All-Star team for the first time and won his first Gold Glove.

The Cubs became the latest team to snag a high-priced shortstop following the San Francisco Giants (Carlos Correa, $350 million), Philadelphia Phillies (Trea Turner, $300 million) and San Diego Padres (Xander Bogaerts, $280 million).

With Swanson added, the Cubs likely will move Nico Hoerner from shortstop to second base.

Chicago finished third in the NL Central last season but did go 40-31 in its final 71 games. Besides Swanson, the Cubs signed 2019 NL MVP Cody Bellinger to a one-year contract and added right-hander Jameson Taillon on a four-year, $68 million deal.

Swanson is a career .255 hitter with 102 homers and 411 RBIs in 827 career games.

He got married last weekend to Mallory Pugh, who plays for the Chicago Red Stars, the women’s professional soccer team.

The Boston Red Sox have agreed to a five-year, $90 million contract with Japanese outfielder Masataka Yoshida.

Yoshida, who is a four-time Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) All-Star, joined the Red Sox the day after he was posted by his Japanese team, the Orix Buffaloes, making him available to MLB franchises.

The Buffaloes are the reigning Japanese champions with Yoshida hitting .335/.441/.561 with 21 home runs, 80 walks and only 41 strikeouts from 508 plate appearances.

The Red Sox will also pay an additional $15.4m posting fee to the Buffaloes, rounding out the bumper deal at $105.4m.

Boston also agreed to a two-year, $32 million contract with former Atlanta Braves closer Kenley Jansen on Wednesday to add depth to their bullpen.

The Red Sox finished bottom of the AL East division with a 78-84 record in 2022.

The MLB announced more award winners on Monday, with budding Seattle Mariners superstar Julio Rodriguez named the American League Rookie of the year, while the National League version went to Atlanta Braves center-fielder Michael Harris II.

It is the third major honour bestowed upon the 21-year-old Rodriguez in his first year, as he was also named as the only rookie to make the All-Star game, and last week became one of the three AL outfielders to win a Silver Slugger.

Batting .284 with an OPS of .853, Rodriguez became the only first-year player to ever tally at least 25 home runs and at least 25 stolen bases.

He was one first-place vote away from taking the AL's best rookie unanimously, claiming 29 of the 30 first-place votes, with the other going to impressive Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman.

Cleveland Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan was a clear third, with the Kansas City Royals' Bobby Witt Jr and the Houston Astros' World Series MVP Jeremy Pena also collecting some third-place votes.

In the National League, Harris received 22 of the 30 first-place votes, and the other eight went to his Braves teammate, starting pitcher Spencer Strider.

Strider's 202 strikeouts was 11th-most in the majors, and his rate of 13.8 strikeouts per nine innings was the best figure among starting pitchers this season.

However, voters preferred what Harris could provide every day with the bat and glove, batting .297 with an identical OPS to Rodriguez at .853. He also hit 19 home runs with 20 stolen bases, and boasted a fielding percentage of .992, with two errors from 257 chances.

The San Diego Padres delivered an unbelievable five-run seventh-inning rally to progress to the NLCS for the first time in 24 years and end the Los Angeles Dodgers' record-breaking season prematurely.

The Padres had lost Game 1 of the NLDS and trailed 3-0 halfway through the seventh inning in Game 4 against the Dodgers, who have dominated them for the past decade and had notched a franchise-best 111-51 regular season.

But San Diego found a way in front of the largest crowd in Petco Park history, booking their maiden NLCS appearance since 1998, where they will take on the Philadelphia Phillies, after they beat the Atlanta Braves 8-3 on Saturday.

Jake Cronenworth delivered a go-ahead two-run single as the Padres rallied with five hits and five runs in the seventh inning after managing only four hits in six innings prior to that.

Freddie Freeman lined a two-run double in the third inning before Will Smith's seventh-inning sacrifice fly for Mookie Betts had put the Dodgers 3-0 up, the latter marking the first run the Padres bullpen had conceded all series.

San Diego responded in a crazy inning, with Austin Nola bouncing to the right side to plate Jurickson Profar, before Kim Ha-seong's left-field line drive drove in Trent Grisham to make it 3-2.

Juan Soto tied the game up with a shot into right field, before Jake Cronenworth's go-ahead two-run double turned the crowd raucous.

Closer Josh Hader struck out Freeman to clinch the win and slay the dragon from down the road at long last.

The defeat ended the campaign for the Dodgers, whose 111 regular-season wins were the fourth-most wins in MLB history and the most by a National League (NL) team since 1906.

Yankees facing elimination after Gonzalez walkoff

Oscar Gonzalez stole the show and the win for the Cleveland Guardians with a two-run single with two outs in the ninth inning to earn a 6-5 win over the New York Yankees and a 2-1 ALDS lead.

Gonzalez hit the walk-off shot when he lined a 1-2 pitch from Clarke Schmidt through the middle to bring home Stevan Kwan and Amed Rosario.

That came after the Yankees had rallied from an early 2-0 deficit as Aaron Judge snapped his postseason skid with a two-run home run. New York had carried a 5-3 lead into the ninth inning.

The Yankees bullpen flopped, meaning they are facing an early exit when the ALDS resumes on Sunday at Yankee Stadium.

Astros advance after Pena ends epic

Jeremy Pena blasted an 18th-inning solo shot to advance the Houston Astros to the ALCS for the sixth straight season, ending an epic 1-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners and completing the sweep.

Luis Garcia closed out six hours and 22 minutes of prolonged postseason action, after Pena sent Penn Murfee into the seats over left-center field with a 415-foot blast.

Mariners starting pitcher George Kirby had been brilliant with five strikeouts across seven innings, but Astros right-hander Lance McCullers Jr overcame illness to send down seven K's across six innings, while Houston's bullpen only allowed five hits and struck out 15.

The game was only the fourth to last 18 innings in MLB postseason history, and the first in postseason history to go scoreless through 17 innings. 

Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker says his side simply ran into a hot team after bowing out of the MLB postseason following a 8-3 loss in Game 4 of the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday.

The Phillies completed a 3-1 NLDS win with another dominant display over the 2021 world champions at Citizens Bank Park, backing up Friday's emphatic 9-1 win.

Brandon Marsh delivered a three-run blast in the second inning, before J.T. Realmuto stirred up the home fans with a remarkable inside-the-park homer in the third. Bryce Harper's eighth-inning opposite-field home run put the gloss on the win.

For the Braves, it ended their title defence, having finished top of the NL East with a 101-61 after sensationally overhauling the New York Mets late in the regular season.

The Phillies won Games 3 and 4 scoring 17-4, while they piled on 24 runs across the four-game series despite being kept scoreless in Game 2 after a fine Kyle Wright shift.

Excluding Wright, the Braves starting pitchers struggled throughout the NLDS, with Charlie Morton pulled after two innings on Saturday, following on from Max Fried and Spencer Strider in Games 1 and 3 respectively.

"We ran into a really hot team, pretty much," Snitker told reporters. “They were hitting on all cylinders. They were playing great baseball. They got big hits.

"They shut us down offensively, and I think all the credit goes to the Phillies. They came in here, they got hot at the right time and played a heck of a series."

Snitker was not too downbeat about the Braves campaign, where rookies Michael Harris II and Strider emerged while Wright broke out, offering a solid foundation moving forward.

"They should be very proud of what they did this year," Snitker said. “Like I said earlier, you just never know where the postseason is going to take you and what’s going to happen.

"But we had a really strong year. The goal was to get into the postseason. We did and it didn't happen."

The Phillies, who finished 14 games behind the Braves in the NL East, progressed to the NLCS for the first time since 2010, after a midseason change of manager with Joe Girardi replaced by Rob Thomson.

Philadelphia will face either the Los Angeles Dodgers or San Diego Padres in the NLCS and will have plenty of belief after dominating the final two games against the Braves.

"The last 24 hours shows what we're made of," Marsh said. "There's a lot of good going with this ball club.

"We've just got to keep it going, keep our heads down and grind and just stay focused on the task at hand. The last 24 hours have been pretty fun."

Rhys Hoskins admits emotion took over when he spiked his bat after his drought-ending three-run home run in Friday's 9-1 win for the Philadelphia Phillies over the Atlanta Braves in Game 3 of the NLDS.

Hoskins was none-for-17 in the postseason until that point, while the Braves had elected to walk Kyle Schwarber to first base before him.

But the long-time Phillies first baseman blasted a 93mph Spencer Strider fastball over the fence at left field to put his side up 4-0, before iconically spiking his bat amid the wild celebrations at Citizens Bank Park.

"I didn't know what I did until a couple innings later, really," Hoskins told reporters about the bat flip. "It's just something that came out, just raw. But God, it was fun."

Hoskins' blast was part of a six-run third inning that blew the game open for the Phillies, who claimed a 2-1 NLDS lead ahead of another home game on Saturday.

"We knew the crowd was going to be a factor, a huge factor," Hoskins said. "We heard about it. And like Bryce [Harper] said, it blew expectations.

"It was a huge part, I think, of the victory because as stuff starts to snowball and they get louder, then more good things happen and they get louder. We'll see if we can continue that tomorrow."

Strider was making his return from injury for the Braves, having not pitched since September 18. After two solid innings, he began to tire in the third which proved costly for the 2021 world champions.

"We wanted him to go four, originally," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "And then I thought if he could get out of that third then that's going to be it. But it didn't happen."

With the Braves facing elimination, Snitker added: "We've got to go out and win one in a row. That's what we have to do."

Two-time All-Star Charlie Morton looms large as the Braves likely starting pitcher for Saturday's game.

The record-setting Los Angeles Dodgers are on the brink of elimination from the MLB postseason after going down 2-1 to the San Diego Padres in Game 3 of the NLDS on Friday.

Jake Cronenworth's first-inning RBI and Trent Grisham's fourth-inning blast, his third of the playoffs, guided the Padres to a 2-1 series lead.

Josh Hader closed it out in the first postseason game with fans at Petco Park since 2006, striking out Chris Taylor and Trayce Thompson in the ninth inning to get the win.

The Dodgers finished the regular season with a franchise-best 111 wins, which was also the fourth-most wins in MLB history and the most by a National League (NL) team since 1906.

But Dave Roberts' side will need to stave off elimination in two games to progress to the NLCS, starting on Saturday at a likely rocking Petco Park.

The Padres went ahead early with Cronenworth's center-field base hit driving in Juan Soto, before some Manny Machado brilliance at third base closed out the third inning.

Grisham, who is hitting at .389 in the playoffs, blasted a solo shot over right field at the bottom of the fourth inning from Andrew Heaney to double the lead.

Thompson halved the deficit from Mookie Betts' sacrifice fly in the fifth inning, but the Padres bullpen got the job done again, with 39 outs for the series.

Hoskins and Harper blasts lead Phillies rout

The Philadelphia Phillies moved within one win of the NLCS after crushing world champions, the Atlanta Braves 9-1, fueled by third-inning blasts from Rhys Hoskins and Bryce Harper in their first home playoff game in 11 years.

The Phillies piled on six runs in the third inning, headlined by Hoskins ending his rut with a shot over left field, before Harper added two more with a homer over right-center field.

Harper, who is six-for-11 in this series, added an RBI double in the seventh inning before Nick Castellanos stayed hot at the next at-bat, driving in two more.

In-form Aaron Nola was exceptional on the mound for the Phillies, striking out six while giving up five hits and two walks in six-plus innings.

Bloops help Guardians down Yankees

The Cleveland Guardians squared up the ALDS with a 4-2 win in the 10th inning against the New York Yankees after back-to-back bloop hits.

Giancarlo Stanton had blasted a first-inning two-run homer but the Guardians rallied back with Amed Rosario's fifth-inning solo shot tying the game.

In the 10th inning, Jose Ramirez showed hustle to get to third base on a bloop into left-field, before getting home from Oscar Gonzalez's go-ahead single bloop to right-field. Josh Naylor's RBI double padded the lead.

The Guardians blunted Aaron Judge, who went none-for-five and was booed by the ruthless Yankees crowd, with starting pitcher Shane Bieber having seven K's across five-and-two-third innings.

The San Diego Padres tied up the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers with a nail-biting 5-3 victory in a game that included five solo home runs on Wednesday.

Manny Machado played a key role going two-for-five, including a first-inning solo homer along with a third-inning RBI, while Jurickson Profar got his fifth RBI this postseason to put the Padres up 4-3 in the sixth inning.

Jake Cronenworth added another with a solo blast over right-field in the eighth inning before Josh Hader closed it out.

Yu Darvish pitched five innings with seven strikeouts but allowed seven hits and three runs.

The Dodgers had their chances, with nine batters left on base, while they did not have a hit with a runner in scoring position all night.

Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy and Trea Turner all scored solo home runs for the Dodgers. Freeman, who went two-for-four, got on base with a ninth-inning double but Will Smith was caught short of the wall in right-field by Juan Soto to end it.

Clayton Kershaw had six K's across five innings for the Dodgers, restoring his position as the MLB's all-time leading postseason strikeout leader with 213.

Pitcher Brusdar Graterol made a key play down 4-3 in the sixth inning, throwing out Wil Myers at home from a Trent Grisham bunt, but the Dodgers could not capitalise with the Padres' bullpen again exceptional, led by Robert Suarez.

The next two games of the NLDS are at Petco Park where the Padres will be playing in front of their fans in a postseason game for the first time since 2006.

Wright leads Braves to level up with Phillies

Kyle Wright threw six stellar innings as the Atlanta Braves squared the NLDS as they blanked the Philadelphia Phillies 3-0.

After a lengthy rain delay, Wright allowed only two hits with one walk, whilst striking out six Phillies, before reliever A.J. Minter pitched a perfect seventh inning.

The Braves piled on all three runs in the sixth inning with three consecutive two-out singles, as Ronald Acuna Jr overcame a 96mph fastball from Zack Wheeler to his elbow to break the tie, driven in by Matt Olson whose line hit got by first baseman Rhys Hoskins on an in-between hop.

Austin Riley's gentle dribble got Dansby Swanson to home plate, before Travis d'Arnaud grounded to center-field to drive in Olson.

Atlanta Braves reliever Tyler Matzek will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the entire postseason.

Braves manager Brian Snitker confirmed the news prior to Game 2 of the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday.

Matzek had experienced discomfort in his elbow late in the regular season and the Braves have now determined he requires surgery to resolve the injury.

"Hate it for him," Snitker told reporters. "He's struggled with things all year. I don't know, maybe this is the reason.

"I think him going ahead and getting it done and starting the process, I think he feels really good about that."

The 2021 World Series champion has been a valuable member of the Braves bullpen over the past few seasons.

Matzek appeared in 13 postseason games last year, giving up just three runs as the Braves won the World Series title, although he has been less effective this year.

The surgery puts 31-year-old left-hander Matzek's availability for the 2023 season in doubt.

"He's still a young man, can have a really good career as we've seen what he can do," Snitker said.

"I hate it for him that he can't experience this again. But talking to him, when he left to go for the examination, he was in a good place, and I think he felt good about his future and going ahead and taking care of this."

Matzek later tweeted: "Thank you to everyone for the support. Plan to come back stronger after this."

Gerrit Cole pitched brilliantly and Anthony Rizzo cracked the game-sealing home run as the New York Yankees defeated the Cleveland Guardians 4-1 in the first game of the ALDS on Tuesday.

Starting on the mound, Cole pitching six-and-a-third innings, giving up just one run off four hits and one walk, courtesy of a Steven Kwan home run in the third frame.

Harrison Bader replied for the Yankees later in the first inning, becoming the only Yankee to ever hit their first home run for the franchise in a playoff game, after being acquired at the deadline and struggling to find his power down the stretch.

Bader's 406-foot shot was the longest hit of the game, but the one that sent the Yankees fans into raptures came in the sixth inning.

After Jose Trevino's sacrifice-fly gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead, Rizzo came through with a runner on base in the sixth, connecting on a two-run home run to give New York some breathing room.

The Yankees' bullpen was rock solid, not allowing a baserunner in the final two innings to see out the game unscathed.

Likely AL MVP Aaron Judge had a poor outing, finishing with one walk and three strikeouts from his four at-bats, and Josh Donaldson was the only Yankee to register multiple hits, going two-for-two with a walk.

Phillies hang on by the narrowest of margins

The Philadelphia Phillies would have felt great going into the final inning of their Game 1 against the Atlanta Braves leading 7-3, but barely hung on for a 7-6 win after plenty of late drama.

Three RBIs from three Nick Castellanos hits and a pair of RBIs for Alec Bohm helped build a 7-1 Philadelphia lead in the fifth inning, but a two-run double from Travis d'Arnaud later in the fifth and three-run homer for Matt Olson in the ninth cut that lead to one.

Zach Eflin was the man entrusted with closing things out on the mound for the Phillies, but despite giving up three runs with only one out, the Phillies stuck with him, and he delivered the final two outs.

Dodgers ride early runs to Game 1 win

The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres 5-3 in Game 1 of the NLDS, but they did not score a run after the third inning.

It looked like it would be a high-scoring contest after Trea Turner hit a home run as the first Dodgers batter of the game, and RBIs to Gavin Lux, Will Smith and Max Muncy had them up 5-0 through three frames.

But once Padres starter Mike Clevinger was removed, their bullpen proved to be impressively stout, pitching six-and-a-third innings of shutout baseball.

Ultimately, the early advantage proved to be enough, as the Padres grabbed three runs back in the fifth inning, but could not make any impression late as Chris Martin and Alex Vesia shut things down out of the Dodgers bullpen.

Aaron Judge stands alone at the top of home run history in the American League after breaking Roger Maris' 61-year single-season homer record with his 62nd blast in the New York Yankees' 3-2 loss to the Texas Rangers on Tuesday.

Judge, who had hit just one homer in his previous 13 games coming in, blasted a 1-1 slider off Rangers' pitcher Jesus Tinoco over the left-field fence for a lead-off homer to break the mark.

The Yankees outfielder's home run was his 62nd of the season, surpassing Maris' 61-homer mark from 1961, which he had matched last Wednesday against the Toronto Blue Jays.

The blast came in the Yankees' penultimate game of the regular season, with Judge's 62 homers sitting seventh for most in a single season in MLB history.

Ahead of Judge are only three players, all from 1997 to 2001; Barry Bonds (73 in 2001), Mark McGwire (70 in 1999 and 65 in 1999) and Sammy Sosa (66 in 1998, 64 in 2001, 63 in 1999).

The home run means 11 of Judge's past 14 blasts have come on the road. Gerrit Cole also made franchise history, reaching 257 strikeouts for the most in a single season for the Yankees.

The Yankees were beaten after the Rangers added two fifth-inning runs, with the visitors having won the first game in the double header 5-4 when Judge went one-for-five with a single.

Braves complete turnaround to clinch NL East

Following their sweep over the New York Mets, the Atlanta Braves clinched their fifth straight National League (NL) East title with a 2-1 victory over the Miami Marlins.

William Contreras drove in the go-ahead run in the fifth inning with an infield single, earning the reigning world champions a first-round bye as the NL second seed. The achievement comes after the Braves had trailed the Mets by 10-and-a-half games in June.

Jake Odorizzi had seven strikeouts across five innings, while Kenley Jansen recorded his 41st save with a perfect ninth inning. Ronald Acuna Jr hit a second-inning single to give the Braves an early lead.

AL seeds locked in as Verlander stars for Astros

The Seattle Mariners locked in the number five seed in the AL playoffs with a 7-6 walkoff win over the Detroit Tigers, highlighted by back-up catcher Luis Torrens pitching the 10th inning.

Entering extras ahead of the postseason, the Mariners shuffled their deck, with Torrens becoming the first position player other than Shohei Ohtani to earn a win since John Baker in 2014 for the Chicago Cubs. Abraham Toro's sacrifice fly allowed Carlos Santana to score the walkoff run.

That result meant the Tampa Bay Rays were locked for the third AL Wild Card spot, not helped by a 6-0 loss to the Boston Red Sox where Xander Bogaerts delivered a fifth-inning grand slam.

Meanwhile, the Houston Astros go into the postseason as the AL top seed after a 10-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies where Cy Young Award favourite Justin Verlander had 10 K's and kept the opposition hitless until the ninth inning.