Jose Altuve hit home runs in each of his first three plate appearances, Framber Valdez threw seven strong innings and the Houston Astros routed the Texas Rangers 14-1 Tuesday.

With the win and Seattle Mariners’ loss, the Astros pulled into sole possession of first place in the AL West for the first time this season.

Altuve hit all three of his homers in the first three innings, one-upping the two home runs he hit in Monday’s series opener. The 2017 AL MVP has five deep balls in the last two games after hitting just one in his previous 21 games.

Altuve’s first two round-trippers came against Nathan Eovaldi, who lasted just 1 1/3 innings in his return from a six-week stint on the injured list.

Martin Maldonado added two home runs for the Astros, and Yordan Alvarez hit one.

Valdez kept the Rangers’ bats quiet most of the night, allowing one run and six hits over seven innings.

Houston (79-61) have a two-game lead over Texas (76-62) in baseball’s closest division race. Seattle (77-61) sits between, one game back of the Astros.

Wednesday’s series finale features a matchup of three-time Cy Young Award winners when the Astros send Justin Verlander to the mound to face the Rangers’ Max Scherzer.

Stanton hits 400th HR, Yankees back to .500

Giancarlo Stanton scorched a line-drive for his 400th career home run and the New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers 5-1 for their seventh win in their last eight games.

Stanton’s two-run blast off Jose Ciserno in the sixth inning broke a 1-1 tie and made him the 58th slugger to reach 400 home runs in a career.

Gerrit Cole produced another quality start, allowing one run and eight hits over six innings. Cole has bolstered his case for the AL Cy Young Award by winning each of his last three starts and dropping his season ERA to 2.90.

New York (69-69) got back to .500 with the win but remains in last place in the AL East and are 7 ½ games back of a wild card spot.

Reds rally late to edge Mariners

Nick Martini hit a game-tying three-run homer in the eighth inning, Christian Encarnacion-Strand delivered the winning RBI in the ninth and the Cincinnati Reds rallied for a 7-6 walk-off win over the Seattle Mariners.

The Reds trailed 6-3 with one out in the eighth before Martini came off the bench to tie the game with one swing. An inning later, Encarnacion-Strand’s single drove in Elly De La Cruz from second base.

Cincinnati survived a big night from Seattle’s Julio Rodriguez, who had two home runs and four RBIs. Teoscar Hernandez also went deep for the Mariners, giving him six homers in his last 10 games.

The dramatic win kept the Reds (73-68) slotted for the NL’s final wild card spot, remaining half a game ahead of the Miami Marlins.

Mauricio Dubon and Jose Altuve hit back-to-back home runs on two different occasions to help power the Houston Astros to a 13-6 rout of the Texas Rangers in Monday's opener of a pivotal three-game series between American League West rivals.

Yanier Diaz added a three-run homer, part of a 16-hit barrage that enabled the defending World Series champions to bounce back after being swept at home by the New York Yankees in a three-game series over the weekend.

The win moved the Astros in a virtual tie with Seattle for first place in the AL West after the Mariners lost at Cincinnati on Monday. Texas, which is in the midst of a 4-13 stretch since mid-August, is one game back in the standings.

Houston trailed 3-0 after four innings before scoring three times in the fifth, highlighted by Alex Bregman's game-tying two-run single. After the Rangers went back ahead in the bottom of the inning on Corey Seager's second home run of the game, Dubon and Altuve each homered off Glenn Otto in the sixth to give the Astros a 5-4 edge.

Texas drew back even in the bottom of the sixth on Mitch Garver's solo homer, but the Astros scored six runs in the seventh to put the game out of reach.

After Seager's error allowed two runs to score to put Houston up 8-5, Diaz launched his 21st homer of the season to extend the margin to six runs.

Dubon and Altuve again went back-to-back in the ninth. The hit was Altuve's fourth of the day and he finished with three runs scored.

Seager ended 3 for 5 with three RBIs and Garver went 2 for 3 with two RBIs for Texas, which also got a solo homer from Josh Smith.

Steer's three-run homer helps Reds down Mariners

The Astros got help in their chase for the AL West lead from the Cincinnati Reds, who scored five early runs en route to a 6-3 win over the Seattle Mariners.

Spencer Steer delivered the big blow for Cincinnati with a three-run homer off Bryan Woo in the second inning that staked the Reds to a 5-0 lead. Elly De La Cruz and Hunter Renfroe drove in the first two runs with RBI singles in the first.

While Seattle lost sole possession of first place in the AL West with its third loss in four games, the Reds moved into a tie with Arizona for the National League's final wild card spot. The Diamondbacks kept pace with a 4-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies behind 12 strikeouts from starting pitcher Merrill Kelly. 

Renfroe and Tyler Stephenson each had two hits and an RBI to help Cincinnati withstand solo homers from Julio Rodriguez and Mike Ford.

Woo was handed the loss after surrendering five runs over a five-inning stint in which he walked three batters and hit three others.

Steele dominates Giants as Cubs gain ground in NL Central

Justin Steele allowed just two hits over eight scoreless innings to earn his 16th win of the season and lead the Chicago Cubs to a 5-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants in the opener of another key September three-game series.

Steele (16-3) struck out a career-high 12 while issuing only two walks to win his seventh straight decision and tie Atlanta's Spencer Strider for the major league lead in victories.

The left-hander's show-stopping performance also enabled the Cubs to pull within 2 1/2 games of first-place Milwaukee in the NL Central after the Brewers were dealt a 4-2 loss by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Seiya Suzuki supplied the offence for Chicago with a solo homer in the second inning, an RBI double in the seventh and a run-scoring fielder's choice in the eighth.

Slumping San Francisco was shut out for a second straight game and has now lost four in a row to fall out of a tie for the NL's final wild card spot. The Giants now trail both Cincinnati and Arizona by one game.

Giants starter Logan Webb lasted 6 2/3 innings but lost a third straight start after being charged with three runs on five hits.

Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Julio Urias was arrested Sunday night and faces felony domestic violence charges, the Los Angeles police told ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

Urias was also arrested on suspicion of domestic battery in 2019 and given a 20-game suspension by Major League Baseball despite not being charged.

“We are aware of an incident involving Julio Urias,” the Dodgers said Monday. “While we attempt to learn all the facts, he will not be traveling with the team.

“The organization has no further comment at this time.”

Urias, 27, is 11-8 with a 4.60 ERA in 2023 after going a combined 37-10 with a 2.57 ERA in the previous two seasons.

His 48 wins since the beginning of the 2021 campaign are the most in MLB, while Urias’ .727 win percentage over that span is the fifth-best in baseball.

Los Angeles entered Monday with an 84-52 record and a 14 ½-game lead in the NL West.

The Dodgers visit the Miami Marlins and Washington Nationals during a six-game road trip that runs from Tuesday through Sunday.

Rookie Jasson Dominguez's two-run homer in the sixth inning accounted for the go-ahead runs as the New York Yankees completed a stunning three-game road sweep of the Houston Astros with a 6-1 victory on Sunday night.

Dominguez took Astros starter Cristian Javier's pitch over the right-field wall to snap a 1-1 tie for the 20-year-old's second big hit of the series. He homered off 2022 American League Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander in his first major league at-bat during New York's 6-2 victory in Friday's opener.

DJ LeMahieu had an RBI double earlier in the Yankees' three-run sixth inning, while Gleyber Torres homered in the ninth while finishing 2 for 4.

The defending World Series champion Astros entered the series on a five-game winning streak and missed out on a chance to move into a first-place tie in the AL West. Division leader Seattle remained a game up on Houston despite the Mariners losing, 6-3, to the New York Mets on Sunday.

Michael King allowed one run and five hits over five innings to help the Yankees to their sixth win in seven games.

Javier struck out eight over six innings but was reached for three runs on four hits. 

Garcia's homer in ninth lifts Rangers over Twins

The Texas Rangers did manage to gain ground on the Mariners in the AL West race after Adolis Garcia's walkoff home run in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted the playoff hopefuls to a 6-5 win over the Minnesota Twins.

Garcia had struck out in each of his previous four at-bats before launching his 34th homer of the season, a leadoff drive off Josh Winder, to break a 5-5 deadlock and end Texas' three-game losing streak.

The Rangers won for just the fourth time in their last 16 games and moved within one game of first-place Seattle.

Mitch Garver had a three-run homer in the first inning for Texas and finished 4 for 4 with four RBIs.

The Twins forged a 5-5 tie on Royce Lewis' RBI single off reliever Jose Leclerc in the eighth, though Rangers closer Will Smith prevented further damage by inducing an inning-ending double play from Carlos Correa with the bases loaded. 

Lewis earlier tied the contest with a three-run homer in the fifth and ended 3 for 5 for AL Central-leading Minnesota. Correa also had three hits, including an RBI single in the seventh.

Rookie Miller stars as Dodgers prevent sweep from Braves

Bobby Miller threw seven outstanding innings to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a needed 3-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves in the finale of a four-game series between the National League's top two teams.

NL East-leading Atlanta had taken the first three matchups of the weekend set, but managed just one run on three hits off Miller as the talented rookie stopped the Braves' six-game winning streak and improved to 9-3 on the season.

Miller took a shutout into the seventh before surrendering Matt Olson's 44th home run of the season, which tied the Atlanta slugger with Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani for the major league lead.

Braves starter Charlie Morton kept the NL West-leading Dodgers off the board until the bottom of the fifth, which he began by walking James Outman before Miguel Rojas delivered an RBI double for the game's first run. Mookie Betts followed with a single that plated Rojas for a 2-0 lead. 

Betts went 3 for 4 on the afternoon, while Olson had two of Atlanta's five total hits.

Orlando Arcia drilled a three-run homer in the 10th inning and the Atlanta Braves won their sixth straight game, 4-1 over the Los Angeles Dodgers in a matchup of the National League’s best teams.

With the initial runner at second, Alex Vesia got the first two outs of the 10th but walked Sean Murphy before Arcia sent a first-pitch fastball over the left-centre field wall for his 17th home run and a 4-1 lead.

Max Muncy had a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th, but Raisel Iglesias struck out Amed Rosario with a runner on for his 28th save.

Major league-leading Atlanta has won the first three games of this much-anticipated series, becoming the first team to reach 90 victories.

The Braves are cruising to their sixth straight NL East title with a 16-game lead over Philadelphia.

Ronald Acuna Jr. opened the scoring in the third inning with his third home run of this series and 32nd of the season.

The Dodgers got the run back in the bottom half when Austin Barnes doubled, moved to third on two walks and scored on a double-play grounder.

Bryce Elder pitched six innings for the Braves and allowed one run and five hits.

Joe Jimenez, A.J. Minter and Michael Tonkin each pitched one hitless inning before Iglesias took over in the 10th.

Reds rally to walk-off Cubs again

Elly De La Cruz delivered a tying single and newcomer Hunter Renfroe beat out a double-play ball as the Cincinnati Reds rallied for their second straight walk-off win, 2-1 over the Chicago Cubs.

Chicago took a 1-0 lead to the ninth after a brilliant eight-inning performance from Javier Assad but Cincinnati scored twice in the ninth to win.

Jake Fraley opened the inning with a double off Mark Leiter Jr. and pinch-runner Harrison Bader stole third. After TJ Friedl walked and Spencer Steer was hit by a pitch, De Le Cruz’s hit tied it.

Nick Martini flied out to keep the bases loaded and Renfroe – claimed off waivers from the Angels earlier this week – hit a grounder to short and barely beat the throw to first, allowing the winning run to score.

Guardians score 2 in 11th to rally past Rays

Steven Kwan had a sacrifice fly and after a key hit by rookie Jose Tena and the Cleveland Guardians rallied for their fourth straight win, 7-6 over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Brandon Lowe gave the Rays a one-run lead in the top of the 11th with a sacrifice fly, but Chris Devenski was unable to protect it in his first appearance with the team.

With one out, Myles Straw stole third and Bo Naylor walked to put runners at the corners. Tena’s single to right tied the game and moved Naylor to third before Kwan’s fly ball to shallow right-centre scored the winning run.

The loss dropped the Rays 2 ½ games behind AL East-leading Baltimore, while the Guardians remained five games in back of Minnesota in the Central.

Aaron Judge became the fastest in major league history to reach 250 home runs and Jasson Dominguez homered in his first career at-bat to lead the New York Yankees to a 6-2 win over the Houston Astros on Friday.

After DJ LeMahieu sent Justin Verlander’s second pitch of the game into the right-field seats for a leadoff home run, Giancarlo Stanton drew a two-out walk.

Dominguez, called up from the minors earlier in the day, connected for an opposite-field shot to become the first Yankees player to go deep in his initial big league at-bat since Judge on Aug. 13, 2016.

At 20 years, 206 days old, Dominguez became the youngest player to appear in a game for the Yankees since 19-year-old pitcher Jose Rijo in July 1984.

Judge’s solo blast off Verlander in the fifth extended New York’s lead to 6-2.

It came in his 810th career game, surpassing Phillies slugger Ryan Howard, who hit his 250th home run in his 855th game in 2010.

Verlander allowed six runs and eight hits in six innings. The four homers he surrendered were a season high.

Jose Abreu homered for Houston, which had a five-game winning streak snapped but remained just a percentage point behind Seattle for the AL West lead.

Astros second baseman Jose Altuve left after the first inning due to a bruised left leg.

Red-hot Braves hit 3 homers to defeat Dodgers

Ronald Acuna Jr., Marcell Ozuna and Travis d’Arnaud homered to back Max Fried’s stellar outing as the Atlanta Braves won their fifth straight, 6-3 over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Fried limited the Dodgers to three hits over seven scoreless innings with two walks and a season-high 10 strikeouts to win his third consecutive decision.

D’Arnaud’s home run in the second inning off Julio Urias opened the scoring and Acuna took him deep in the third for his second homer in two days and 31st of the season.

Ozuna led off the fourth inning with his 32nd home run and he singled home a run in the fifth to extend Atlanta’s lead to 5-0.

The Braves lead the Dodgers by six games for the majors’ best record and potential home-field advantage throughout the postseason.

Kolten Wong hit a three-run home run in the eighth in his Dodgers debut.

Bohm’s key error helps Brewers beat Phillies

Alec Bohm’s error in the eighth inning allowed three runs to score and the Milwaukee Brewers rallied for a 7-5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

With two outs, the bases loaded and the Brewers trailing 5-4, Owen Miller hit a grounder to third that Bohm failed to backhand. The ball rolled down the left-field line and all three runners scored.

The four-run bottom of the eighth came after the Phillies scored four in the top half, with Trea Turner’s two-run homer capping the outburst.

Milwaukee extended its NL Central lead to 3 ½ games over the Cubs, who split a doubleheader with Cincinnati.

Ronald Acuna Jr. hit a grand slam to become the first player in major league history with 30 home runs and 60 stolen bases in a season and the Atlanta Braves held on to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-7 in a matchup of baseball’s two top teams on Thursday.

Acuna connected off Lance Lynn as part of Atlanta’s six-run second inning for his 30th home run and third career grand slam.

Rickey Henderson was the closest to being the first 30-60 player before Acuna. He had 28 homers and 87 steals in 1986 and 28 home runs and 65 steals in 1990.

Spencer Strider became the first pitcher to reach 16 wins this season, allowing four runs and four hits in six innings with two walks and nine strikeouts.

Joe Jimenez surrendered two solo home runs in the seventh, one to Michael Busch and Mookie Betts’ second of the game.

Max Muncy took A.J. Minter deep to lead off the eighth to make it 8-7 but Pierce Johnson got the final out of the eighth.

Raisel Iglesias put two runners on in the ninth before getting Muncy to fly out and striking out Kike Hernandez for his 27th save.

Michael Harris also homered for the major league-best Braves, who have won four straight and eight of nine.

They finished August with a 21-8 record, tying the Atlanta-era record for wins in a month set by the 1999 team that went 21-7.

Betts, among the leading candidates for NL MVP along with Acuna, hit a three-run homer off Strider in the fifth to cut the Dodgers’ deficit to 7-4.

Betts finished August with 11 home runs and has 38 on the season, extending his career high.

Yastrzemski leads Giants past listless Padres

Mike Yastrzemski homered and drove in two runs as the San Francisco Giants rolled to a 7-2 victory over the sloppy San Diego Padres.

Yastrzemski had an RBI single during San Francisco’s six-run third inning, with five of those runs unearned due to two errors by first baseman Matthew Batten.

Yastrzemski homered in the fifth to extend the lead to 7-0.

Jakob Junis pitched four hitless innings and three relievers combined on a seven-hitter.

The Giants moved one game ahead of idle Arizona in the race for the NL’s third wild-card spot.

The Cleveland Guardians have won the Lucas Giolito sweepstakes.

The Guardians claimed the right-hander off waivers on Thursday, two days after the Los Angeles Angels opted to put six players on waivers with their season spiraling downward.

Cleveland also claimed relievers Matt Moore and Reynaldo Lopez, who was traded with Giolito from the Chicago White Sox to the Angels on July 26.

The Angels made a number of moves at the deadline in hopes of making the playoffs for the first time since 2014 - as well as convincing superstar Shohei Ohtani to re-sign. Since the calendar flipped to August, however, Los Angeles is an AL-worst 8-19 and is 11 1/2 games out of the league's final wild-card spot.

The Guardians are on the fringe of the playoff conversation - sitting five games back of the first-place Minnesota Twins in the AL Central - but the front office is showing it is committed to making a postseason push.

The Angels, meanwhile, conceded their playoff chances on Tuesday, placing Giolito, Lopez, Moore, as well as reliever Dominic Leone, and outfielders Hunter Renfroe and Randal Grichuk on waivers.

Giolito struggled in his short time with the Angels, but has a proven track record and is familiar with the AL Central.

An All-Star in 2019, the 29-year-old threw a no-hitter in 2020, and has gone 47-41 with a 3.99 ERA over the last five seasons. Since 2019, his 868 strikeouts rank second among all AL pitchers.

In 21 starts for the White Sox this season, he went 6-6 with a 3.79 ERA before going 1-5 with a 6.89 ERA in six outings for the Angels.

He will take the spot in the starting rotation that belonged to Noah Syndergaard, who was released on Wednesday.

Moore and Lopez will join a Cleveland bullpen that has recorded a 3.48 ERA - the fifth best in MLB.

Moore had a 2.66 ERA in 41 relief appearances for Los Angeles this season, while Lopez posted a 2.77 ERA in 13 games with the Angels.

Cody Bellinger’s infield single in the eighth inning scored the go-ahead run and lifted the Chicago Cubs to a 3-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday in a key NL Central matchup.

The Cubs won the final two games of the series after dropping Monday’s opener to get back within three games of the Central-leading Brewers.

Chicago moved a season-high nine games over .500 and is three games behind Philadelphia, which owns the top wild card.

The Cubs sacrificed runners to second and third in the eighth, but Christopher Morel was thrown out at home on Ian Happ’s fielder’s choice for the second out.

Mike Tauchman moved to third and scored when Bellinger’s sharply hit ball up the middle glanced off the right ankle of reliever Joel Payamps and to third baseman Andruw Monasterio, whose throw to first was late.

Kyle Hendricks allowed only an unearned run and four hits over six innings while striking out six and walking two.

Adbert Alzolay hit Mark Canha with the bases loaded in the eighth to force in the tying run but worked a hitless ninth to earn the win.

Mariners close out red-hot August

J.P. Crawford delivered a two-run single in the seventh inning and the Seattle Mariners rallied for a 5-4 win over the Oakland Athletics for their franchise-record 21st win in August.

Seattle rallied from 3-0 and 4-3 deficits to finish 21-6 in August, surpassing the previous franchise record of 20 victories in a month.

The Mariners have won 13 of 15 and will head into September tied with Houston for the AL West lead. The last time Seattle entered September with a share of first place was in 2001, the last time it won the division.

Teoscar Hernandez hit a three-run homer in the third inning to forge a 3-3 tie.

The Mariners pushed across two runs in the seventh against reliever Kirby Snead.

Dominic Canzone doubled before Mike Ford singled and Dylan Moore walked to load the bases. After a strikeout, Crawford dropped a soft liner into left field to make it 5-4.

Astros complete first sweep at Fenway

Framber Valdez took a shutout into the sixth inning and the Houston Astros won their fifth straight game, 7-4 over the Boston Red Sox.

Michael Brantley had two hits and two RBIs and Alex Bregman, Jeremy Pena and Martin Maldonado each added two hits and one RBI as Houston earned its first-ever sweep at Fenway Park.

The Astros are tied with Seattle atop the AL West as they seek their sixth division title in seven years. Houston has won two World Series since 2017, added another two AL pennants and twice lost in the AL Championship Series.

Boston lost for the fifth time in six games and dropped 6 ½ games behind the final wild-card spot.

Alex Cobb had his bid for a no-hitter broken up with two outs in the ninth inning, but the right-hander pitched a gem of a complete game to lead the San Francisco Giants to a 6-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds Tuesday.

Spencer Steer ended Cobb’s chase for history with a double to right field that scored Nick Senzel, who had walked with one out in the ninth and advanced to second on defensive indifference.

Cobb struck out the next batter, Elly De La Cruz, to end his fourth career complete game and earn his first win since July 5. The right-hander struck out eight while throwing a career-high 131 pitches.

Entering the ninth inning, the only base-runner Cobb had allowed was Senzel, who reached on an error in the third inning. The official scorer had initially ruled the play a hit but later reversed his decision.

Cobb’s performance came at a crucial time for the Giants (69-63), who pulled two games ahead of the Reds (68-66) in the race for the final wild card spot in the NL.

Catcher Patrick Bailey paced the San Francsico offence with a two-run homer in the third inning. He finished 2 for 4 with two runs scored. Leadoff man Austin Slater reached base three times and scored twice.

Steele gets 15th win, Cubs halt Brewers’ streak

Justin Steele struck out eight in six effective innings to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 1-0 win and help end the Milwaukee Brewers’ winning streak at nine games.

Steele (15-3) worked around six hits—all singles—and a walk to become the second pitcher in the majors to reach 15 wins this season. Atlanta Braves right-hander Spencer Strider got his 15th win on Friday.

Steele, a first-time All-Star this season, is 6-0 over his last eight starts and dropped his season ERA to 2.69.

After suffering a 6-2 loss Monday in the series opener, Tuesday’s win moved the Cubs (70-62) back to within four games of the Brewers (74-58) in the NL Central.

Chicago were 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position and plated their only run on a first-inning groundout by Cody Bellinger.

Corbin Burnes allowed one run and eight hits in seven strong innings for the Brewers but was saddled with the loss.

Mariners lose to lowly A’s as AL West race tightens

Seth Brown and Shea Langeliers went deep, and the MLB-worst Oakland Athletics beat the Seattle Mariners 3-1, knocking the M’s out of sole possession of first place in the AL West.

Seattle had won 12 of their previous 13 games and entered the night with a one-game division lead. The loss dropped the Mariners (75-57) into a tie atop the division with the Texas Rangers (75-57), who beat the New York Mets 2-1 on Tuesday, and the Houston Astros (76-58), who took down the Boston Red Sox 6-2.

The Mariners were without star outfielder Julio Rodriguez, who was scratched with a pinched nerve in his left foot. Pitcher George Kirby was also scratched from his start due to illness and was replaced by Luke Weaver.

Seattle batters managed just four hits but drew six walks. The Mariners were 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position.

Christian Yelich hit a leadoff home run and Mark Canha added a two-run shot in the first inning as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs, 6-2, Monday to extend their season-high winning streak to nine games. 

The Brewers tagged Cubs starter Jameson Taillon for four first-inning runs en route to taking the opener of this key three-game series between National League Central rivals. Milwaukee increased its lead over second-place Chicago to five games. 

Milwaukee starter Wade Miley, who pitched for the Cubs last season, allowed solo home runs to Ian Happ and Patrick Wisdom but gave up only four hits in six innings to improve to 7-3 on the season.

Elvis Peguero, Joel Payamps and Hoby Milner allowed only one hit the rest of the way as the Brewers improved to 5-3 this season against Chicago.

The Brewers are now 25-12 against NL Central teams and have won 11 of their last 15 division games.

The Cubs entered the series having won seven of nine overall to take the lead in the race for the NL's second wild card. Chicago remains a half-game ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks for that spot. 

Altuve hits for cycle to lead Astros' rout of Red Sox

Jose Altuve recorded the first cycle by a Houston Astros player in 10 years to lead the defending World Series champions to a 13-5 rout of the Boston Red Sox.

After producing a double in the third inning, a single in the fifth and a two-run triple in the sixth, Altuve launched a two-run homer over Fenway Park's Green Monster in the eighth to register the ninth cyle in Astros history and first since Brandon Barnes on July 19, 2013.

Yordan Alvarez also had four RBIs and four hits, including a three-run homer during a big sixth inning in which Houston scored six times to erase a 4-3 deficit. 

Jose Abreu added a solo homer and finished 2 for 4 with two RBIs in Houston's third straight win. The Astros remained a game back of Seattle for first place in the American League West after the Mariners defeated the Oakland Athletics, 7-0, on Monday.

Masataka Yoshida went 3 for 5 with three runs scored for Boston, which had taken a 4-3 lead on Adam Duvall's two-run homer in the fifth. 

The Red Sox have lost two straight and now trail the Astros and Texas Rangers by 5 1/2 games for the AL"s final two wild card spots. 

Rookie Harrison dominant in Giants' win over Reds

Rookie Kyle Harrison struck out 11 over 6 1/3 scoreless innings to earn his first major league victory and lead the San Francisco Giants to a 4-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds in the opener of an important three-game series between NL playoff contenders.

Making just his second career major league start and first at home, Harrison yielded just three hits and two walks to help the Giants gain ground in the NL wild card race. San Francisco now trails Arizona by only a half-game for the league's final playoff spot after the Diamondbacks were dealt a 7-4 loss by the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday.

Wilmer Flores' RBI double in the first inning staked Harrison to a 1-0 lead and the Giants scored twice more in third, highlighted by Patrick Bailey's run-scoring double.

All three early runs came off Cincinnati starter Andrew Abbott, who lasted just 3 1/3 innings and allowed five hits and three walks despite striking out six. 

The Reds have now lost four of five and remain 1 1/2 games back of Arizona for the final wild card spot. 

Luis Castillo allowed one hit over seven scoreless innings and the Seattle Mariners held on for a 3-2 win over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday to take sole possession of the American League West lead.

Sunday's victory coupled with the Texas Rangers' 13-inning loss to the Minnesota Twins moved the resurgent Mariners one game ahead of slumping Texas and the Houston Astros atop the division. 

Seattle trailed the Rangers by 7 1/2 games in the standings on Aug. 15, but has now won 11 of its last 12 while Texas has lost nine of 10. The Mariners are an MLB-best 24-6 since July 25.

Castillo permitted just two baserunners in winning his fourth consecutive start and was supported by two home runs, a solo shot from Teoscar Hernandez in the second inning and a two-run blast from Julio Rodriguez in the fifth. 

Nelson Velazquez's two-run homer off reliever Gabe Speier in the eighth brought Kansas City within 3-2, but Andres Munoz struck out the side in order in the ninth to finish off the Mariners' sweep of the three-game series. 

Royals starter Alec Marsh struck out nine over 5 2/3 innings but allowed both Seattle homers to fall to 0-7 in 11 appearances (seven starts) this season.

Twins rally from five runs down to top reeling Rangers in 13 innings

The spiraling Rangers lost their share of the AL West lead after blowing a five-run cushion in a wild, 7-6 loss to the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins in 13 innings.

Minnesota trailed 5-0 after five innings before rallying to tie the game in the ninth, then took advantage of three walks by Rangers reliever Jonathan Hernandez in the 13th to push home the winning run.

Hernandez struck out the first two batters he faced in the bottom of the 13th before walking Joey Gallo, Matt Wallner and Michael A. Taylor in succession to gift Minnesota its third victory of the four-game series.

Texas pitchers issued a season-high 10 walks on the afternoon, including one to Taylor by closer Aroldis Chapman with the Rangers clinging to a 5-4 lead with one out in the bottom of the ninth. Chapman was then called for a balk to send Taylor to second before surrendering a single to Donovan Solano that tied the game.

Royce Lewis began Minnesota's comeback with a grand slam off reliever Chris Stratton in the sixth that pulled the Twins within a run.

Jonah Heim had a grand slam off Twins starter Bailey Ober in the fourth inning that staked Texas to a 5-0 lead. The Rangers opened the scoring on J.P. Martinez's solo homer in the second.

Dylan Floro earned the win by stranding two Texas runners after coming on in the top of the 13th, while Dallas Keuchel tossed five scoreless innings after relieving Ober to start the fifth.

Brewers blast Padres to extend winning streak to eight games

The National League's hottest team resides in Milwaukee, where the Brewers used a seven-run sixth inning to rally to a 10-6 victory over the San Diego Padres and extend their season-high winning streak to eight games.

William Contreras went 2 for 4 with a homer and two RBIs, while Sal Frelick drove in three runs as the NL Central-leading Brewers completed a three-game sweep heading into an important three-game road series with the division-rival Chicago Cubs.

Milwaukee owns a four-game lead on second-place Chicago, which kept pace with Sunday's 10-1 rout of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Brewers trailed 4-2 before loading the bases with one out in the sixth in front of Rowdy Tellez's pinch-hit, two-run double off Steven Wilson, who later walked Carlos Santana with the bases full to force in the go-ahead run.

Frelick followed with a two-run double off Nick Martinez to stretch the lead to 7-4 before Mark Canha capped the big inning with a two-run single.

Bryse Wilson recorded the win with four scoreless innings in relief of Brewers starter Adrian Houser, who lasted just two innings and allowed four runs.

Gary Sanchez went 2 for 4 with a two-run homer to lead San Diego, which dropped to a season-high nine games under .500 at 61-70.

Teoscar Hernandez hit two of the Seattle Mariners’ franchise record-tying seven home runs in a 15-2 drubbing of the Kansas City Royals.

Hernandez hit a grand slam as part of a seven-run third inning and belted a 446-foot shot off infielder Matt Duffy in the eighth.

Josh Rojas, Mike Ford, Julio Rodriguez, Cal Raleigh and Cade Marlowe also homered as the Mariners improved to 10-1 in their last 11 games and remained tied with Texas atop the AL West.

Seattle hit seven home runs in a game for the fifth time, also done in 2002, 1999, 1996 and 1985.

Logan Gilbert didn’t need all the offense as he limited the Royals to one run and two hits in seven innings. He walked one and struck out seven to win his sixth straight decision.

The Mariners broke open the game with three home runs and seven run off 15-game loser Jordan Lyles in the third inning.

Rojas led off with a home run, Hernandez connected for his third career grand slam and Ford’s two-run blast made it 7-0.

Rodgriguez’s fifth-inning solo homer made him just the second player in history with at least 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in his first two seasons.

The other is Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr., who totaled 67 homers and 53 steals over his first two seasons in 2018 and 2019.

Reds get help from balk to cool Diamondbacks

TJ Friedl scored the go-ahead run in the 11th inning on a balk and the Cincinnati Reds pulled out a wild 8-7 win to end the Arizona Diamondbacks’ six-game winning streak.

Arizona trailed 7-4 in the 10th but rallied for three runs, helped by an error from Reds second baseman Matt McLain. Christian Walker’s sacrifice fly tied it at 7.

Cincinnati closer Alexis Diaz suffered just his second blown save of the season, though all three runs were unearned.

Arizona’s Paul Sewald failed to protect a 4-2 lead in the ninth, as Tyler Stephenson doubled home a run before Friedl singled and McLain knocked in the tying run with a soft groundout.

Brewers edge Padres for seventh straight win

William Contreras delivered a two-run double in a five-run fifth inning as the Milwaukee Brewers held off the San Diego Padres, 5-4 for their seventh consecutive victory.

Mark Canha, Brice Turang and Andruw Monasterio opened the fifth with three straight singles.

With one run already home, the Brewers pulled off a double steal and an errant throw by catcher Luis Campusano produced another run. After Christian Yelich walked, Contreras doubled down the left-field line to make it 4-1.

Freddy Peralta struck out nine in 5 1/3 innings and allowed two runs to improve to 5-0 in five starts this month.

Matt Wallner had a three-run triple in the first inning and the Minnesota Twins rolled to a 12-2 rout of the reeling Texas Rangers on Friday in a game that saw the benches clear.

Rangers starter Dane Dunning walked three of the first four batters and eventually walked the bases loaded before Wallner cleared them to put the Twins up 3-0.

Jeffers capped the four-run first with an RBI single and was later hit by Dunning in the third inning.

Minnesota starter Sonny Gray hit former Twin Mitch Garver in the fourth and players from both teams and bullpens convened around home plate and the pitcher’s mound before order was restored.

The Twins essentially sealed the win with a six-run seventh.

Carlos Correa began the inning with a home run and Donovan Solano had an RBI single before Edouard Julien crushed a 435-foot, three-run homer to make it 10-1.

Max Kepler hit a home run off Texas catcher Austin Hedges in the eighth.

Gray allowed one run and six hits over seven innings.

The Rangers walked eight and hit three batters in their eighth straight loss, dropping them into a tie with Seattle for the AL West lead.

Diamonbacks stay hot despite Pham’s lost home run

Tommy Pham lost a home run on a bizarre fan interference, but Jace Peterson drove in three runs and the Arizona Diamondbacks won their sixth straight, 10-8 over the Cincinnati Reds.

With Arizona leading 8-4 in the seventh inning, Pham sent a towering shot to the wall in left that Reds outfielder Spencer Steer caught as he reached over the wall. But a kid in the stands reached into Steer’s glove and pulled the ball out.

The home run was negated after the review.

Arizona has won eight of nine to move a one-half game ahead of the Cubs for the second NL wild card.

Nick Martini hit his first two home runs of the year and Will Benson had a ninth-inning grand slam for the Reds, who dropped a game behind the Cubs in the wild-card race.

Bautista’s injury overshadows Orioles’ win

Rookie Gunnar Henderson hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning and the Baltimore Orioles rallied to beat the Colorado Rockies 5-4 in a win that was marred by an apparent injury to All-Star closer Felix Bautista.

Bautista retired the first two batters in the ninth but slipped awkwardly off the mound after delivering a pitch to Michael Toglia.

Manager Brandon Hyde said Bautista left with “arm discomfort” and was “still being checked out.”

Ryan Mountcastle and Austin Hays also homered as Baltimore won its 80th game and moved three games ahead of second-place Tampa Bay in the AL East.

Shohei Ohtani was listed second on the Los Angeles Angels’ lineup card and slotted as the designated hitter Friday against the New York Mets despite his serious elbow injury.

Ohtani was removed from the mound in Wednesday’s start against the Cincinnati Reds after 26 pitches, and the Angels announced after the game that he will not pitch again this season due to a torn ligament in his right elbow.

Ohtani previously had Tommy John surgery on his right elbow after the 2018 season. The two-way superstar will seek a second medical opinion before making a decision regarding another potential surgery that would surely affect his upcoming free agency this offseason.

Until Ohtani’s recovery plan is set, the major-league home run leader plans to continue playing as a designated hitter.

“He’s going to play. So, as far as a second opinion goes, they’re still working on that,” general manager Perry Minasian told reporters. “Him and his representation are going to come up with a plan but as we sit here today, he’s going to play until he tells us he’s not.”

Ohtani finishes the year as a pitcher with a 10-5 record and an ERA of 3.14 with 167 strikeouts in 132 innings.

Ohtani is batting .304 with a 1.069 OPS, and his 44 home runs are two shy of his career high.

Star teammate Mike Trout returned to the injured list Friday as he continues to recover from a fractured bone in his left wrist.

Trout returned from a 38-game absence to go 1 for 4 on Tuesday but has not played since due to lingering soreness.