Adrian Houser pitched five effective innings and Tyrone Taylor drove in two runs as the Milwaukee Brewers completed a three-game sweep of the American League West-leading Texas Rangers with Sunday's 6-2 win.

Milwaukee chased three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer in the fourth inning to maintain a three-game advantage on second-place Chicago in the National League Central. The Cubs kept pace with Sunday's 4-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals.

Houser allowed just one run on six hits and struck out seven to help the Brewers deal the slumping Rangers a fourth consecutive loss. Taylor finished 2 for 3 with three runs scored and Christian Yelich had a pair of hits, including an RBI double, as Milwaukee took advantage of an uncharacteristically wild outing from Scherzer.

Scherzer walked four batters and hit another while being charged with three runs in just 3 2/3 innings. The star hurler entered Sunday's matchup having allowed just four runs in 20 innings in winning each of his first three starts since being traded to Texas by the New York Mets on July 30.

The 39-year-old did record his 3,343rd career strikeout in the third inning to pass Hall of Famer Phil Niekro for 11th place on MLB's all-time list.

Corey Seager went 2 for 4 and accounted for the Rangers' lone run off Houser with a solo homer in the third inning.

 

Surging Mariners hold off Astros to sweep three-game series

The AL West is quickly becoming a three-team race thanks to the recent tear of the Seattle Mariners, who won for the 14th time in 17 games by holding on for a 7-6 victory over the division-rival Houston Astros on Sunday.

Seattle built a 6-0 lead after 2 1/2 innings en route to a sweep of the three-game series and sixth straight win overall. The surge has moved the Mariners within three games of the first-place Texas Rangers in the AL West and a half-game back of Houston for the league's second wild card.

Dominic Canzone and Dylan Moore each went 4 for 5 with an RBI to lead Seattle's 15-hit attack, while Eugenio Suarez had a two-run homer as the Mariners pounded Astros starter Hunter Brown for six runs in 2 2/3 innings.

The Astros rallied with five runs in the bottom of the third, but were held scoreless by the Seattle bullpen over the final three innings to lose for the fifth time in seven games.

Gabe Speier protected the one-run lead in the ninth to record his first career major league save.

Yordan Alvarez and Mauricio Dubon each knocked in two runs during Houston's big third inning, while Alex Bregman finished 2 for 4 with an RBI triple.

 

Red Sox extend Yankees' skid to eight games, finish series sweep

Justin Turner's ninth-inning double drove in the deciding run as the Boston Red Sox earned a 6-5 victory over the New York Yankees that sent the Bronx Bombers to their longest losing streak in 28 years.

The Yankees have now dropped eight games in a row for the first time since Aug. 19-26, 1995 despite rallying from a three-run deficit and nearly going ahead in the eighth inning.

New York appeared to take a 6-5 lead when Isiah Kiner-Falefa was called safe at home while attempting to score on Anthony Volpe's single with two outs in the bottom of the eighth. The ruling was overturned after the Red Sox challenged the play, however, to keep the game tied entering the ninth.

Pablo Reyes led off the ninth with a single off Clay Holmes and stole second before crossing the plate on Turner's opposite-field double, the veteran's fourth RBI of the game.

Kenley Jansen then worked around a leadoff double in the bottom of the ninth to earn his 29th save and close out Boston's eighth win in nine meetings with New York this season.

Turner also had a three-run homer in the seventh that snapped a 2-2 tie, while Rafael Devers delivered a solo shot for Boston and finished 3 for 4 with three runs scored.

The Yankees homered three times on the day, including Volpe's three-run blast off reliever John Schreiber in the bottom of the seventh that tied the game at 5-5. Gleyber Torres and Kyle Higashioka had solo shots in defeat.

Julio Rodriguez had set a major league record with 17 hits in four games and Dylan Moore hit a pair of home runs to lead the surging Seattle Mariners to a 10-3 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday.

With a single to left field in the seventh inning, Rodriguez broke a major league record set in 1925 by Milt Stock of the Brooklyn Robins.

Rodriguez finished 4 for 6 for his fourth straight game with at least four hits. He is 17 for 22 with two homers, eight RBIs and five runs in those four games.

Moore hit his first home run in the fifth inning and Houston starter Framber Valdez threw a pitch at the feet of the next batter, Jose Caballero. Caballero got up, put his arms out and started walking and talking toward Valdez, who responded. The benches cleared though no punches were thrown.

Houston’s Jose Altuve became the latest member of the 2,000-hit club with a single in the fifth inning. He is the third in franchise history to reach that plateau, joining Hall of Famers Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell.

Sam Haggerty also homed for the Mariners, who won their fifth straight and pulled to within 1 ½ games of the Astros for the second AL wild-card spot. Seattle maintained a one-half game lead over Toronto for the third spot.

 

Phillies’ Turner homers twice in 8th inning

Trea Turner hit two home runs during an eight-run eighth inning and the Philadelphia Phillies rallied for a 12-3 rout of the Washington Nationals.

Turner led off the eighth inning with his 13th homer of the season and followed Bryson Stott’s three-run homer later in the frame with another shot.

Turner is the first Phillies player to hit two home runs in an inning since Von Hayes on June 11, 1985, in the first inning against the New York Mets.

Nick Castellanos and Jake Cave also went deep for Philadelphia, which opened a three-game lead over San Francisco in the race for the top wild-card spot in the NL.

 

Urias hits another grand slam as Red Sox win

Luis Urias became the first Boston Red Sox player to hit grand slams on consecutive pitches in an 8-1 win over the reeling New York Yankees.

Urias took Yankees ace Gerrit Cole deep in the second inning with the bases loaded after he cleared the bases in his last at-bat against Washington reliever Robert Garcia on Thursday.

Urias is the first Red Sox player to hit grand slams in consecutive games since Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx on May 20-21, 1940. He also is the first player to hit grand slams in consecutive trips to the plate since Josh Willingham with Washington in 2009.

The Yankees were no-hit until Aaron Judge homered in the sixth inning. They have lost seven straight to fall three games under .500.

Spencer Strider pitched one-hit ball over seven innings and the major league-leading Atlanta Braves blanked the San Francisco Giants 3-0 for their third straight shutout on Friday.

Strider became the first 14-game winner in the majors, giving up his only hit to Wilmer Flores in the fourth inning.

He struck out 10 for the 16th double-digit strikeout performance of his career and 10th this season. Strider leads the majors with 227 strikeouts, 40 more than second-place Kevin Gausman of Toronto.

Joe Jimenez, A.J. Minter and Raisel Iglesias finished up to give Atlanta three consecutive shutouts for the first time since the final three games of 2015 against St. Louis.

The Braves have five shutouts in their last eight games.

Atlanta got all the offense it needed with two runs in the first off Alex Cobb. Ronald Acuna Jr. and Michael Harris II singled and Matt Olson had a run-scoring fielder’s choice before Marcell Ozuna singled home another run.

Harris went 4 for 5 with a double and a triple, while Eddie Rosario had two hits and one RBI.

San Francisco has lost seven of nine and was held to one run or fewer for the 28th time this season, third-most in the majors.

 

Marlins roll to end Dodgers’ streak

Jorge Soler hit two of the Marlins’ five home runs and Miami cruised to an 11-3 rout to end the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 11-game winning streak.

Jazz Chisholm Jr., Jake Burger and Jacob Stallings all went deep for the Marlins, who hit five home runs for the first time since July 3, 2012, at Milwaukee.

Sandy Alcantara allowed three runs – all on solo homers - and seven hits over six innings with one walk and six strikeouts to earn the win.

The Dodgers got home runs from Mookie Betts, Max Muncy and James Outman but dropped to 15-2 this month.

 

Mariners’ Rodriguez stays red hot in win

Julio Rodriguez had four more hits, including a home run, and Bryce Miller pitched 6 1/3 innings as the Seattle Mariners moved into a wild-card spot with a 2-0 victory over the Houston Astros.

Rodriguez tied a team record by hitting safely in nine straight at-bats before that run was snapped on a fielding error by Jeremy Pena in the seventh inning.

Rodriguez had five hits and five RBIs in Thursday’s win over Kansas City and is 13 for 16 with two home runs and eight RBIs in his last three games.

Miller gave up two hits and struck out two before Justin Topa and Andres Munoz locked up Seattle’s fourth straight win.

The Mariners took a one-half lead over Toronto in the race for the third and final AL wild-card spot.

Austin Barnes provided the game’s only run with an eighth-inning home run and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Milwaukee Brewers 1-0 for their 11th straight win on Thursday.

After Corbin Burnes and counterpart Lance Lynn each put up zeroes for seven innings, Barnes lined an 0-1 pitch from Joel Payamps into the lower seats in left for his first home run of the season with one out in the eighth.

The Dodgers improved to 15-1 in August, outscoring opponents 93-38.

Lynn allowed four hits with one walk and three strikeouts in his fourth start since joining the Dodgers in a trade with the White Sox.

Caleb Ferguson worked the eighth and Evan Phillips pitched the ninth for his 18th save in 20 opportunities.

Burnes limited the red-hot Dodgers to two hits while walking two and striking out nine but remained winless in his last five starts.

Milwaukee totalled just three runs in the series and had its NL Central lead trimmed to two games over the Cubs and Cincinnati.

 

Rodriguez leads Mariners past Royals

Julio Rodriguez capped his first career five-hit game with a two-run homer and the Seattle Mariners continued their playoff push with a 6-4 win over the Kansas City Royals.

Rodriguez went 5 for 5 with a career high-tying five RBIs and finished the four-game series with 12 hits, setting a franchise record for any series.

He is the fourth Mariners player with at least four hits in consecutive games, the fifth player in team history with a five-hit, five-RBI game, and the first Seattle player with at least 20 homers in each of his first two seasons.

Cal Raleigh also homered as the Mariners pulled within one-half game of idle Toronto for the third and final AL wild-card spot.

 

Gallen shuts down Padres as Diamondbacks win

Zach Gallen pitched six strong innings and was backed by home runs from Tommy Pham and Gabriel Moreno in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ 3-1 win over the San Diego Padres in the opener of a four-game series.

Gallen limited the Padres to one run and three hits with one walk and three strikeouts to beat the Padres for the second straight start. He became the fourth 13-game winner in the majors.

Kyle Nelson fanned three in 1 1/3 scoreless innings and rookie Justin Martinez got the final four outs for his first career save.

Pham followed Corbin Carroll’s one-out walk in the fourth inning with his 12th home run and Moreno added his fourth of the season an inning later.

Arizona has won five of six following a nine-game losing streak to get within one game of the third and final NL wild-card spot.

Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith each had three hits and the Los Angeles Dodgers rolled to their 10th straight victory, 7-1 over the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday.

Betts had three singles and scored four times, Freeman added a pair of doubles and a single and Smith went 3 for 4 with two RBIs.

Chris Taylor and Miguel Rojas homered as Los Angeles improved to 14-1 in August to open a 10-game lead over San Francisco in the NL West.

The Dodgers have outscored opponents 61-22 during the win streak.

Clayton Kershaw limited NL Central-leading Milwaukee to three hits and one run – Mark Canha’s homer – over five innings with two walks and two strikeouts in his second start back from the injured list.

Rojas’ second-inning home run put the Dodgers up 2-1 and Betts scored later in the frame when J.D. Martinez reached on interference by catcher William Contreras with the bases loaded.

Smith followed singles by Betts and Freeman in the fourth with a sacrifice fly and Freeman doubled home Betts in the sixth before he scored on Smith’s single.

 

Cubs win on Morel’s walk-off homer

Christopher Morel drilled a dramatic three-run home run in the ninth inning to lift the Chicago Cubs to a 4-3 win over the rival Chicago White Sox.

The Cubs entered the ninth trailing 3-1 but got a leadoff double from Cody Bellinger against Gregory Santos. After Dansby Swanson walked, Morel drove a 1-2 pitch into the bleacher sets in right-centre field for his 19th home run.

Morel’s blast was the Cubs’ first hit with runners in scoring position all night after they were 0 for 6.

Nick Madrigal hit a pinch-hit home run in the eighth to set the stage for Morel’s heroics.

Gavin Sheets had a two-run homer for the White Sox, who had won six straight at Wrigley Field.

 

Detmers flirts with no-hitter in Angels’ win

Reid Detmers took a no-hitter into the eighth inning and Shohei Ohtani homered in the Los Angeles Angels’ 2-0 win over the Texas Rangers.

Detmers held Texas hitless until Marcus Semien lined a double into the left-centre field gap with one out in the eighth on his 108th and final pitch.

Detmers, who threw a no-hitter last season as a rookie, finished with five strikeouts and four walks.

Ohtani took Jon Gray deep in the first inning for AL-best 42nd home run.  

The Rangers were shut out for the ninth time this season and had a nine-game home winning streak snapped.

The Chicago Cubs were planning on Marcus Stroman returning from the injured list to pitch Wednesday.

It turns out he will be sidelined much longer.

Stroman has been diagnosed with a right rib cartilage fracture and is out indefinitely.

Already on the IL due to right hip inflammation, the 32-year-old experienced rib discomfort recently during his rehab and the Cubs announced Tuesday he would not be activated to pitch against the Chicago White Sox the following night.

At this point, the Cubs are going to wait until he's pain-free until he resumes throwing.

While the team is not giving a timeline for his return, recovery for such an injury could be anywhere from two weeks to up to six weeks.

With only 6 1/2 weeks left in the season, it's possible he's done for the year.

It's a tough blow for a Cubs team that entered Wednesday 3 1/2 games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central and one game back of the Miami Marlins for the final wild-card spot in the NL.

Stroman, who was Chicago's opening day starter, was sensational early in the season, going 9-4 with a 2.28 ERA in 16 starts through June 20 and earned his second All-Star team selection. At that time, his ERA was the lowest in the NL among the 37 pitchers with at least 70 innings thrown.

The last two months have not gone nearly as well for him, as he's gone 1-4 with a 9.00 ERA in his last seven outings and landed on the IL on August 2.

Despite his recent struggles, the Cubs were hoping a stint on the IL would help Stroman regain his early season form, but now the team is facing the real possibility he won't be able to pitch the rest of the year.

 

Rookie Bobby Miller pitched one-hit ball over six innings to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to their ninth straight win, 6-2 over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday.

Miller allowed his only hit to the first batter he faced and earned his first win since July 22. He struck out four and walked one before Ryan Yarbrough pitched three innings for his first career save.

The Dodgers sent 10 batters to the plate and scored five runs in the sixth to knock out starter Adrian Houser.

J.D. Martinez doubled off the wall in left to score Will Smith, who reached on a throwing error by third baseman Andruw Monasterio.

Pinch-hitter Kike Hernandez singled home a pair of runs off reliever Hoby Milner and scored on Miguel Rojas’ single before Mookie Betts’ RBI single made it 6-1.

Los Angeles has outscored opponents 54-21 during the nine-game streak to open a nine-game lead over San Francisco in the NL West.

Carlos Santana homered for NL Central-leading Milwaukee, which had a four-game winning streak snapped but remained 3 ½ games of the Cubs and Reds.

 

Elder goes 7 as Braves 1-hit sliding Yankees

Bryce Elder was nearly unhittable for seven innings, Ronald Acuna Jr. and Marcell Ozuna went deep and the Atlanta Braves beat the struggling New York Yankees 5-0.

The Yankees’ only hit of the night was a second-inning DJ LeMahieu single off Elder, who bounced back from losses in his previous two starts to pitch his best game of the year.

A.J. Minter and Kirby Yates pitched an inning each to complete the one-hitter for the MLB-best Braves, who have won seven of their last nine.

Acuna stayed on his MVP-caliber pace by hitting his 26th home run and scoring two runs. He is hitting .368 this month with a 1.040 OPS.

The last-place Yankees continued their slide, falling to 11-18 since the All-Star break and dropping to .500 for the first time since May 1.

 

Mariners recover to beat Royals

Ty France singled home a pair in the 10th inning and the Seattle Mariners topped the Kansas City Royals 10-8 after blowing a seven-run lead.

Seattle took an 8-5 lead into the bottom of the ninth but were unable to hold a late lead for the second straight night.

An error and two walks loaded the bases with two outs before Michael Massey delivered a two-run single. Salvador Perez followed with another hit to make it 8-8.

Seattle scored seven runs in the fourth inning off Jordan Lyles, starting with back-to-back home runs by Eugenio Suarez and France before Teoscar Hernandez followed Cal Raleigh’s walk with a longball of his own.

Jose Caballero doubled home a run later in the inning and scored on Josh Rojas’ first home run of the season.

Hernandez tied a career high with five hits and had three RBIs, while France went 4 for 6 with three RBIs.

Kansas City cut the deficit to 7-5 in the fifth, highlighted by Bobby Witt Jr.’s second grand slam in 18 days.

Max Scherzer struck out a season-high 11 batters in seven dominant innings, Adolis Garcia hit his 30th home run of the season and the Texas Rangers routed the Los Angeles Angels 12-0 Monday for their 11th win in their last 13 games.

Scherzer allowed only one hit – an infield single in the second inning to Mike Moustakas – and walked one batter in his best outing of the year. Two of Scherzer’s 11 strikeouts came against Shohei Ohtani in the first ever matchup between the two superstars.

At 39 years old, Scherzer improved to 12-4 this season and 3-0 since being acquired by the Rangers at the trade deadline.

Garcia’s two-run home run in the seventh inning gave him 30 this season and upped his AL-leading RBI total to 91. Marcus Semien hit a two-run homer and had five RBIs.

With the win and the Houston Astros’ loss to the Miami Marlins, the Rangers (71-48) expanded their lead in the AL West to 3 ½ games.

The Angels (59-61) continued their slide down the AL wild card standings and have been outscored by a combined 35-8 over their last four games.

 

Rays’ Glasnow sharp in victorious return

Tyler Glasnow returned from a two-week absence due to back spasms to throw six strong innings and lead the Tampa Bay Rays to a 10-2 win over the San Francisco Giants.

Glasnow allowed three hits and one run while striking out seven in his first start since July 31. The 6-foot-8 right-hander reached 98 mph on the radar gun and improved to 4-1 with a 1.63 ERA over his last six starts.

The Rays’ offence did its job by piling up a season-high 18 hits, including Christian Bethancourt’s first home run since May 20.

Every Tampa Bay starter had at least one hit, and six different players had multiple hits.

The Rays were without shortstop Wander Franco, who was placed on the restricted list while he is being investigated for allegedly having an improper relationship with a minor.

 

Lopez, Fried lift Braves over scuffling Yankees

Nicky Lopez starred in his role as a fill-in, Max Fried collected a win in his first home start in over three months and the Atlanta Braves handled the New York Yankees 11-3.

Lopez tallied three hits and three RBIs while starting in place of second baseman Ozzie Albies, who is expected to land on the 10-day injured list with a hamstring strain.

Fried went six innings in his Truist Park return, allowing eight hits and two runs.

Fried was activated from the 60-day injured list on Aug. 4 for a pair of road starts before returning home. His last start in Atlanta had come on May 5.

The NL-leading Braves (76-42) remained hot, winners in six of their last eight games.

The Yankees (60-59) had 11 hits but grounded into three double-plays, and the loss dropped them 5 ½ back of the Toronto Blue Jays for the final AL wild card spot.

Cedric Mullins sure had a flair for the dramatic on Sunday.

Mullins robbed Ty France of a potential game-tying home run in the ninth inning, and then hit a two-run shot in the 10th to lead the visiting Baltimore Orioles to a thrilling 5-3 win over the Seattle Mariners.

Two pitches after Mullins reached over the centre field wall to catch France's would-be homer for the second out, Seattle ended up tying the game 3-3 on a Dominic Canzone home run.

That set up more late-inning magic from Mullins, who had entered in the sixth inning as a defensive replacement, as his homer in the 10th scored automatic runner Gunnar Henderson to put Baltimore ahead.

Mullins' home run was his first since July 14, as he had been 0 for 9 since being activated from the injured list prior to Friday's series opener.

 

Shintaro Fujinami pitched a perfect 10th for his first save.

It marked the AL-leading Orioles' second straight 10-inning triumph after Saturday's 1-0 victory snapped Seattle's eight-game winning streak.

With the win, Baltimore moved three games ahead of the second-place Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East.

The Mariners, who managed just 10 hits in the last two games after averaging 9.7 per game during their winning streak, fell 1 1/2 games back of the Toronto Blue Jays for the final wild-card spot in the AL.

 

Marlins score five runs in bottom of ninth for stunning 8-7 win over Yankees

If the Miami Marlins end up making the playoffs this season, they may point to their 8-7 thrilling comeback win over the New York Yankees as the game that helped catapult them to the postseason.

Trailing 7-3 after eight innings, the Marlins scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth to stun the Yankees, winning on Jake Burger's walkoff single.

Miami scored its first two runs in the eighth on a throwing error by New York closer Clay Holmes and tied the game on MLB batting leader Luis Arraez's two-run triple.

Tommy Kahnle then relieved Holmes, and after Bryan De La Cruz walked, Burger lined a singled to left field to score Arraez and win the game.

 

Burger had three hits and drove in two runs, and is batting .317 with five extra-base hits and six RBIs in 11 games since being acquired by the Chicago White Sox at the trade deadline.

The Marlins won for the fourth time in five games and took a half-game lead over the Chicago Cubs for the NL's final wild-card spot.

The Yankees, meanwhile, wasted a major league-leading 18th quality start from ace Gerrit Cole to fall five games back of the Blue Jays for the AL's last playoff spot.

Cole gave up two runs and struck out six over six innings before handing things over to the bullpen with a 7-2 lead.

Prior to Sunday, the Yankees were 17-0 in games in which Cole pitched and received at least seven runs of support.

 

Urias strikes out 12 as Dodgers win season-high eighth straight game

The Los Angeles Dodgers continued their scorching start to August with an 8-3 win over the Colorado Rockies to extend their season-high winning streak to eight.

Julio Urias matched his career high with 12 strikeouts - punching out seven in a row at one point - while allowing three runs and four hits over seven innings for his 10th win of the season. The veteran left-hander has posted a 1.50 ERA in winning his last three starts.

Miguel Rojas homered and drove in four runs for Los Angeles, which improved to 12-1 this month to take an 8 1/2-game lead over the second-place San Francisco Giants atop the NL West. The Dodgers entered August just 2 1/2 games up on the Giants.

Mookie Betts had a two-run double Sunday and has been instrumental to the Dodgers' surge, batting .367 with four homers, six doubles and 12 RBIs in 12 games this month.

 

Ryan Mountcastle drove in the game’s only run and the Baltimore Orioles pulled out a 1-0 victory to end the Seattle Mariners’ eight-game winning streak on Saturday night.

George Kirby took a no-decision in a masterful start for Seattle, allowing three singles over nine scoreless innings with no walks and seven strikeouts.

Cedric Mullins was placed at second base to start the top of the 10th and stole third. After Anthony Santander grounded out, Mountcastle grounded a pitch from Andres Munoz up the middle to give Baltimore its lone run.

Felix Bautista struck out four in two scoreless innings for the win as the All-Star closer bounced back from his last two appearances, when he gave up five runs in 1 2/3 innings.

The win kept the AL East-leading Orioles two games ahead of Tampa Bay, which rallied to beat Cleveland earlier in the day.

Baltimore starter Cole Irvin worked the first five innings with six strikeouts and four relievers pitched three more scoreless innings before Bautista took over.

The Mariners went 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position and remained one-half game behind Toronto for the third and final AL wild-card spot.

 

Dodgers win 7th straight

Tony Gonsolin pitched six strong innings and was backed by three home runs as the Los Angeles Dodgers won their season-high seventh in a row, 4-1 over the Colorado Rockies.

Gonsolin allowed a home run to Ezequiel Tovar on the first pitch of the game but kept the Rockies scoreless the rest of the way with only two hits.

He did not walk a batter and struck out six to win his third consecutive start.

Will Smith answered Tovar’s homer with one of his own in the bottom of the first and James Outman and Amed Rosario also went deep for the Dodgers, who have won 11 of 12.

 

Seager, Garver power red-hot Rangers

Mitch Garver drove in three runs and Corey Seager homered to lead the Texas Rangers to their 10th win in 11 games, 9-3 over the slumping San Francisco Giants.

Garver had a go-ahead single in Texas’ three-run fourth inning and added a two-run single in the ninth.

Seager hit his 20th home run in the first inning and Ezequiel Duran had three hits and a pair of RBIs to help the Rangers improve to 10-1 following a 2-7 stretch.

Michael Conforto and Heliot Ramos homered, but the Giants lost for the sixth time in seven games.

Entering Friday's series opener against the Los Angeles Angels, the last time Astros first baseman Jon Singleton homered in a major league game, the Houston franchise had not yet won a World Series and was mired in a nine-year playoff drought.

Singleton ended an eight-year span between MLB home runs with two majestic shots in the Astros' 11-3 win over the Angels.

Three days after his contract was selected from Triple-A Sugar Land, Singleton put Houston up 3-1 in the second inning with a three-run homer - his first in the majors since he hit one for the Astros in a 6-3 win over the Angels on July 29, 2015.

That gap of eight year and 13 days between homers was the longest stretch by an MLB position player since Rafael Belliard went 10 years and 144 days between the only two homers of his career - for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1987 and for the Atlanta Braves in 1997.

The 31-year-old Singleton, who appeared in 114 games for the Astros in 2014 and 2015 but was then out of organized baseball from 2017 until 2021, then hit a two-run blast in his second at-bat with one out in the third inning.

 

Justin Verlander allowed three runs and six hits while striking out seven over six innings to earn the win in his second start for the Astros since being acquired from the New York Mets at the trade deadline. It was his 500th start, making Verlander the 50th player in MLB history to reach that milestone.

The Astros, who have won two World Series titles since 2017 and are trying to reach the playoffs for the seventh year in a row, remained 2 1/2 games behind the Texas Rangers for first place in the AL West.

 

Mariners rout AL-best Orioles to extend season-high winning streak to eight games

The Seattle Mariners continued their winning ways this month with a 9-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles to extend their season-high winning streak to eight games.

The Mariners jumped out to a fast start with Cal Raleigh hitting a two-run home run in the first inning and Seattle blew the game open with a five-run fourth inning, highlighted by Julio Rodriguez's three-run blast.

Rodriguez also hit a run-scoring double for the Mariners, who are a major league-best 16-4 since July 20 and have moved within one-half game of the Toronto Blue Jays for the AL's final wild-card spot.

Luis Castillo stymied Baltimore's bats, yielding just an Anthony Santander solo homer and one other hit while striking out eight over six innings. Seattle starting pitchers are 5-0 with a 1.20 ERA in the team's last five games.

The AL East-leading Orioles have lost three of four and their lead over the second-place Tampa Bay Rays has been trimmed to two games.

 

 

Franco's walkoff home run helps Rays escape from debacle

Wander Franco helped save the Tampa Bay Rays from a massive collapse, hitting a leadoff home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to send the AL wild-card leaders to a 9-8 win over the Cleveland Guardians.

Franco's first career walkoff homer secured the Rays' 70th win of the season - a mark the club didn't reach last season until August 28 - and helped the team avoid an embarrassing outcome.

Tampa Bay led 8-4 before giving up one run in the top of the eighth and three more in the ninth, with all three scoring on wild pitches. And that came after closer Pete Fairbanks loaded the bases on two walks and a hit batter.

Isaac Paredes gave the Rays a 5-4 lead in the sixth inning on a two-run home run to tie him with Jose Siri for the team lead with 23 home runs.

Fronco's game-ending homer was his 17th of the season, and sixth in his last 12 games. He's slashing .426/.491/.851 in those contests.

 

Adley Rutschman and Ryan Mountcastle homered and All-Star closer Felix Bautista escaped trouble as the Baltimore Orioles held on for a 5-4 win over the Houston Astros to avoid a series sweep on Thursday.

Bautista was called on to protect a 5-3 lead in the ninth inning for Baltimore but again struggled, giving up a run and loading the bases before getting Jon Singleton to pop up for the final out.

Bautista, who gave up a ninth-inning grand slam to Kyle Tucker on Tuesday, has allowed five earned runs in his last two appearances after giving up just five in his first 48 games this season. His season ERA went from 0.85 to 1.66 in this series.

Dean Kremer limited Houston to two runs and six hits in seven innings to join teammate Kyle Gibson as Baltimore’s 11-game winners.

Rutschman led off the bottom of the first against Hunter Brown with his 16th home run and Mountcastle’s two-run shot in the seventh extended the lead to 5-2.

The AL-best Orioles have gone 76 consecutive series of at least two decisions without being swept for the fifth-longest streak in major league history.

With Tampa Bay’s loss to St. Louis on Thursday, Baltimore owns a three-game lead in the East.

Jose Altuve went 4 for 5 with a home run for Houston, which dropped 2 ½ games behind AL West-leading Texas.

 

Phillies star Harper injured in win

Trea Turner, Nick Castellanos and J.T. Realmuto hit two-run homers and the Philadelphia Phillies overcame Bryce Harper’s injury in a 6-2 win over the Washington Nationals.

Harper left in the top of the fifth inning with what the team called mid-back spasms. He was undergoing evaluation and manager Rob Thomson said he’s day to day.

Philadelphia improved to a season-best 12 games over .500 and moved 1 ½ games ahead of idle San Francisco for the top spot in the NL wild-card race.

Turner’s 12th home run in the sixth inning gave the Phillies a 2-1 lead and Castellanos and Realmuto both went deep in the seventh off reliever Joe La Sorsa to make it 6-1.

 

Kershaw sharp in return as Dodgers stay hot

Clayton Kerhaw worked five effective innings in his first appearance in six weeks and the Los Angeles Dodgers edged the Colorado Rockies 2-1 for their ninth win in 10 games.

Kershaw allowed his only run on Elehuris Montero’s fifth-inning home run and two other hits with no walks and four strikeouts. The left-hander had been sidelined since June 27 with left shoulder soreness.

Ryan Yarbrough fanned four in three scoreless innings before Brusdar Graterol pitched a perfect ninth for his fifth save.

Max Muncy drove in both runs for the Dodgers, hitting his 28th home run in the seventh inning and drawing a bases-loaded walk in the eighth.

Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw will make his first start since June 27 on Thursday after the team activated the veteran pitcher from the injured list prior to their game against the Colorado Rockies.

Kershaw missed the past six weeks with a sore left shoulder that prevented the three-time National League Cy Young Award winner from appearing in last month's MLB All-Star Game.

The 35-year-old prepared for Thursday's assignment by throwing a pair of simulated games, including a four-inning outing last week.

Kershaw was in the midst of another excellent season prior to being sidelined. In 16 starts in 2023, the left-hander has compiled a 10-4 record and a 2.55 earned run average that would lead the majors if he had enough innings to qualify.

The 10-time All-Star is 4-0 with a sensational 1.09 ERA over his past five starts and did not allow a run in three of those appearances. In his most recent start on June 27, Kershaw held the Rockies to one hit over six scoreless frames in a 5-0 Dodgers' victory at Coors Field.

Kershaw's return should help stabilise a Los Angeles rotation that has largely struggled in his absence. Dodgers starters recorded a combined 6.18 ERA in July, the second highest in the majors for the month.

“For the team, I know that we all get excited when he takes the baseball,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Tuesday. “You just feel more comfortable and confident when Kersh is active.

Despite their starting pitching issues, the Dodgers have opened up a six-game lead on the second-place San Francisco Giants in the NL West and have won eight of nine games to begin August. 

Michael Lorenzen made quite the first impression to the Philadelphia Phillies fans.

Lorenzen threw the 14th no-hitter in Phillies' franchise history on Wednesday in Philadelphia's 7-0 win over the Washington Nationals in his first start at Citizens Bank Park in a Phillies' uniform.

Acquired by Philadelphia from the Detroit Tigers at the trade deadline, Lorenzen struck out five and walked four while throwing a career-high 124 pitches in just his second start for the Phillies (63-52).

He got Dominic Smith to fly out to shallow centre field to record the fourth no-hitter in MLB this season and the first by a Philadelphia pitcher since Cole Hamels in 2015.

 

 

Selected to his first All-Star Game this year, the 31-year-old Lorenzen improved to 5-1 with a 1.11 ERA and 0.76 WHIP in six outings since the start of July, which includes his final four appearances for the Tigers.

While Lorenzen shut down Washington (50-65), a couple of Philadelphia batters hit milestone home runs.

Nick Castellanos hit a pair of homers to give him 200 in his career, while Weston Wilson homered in his long-awaited first major league plate appearance.

The 28-year-old rookie had 2,836 plate appearances in the minor leagues before being called up Sunday.

The Phillies have won four of five, scoring seven, eight, eight and nine runs in those victories.

 

Raleigh's eighth-inning homer powers Mariners to seventh straight win

The Seattle Mariners continued their August surge, extending their season-high winning streak to seven games with a 6-1 win over the visiting San Diego Padres.

The score was tied 1-1 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning before the Mariners (62-52) erupted for five runs, taking the lead on Cal Raleigh's tiebreaking two-run homer with one out.

 

 

 

Mariners top pitching prospect, Emerson Hancock had an impressive major league debut, allowing a run and two hits over five innings.

The 24-year-old right-hander struck out three and walked three, and combined with five Seattle relievers to four-hit the Padres (55-60), who have lost four in a row.

Seattle, meanwhile, has lost just four games since July 20, going a major league-best 15-4 in that span to move a season-high 10 games over .500.

 

Ohtani earns 10th win as Angels top Giants

Shohei Ohtani picked up his 10th win of the season, yielding one unearned run over six innings of three-hit ball in the Los Angeles Angels' 4-1 victory over the visiting San Francisco Giants.

The major league leader in home runs, Ohtani struck out five and walked three, becoming the first player in MLB history to have multiple seasons with 10 or more homers and 10 or more wins.

The two-way sensation, who won 15 games in 2022, has not allowed a run in 19 innings over his last three starts, lowering his season ERA to 3.17.

Ohtani has been stuck on 40 homers since August 3, and went 0 for 2 with two strikeouts at the plate against the Giants (62-53), though he did walk twice and scored on Mike Moustakas' tiebreaking three-run homer in the sixth inning.

Moustakas had two hits, and has driven in 10 runs in his last seven games for the Angels (58-58), who have won two in a row following a season-high seven-game losing streak.

 

 

 

Kyle Tucker came through with a grand slam off All-Star closer Felix Bautista in the ninth inning as the Houston Astros rallied for a stunning 7-6 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday.

Bautista was called on to protect a 6-3 lead in the ninth but promptly walked pinch-hitter Jon Singleton before Jose Altuve blooped a single.

After Alex Bregman struck out, Yordan Alvarez followed with a deep drive to centre that Jorge Mateo – a shortstop making only his second start of the year in centre field – failed to make the play on, and the ball bounced off the wall for a very long single.

Tucker battled Bautista for nine pitches, finally hitting a 100-mph fastball into the seats in right-centre for his 20th home run and second grand slam this season.

Bautista had allowed only five earned runs all season before Houston scored four on him in two-thirds of an inning.

Baltimore had a four-game winning streak snapped and its lead in the AL East was cut to two games over Tampa Bay.

Ryan Mountcastle hit a first-inning home run – a two-run blast – and Adley Rutschman added a two-run shot of his own in the second to put the Orioles up 5-0.

Houston starter Framber Valdez, who threw a no-hitter in his previous start, allowed a season high-tying six runs and eight hits in seven innings.

 

Scherzer pitches Rangers to eighth straight win

Max Scherzer pitched seven strong innings and Corey Seager had three hits with a home run to lead the Texas Rangers to their season-high eighth straight win, 6-1 over the Oakland Athletics.

Scherzer limited last-place Oakland to three hits with two walks and six strikeouts in his second start with the Rangers.

Robbie Grossman doubled home a run in the second inning and scored on Sam Huff’s double to trigger a three-run fourth.

Seager capped that outburst with an RBI double and hit his 19th home run in the seventh inning – his sixth homer in his last eight games.

The win was the 68th for the Rangers, equalling their total from all last season. The eight-game streak is their longest since winning 10 straight from May 9-19, 2017.

 

Gilbert shuts down Padres as Mariners stay hot

Logan Gilbert pitched one-hit ball and struck out a career-high 12 over seven innings as the Seattle Mariners beat the San Diego Padres 2-0 for their sixth consecutive win.

Gilbert retired 21 of the 22 batters he faced, allowing only an infield single to Xander Bogaerts in the second inning.

Matt Brash struck out Trent Grisham with runners on the corners in the eighth and Andres Munoz worked the ninth.

Seattle moved a season-high nine games over .500 and pulled within two games of Toronto for the third and final AL wild-card spot.

The Mariners scored the game’s first run in the fifth inning on a bases-loaded walk to Cal Raleigh and Dylan Moore tripled home another run in the sixth.

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