The Cincinnati Reds can stake their claim as the hottest team in baseball after Jonathan India and Will Benson led them to a 10-3 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday.

It was the seventh straight win for the surprising Reds, their longest streak since June 2018 and the longest active run in the majors.

Cincinnati, which lost 100 games last season, moved one game over .500 for the first time since it was 3-2 in early April.  

India opened the scoring in the first inning with a two-run homer – his third in seven games -  off Brandon Bielak and Benson led off the fourth with a triple and scored on Curt Casali’s sacrifice bunt.

Benson greeted reliever Phil Maton with a two-run single in the fifth inning to make it 5-1.

That was more than enough offense for Hunter Greene, who allowed two runs and five hits in six innings. He won for the second time in four starts after opening the season without a victory in his first 10.

Tyler Stephenson singled home another run in the seventh and pinch-hitter Kevin Newman drove in two in Cincinnati’s four-run ninth.

Jose Altuve matched a career best with four hits, including a homer and two doubles. His 35th career four-hit game moved him past Hall of Famer Craig Biggio for the most in Astros history.

Streaking Giants pound rival Dodgers

J.D. Davis had a pinch-hit grand slam and LaMonte Wade Jr. added a three-run homer to lift the San Francisco Giants to their sixth consecutive win, a 15-0 drubbing of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Alex Wood and rookie Bobby Miller exchanged zeroes until the Giants broke through with four runs off Miller in the fifth inning on Brandon Crawford’s RBI single and Wade’s ninth home run of the season.

San Francisco extended its advantage to 9-0 an inning later. Crawford delivered another RBI single before Davis connected off reliever Alex Vesia with the bases loaded for his second grand slam this season and third of his career.

Davis closed the scoring with his fifth RBI in San Francisco’s three-run ninth.

Royals erase big deficit to snap 10-game losing streak

Samad Taylor delivered a walk-off single in his major league debut and the Kansas City Royals ended a 10-game skid by rallying for a 10-9 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.

Faced with an 8-2 deficit in the seventh inning, the Royals scored three runs in the frame and tied it with three more in the eighth. Bobby Witt Jr. had a two-run double in the seventh and singled home another two in the eighth.

The Angels went back on top in the ninth on Mike Trout’s RBI single, but the Royals walked it off in the bottom half as Maikel Garcia singled home a run before scoring on Taylor’s single to deep centre.

Brandon Drury homered twice and Shohei Ohtani took over the major league lead with his 23rd home run, his eighth in his last 12 games.

Justin Turner homered twice and tied a career high with six RBIs and Masataka Yoshida had two of Boston’s eight doubles as the Red Sox pounded the rival New York Yankees 15-5 on Friday.

Turner’s two-run homer off Domingo German in the second inning extended Boston’s lead to 4-1 and he capped a six-run third with a grand slam - a 429-foot blast to center - to make it 10-1.

Turner fell a triple shy of the cycle and drove in six runs for the second time in his career, also done against the Atlanta Braves while with the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 7, 2019.

Yoshida put Boston ahead to stay with a two-run double in the first inning, singled in the six-run third and doubled again and scored in the sixth. The Japanese rookie had his first four-hit game in the majors. 

The Red Sox tacked on three more runs in the fourth inning on a two-run single by Connor Wong and an RBI hit by Pablo Reyes.

Josh Donaldson homered and Anthony Rizzo knocked in three runs for New York.

There was a scary incident in the fifth inning when Boston starter Tanner Houck was struck on the face with a line drive off the bat of Kyle Higashioka. Houck immediately went to the ground and stayed down for a few minutes but was able to leave the field under his own power with a towel covering his cheek.

The Red Sox later announced that Houck received stitches and was checked out at a hospital.

Rays’ McClanahan first in majors to 11 wins

Shane McClanahan became the first pitcher in the major leagues to win 11 games, pitching into the seventh inning in the Tampa Bay Rays’ 6-2 victory over the San Diego Padres.

McClanahan, who entered as the only MLB pitcher with 10 wins, held the Padres to one run and three hits over 6 2/3 innings with three walks and five strikeouts. He won his third consecutive start and lowered his ERA to 2.12.

Isaac Paredes hit a solo home run and Randy Arozarena added a three-run shot and four RBIs to help major league-leading Tampa Bay win its third straight.

Arraez goes 5 for 5 with home run in Marlins’ win

Luis Arraez ended an 0-for-15 slump with a 5-for-5 performance that included a home run and three RBIs as the Miami Marlins topped the Washington Nationals 6-5.

Arraez had four singles and his first home run since April 11, ending a 52-game stretch without one. The five hits matched his career high, set June 3 against Oakland.

The Marlins won for the 10th time in 13 games to improve to 39-31, their best 70-game start since they went 42-28 in 1997, when they won the World Series.

Shohei Ohtani pitched six strong innings and continued his home run barrage with his 22nd of the season in the Los Angeles Angels’ 5-3 win over the Texas Rangers on Thursday.

The Japanese superstar held the AL West-leading Rangers to two runs and six hits in six innings and belted a two-run homer off reliever Brock Burke in the eighth inning to extend the Angels’ lead to 5-2.

Ohtani tied Pete Alonso of the New York Mets for the major league home run lead with his seventh in 10 games. He is batting .489 (22 of 45) with 16 RBIs during a 12-game hitting streak.

Chad Wallach homered in the second inning and Mickey Moniak snapped a seventh-inning tie with a blast off Rangers ace Nathan Eovaldi to put the Angels on top to stay.

Angels closer Carlos Estevez walked the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth and had to be replaced by Jacob Webb, who got the first two outs before walking in a run. Webb then struck out Adolis Garcia to end it, giving Los Angeles its ninth win in 11 games.

In a marquee pitching matchup, both Ohtani and Eovaldi didn’t disappoint.

Eovaldi was bidding to become the second 10-game winner in the majors, but instead lost for the first time since April 12. He surrendered three runs and five hits over seven innings, walking two and striking out nine.

Phillies edge Diamondbacks to move over .500

The defending National League champion Philadelphia Phillies went back over the .500 mark for the first time in more than a month with a 5-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Bryson Stott hit his second home run in three games to back 6 2/3 strong innings from Aaron Nola to help Philadelphia win for the 10th time in 12 games and improve to 35-34.

Arizona scored four runs in the third inning to take a 4-3 lead, but the Phillies went ahead for good in the fourth on run-scoring hits from Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper.

Every Philadelphia starter had at least one hit, with two each from Stott, Nick Castellanos, Trea Turner and Alec Bohm.

Rays beat Athletics to reach 50 wins

Luke Raley hit a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning and the Tampa Bay Rays edged the Oakland Athletics 4-3 to become the first team to win 50 games.

Manuel Margot also went deep, and rookie Taj Bradley struck out the first six Oakland batters and 11 in all as Tampa Bay gained a split of the four-game series.

The Athletics loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh, but Jake Diekman got Seth Brown to ground into a double play and struck out Brent Rooker to keep the game tied at 3.

Nevada governor Joe Lombardo signed into law Thursday a $380 million public financing package to help build a stadium for the Athletics on the Las Vegas strip. The team said in a statement the Nevada governor’s signing of the funding package was “a significant step forward in securing a new home for the Athletics.”

Brandon Nimmo atoned for an earlier baserunning mistake with a game-ending RBI double in the 10th inning to lift the New York Mets to a 4-3 win over the visiting New York Yankees on Wednesday.

After the Yankees failed to score in the top of the 10th, Albert Abreu struck out Mark Vientos to keep automatic runner Eduardo Escobar at second, but Nimmo greeted Nick Ramirez with a drive off the wall in right-centre to score the winning run. 

The Yankees broke a 1-1 tie with two runs in the top of the seventh inning, highlighted by Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s steal of home – the first steal of home by a Yankee since Didi Gregorius on Aug. 27, 2016.

The Mets, however, scored two in the bottom half of the inning to tie things back up at 3-3, though ran themselves out of the inning when Nimmo was caught halfway between second and third base on Starling Marte’s game-tying single and thrown out for the third out, ending a potential bases-loaded threat.

The series finale featured a compelling pitching matchup between Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander and both stars permitted just one run but were done after six innings.

Cole struck out eight and allowed four hits, while Verlander scattered three hits and had six punchouts. Neither walked a batter.

The city rivals split the two-game Subway Series after the Yankees’ 7-6 win on Tuesday. The victory was just the second in 11 games for the Mets, who had dropped four in a row at home.

Berrios stymies Orioles

Jose Berrios took a no-hitter into the seventh inning in the Toronto Blue Jays’ 3-1 win at Baltimore, ending the Orioles’ five-game winning streak.

Berríos retired the first 13 batters he faced and didn’t allow a hit until Adley Rutschman opened the seventh with a soft single to centre.

Berríos ended up pitching 7 2/3 scoreless innings – his longest outing since going eight innings at Detroit on June 10, 2022 – allowing three hits and a walk while striking out five. The right-hander improved to 4-0 with a 1.11 ERA in his last five starts and 10-0 in his career against the Orioles.

Baltimore, which had won the season’s first four matchups with Toronto, came in having scored 11 runs in each of its last two games but didn’t get on the scoreboard until Aaron Hicks’ run-scoring single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.

Rays end Athletics’ 7-game winning streak

Manuel Margot and Yandy Diaz had back-to-back RBI doubles in the fifth inning and Tampa Bay’s bullpen worked 3 2/3 scoreless innings as the Rays snapped the Oakland Athletics’ seven-game winning streak with a 6-3 victory.

Tampa Bay took the lead for good with three runs in the fifth against Luis Medina. Taylor Walls singled, stole second, moved to third on an error and scored on Margot’s double. Diaz followed with another double to make it 3-3 and Josh Lowe singled home Diaz one out later.

Major league-leading Tampa Bay remained the only team in the majors without a three-game losing streak.

The Houston Astros announced Wednesday that right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. will miss the rest of the season following surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his right forearm and remove a bone spur.

To make matters worse for the defending World Series champion Astros, general manager Dana Brown said slugger Yordan Alvarez will be sidelined for at least four more weeks due to a right oblique strain.

McCullers missed a large portion of last season with a forearm strain and went 4-2 with a 2.27 ERA in eight starts after making his 2022 debut in August.

He originally sustained an injury to the tendon in his right forearm in Game 4 of the 2021 American League Division Series against the White Sox, and then aggravated it this February.

“After the injury happened in February, Lance worked his tail off to get back on the mound,” Brown said. “This guy is a warrior and did everything in his power to get back.

“But each time he built himself up to an increased pitch total off the mound, the pain would come back. It’s unfortunate, but we look forward to him being back on the mound next season.”

Alvarez, meanwhile, will likely be out until after the All-Star break after straining his right oblique during an at-bat against the Toronto Blue Jays last Thursday.

The 2019 AL Rookie of the year was leading the major leagues with 55 RBIs while batting .277 with 17 home runs in 57 games before getting hurt.

Alvarez was the MVP of the 2021 American League Championship Series and finished third in AL MVP voting last season, when he hit .306 with 37 homers and 97 RBIs in 135 games.

“With these oblique injuries, they're very tricky," Brown said Wednesday on his weekly visit with SportsTalk 790 AM in Houston. "I think it's going to take at least two weeks to get a feel for how it's feeling, how does he feel?

“So you take those two weeks, and then another week to figure out when he starts to have some activity, how's his body responding? So that's three weeks right there.

“So you're looking at, once he starts to swing a bat, maybe it's four weeks or so.”

The New York Mets will be without first baseman and Major League home run leader Pete Alonso for the next few weeks due to a wrist injury.

Alonso was placed on the injured list Friday with a sprained left wrist and bone bruise. He will be re-evaluated in three or four weeks.

Alonso suffered the injury when he was hit by a 97-mph fastball during Wednesday's game against the Atlanta Braves.

While X-rays showed no fractures, further testing revealed the injuries that will keep the Mets’ best slugger out for the next month.

The Mets entered play Friday with a 30-33 record and in fourth place in the National League East. They will now be without Alonso, who leads the majors with 22 home runs this season.

The news of Alonso’s absence comes while the Mets are mired in a season-long six-game losing streak.

The Mets called up infielder Luis Guillorme to take Alonso’s roster spot, while duties at first base are expected to be handled by Mark Vientos and Mark Canha.

Alonso is batting .231 this season with an .872 OPS, while his 49 RBIs are the most in the NL.

Since he made his debut in 2019, Alonso has hit 168 home runs and driven in 429 runs, both MLB highs over that span.

The Houston Astros will be without one of baseball's best hitters for the foreseeable future after placing slugger Yordan Alvarez on the 10-day injured list with right oblique discomfort.

The Astros announced the move on Friday and said Alvarez will head back to Houston for further evaluation.

A timetable for a return won't be made until after he's evaluated, though Astros second baseman Jose Altuve suffered a mild oblique injury while swinging a bat on June 2 and ended up missing only four games.

It's possible Houston believes Alvarez's injury is more serious, however, seeing as the team already placed him on the injured list. The recovery time for oblique strains is typically four-to-six weeks.

Alvarez exited Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays after experiencing discomfort in his right oblique during his at-bat in the first inning.

He said he initially felt soreness in the oblique on his final swing in the batting cage before the game.

Alvarez ended up grounding out on his first-inning at-bat, ending a 19-game on-base streak in which he slashed .246/.383/.646 with eight home runs, 16 RBIs and 18 runs.

Alvarez leads the majors with 55 RBIs and his 17 home runs trail only New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge's 19 for the most in the AL.

Since the start of the 2021 season, Alvarez's 87 home runs are seventh in MLB.

The 25-year-old won the AL Rookie of the Year in 2019 and made his first All-Star Game last season after hitting 37 home runs - the most ever by a left-handed hitter in Houston franchise history.

Thursday's setback was the third straight loss for the Astros, dropping them to 36-27 - five games behind the first-place Texas Rangers in the AL West.

The New York Yankees will be without slugger Aaron Judge for at least the next 10 days, with the superstar going back on the injured list with a contusion and sprained ligament in his right big toe.

An MRI on Tuesday showed Judge has no break or fracture in his toe, but a sprain will keep him sidelined until at least mid-June.

The 2022 AL MVP sustained the injury while making a highlight-reel catch against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday. He knocked open the door of the visiting bullpen while making the catch and slammed his toe against the concrete at the bottom of the wall.

This is the second time this season that Judge will spend time on the injured list after a right hip strain forced him to miss two weeks in late April/early May.

 Judge is putting together another stellar season, batting .291 with an AL-best 19 home runs and 40 RBIs in 49 games.

The 2022 season could not have gone much better for Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Alek Manoah.

The 2023 season, meanwhile, could not have started much worse for the struggling right-hander.

The Blue Jays sent Manoah to the rookie-level Florida Complex League on Tuesday, one day after he managed to get just one out in an 11-4 loss to the Houston Astros.

The 25-year-old has been a major disappointment this season after finishing third in AL Cy Young Award balloting in 2022 and earning a selection to the All-Star Game.

Through 58 innings and 13 starts this year, Manoah has surrendered 45 runs - 10 fewer runs than he permitted all of 2022 in 196 2/3 innings.

He's 1-7 with a 6.36 ERA this year after going 16-7 with a 2.24 ERA in 31 starts last season. As a rookie in 2021, he was 9-2 with a 3.22 ERA in 20 starts.

Among the 96 players in the majors with at least 50 innings pitched this season, Manoah's ERA is the ninth highest while his 1.90 WHIP is second worst.

This is after he compiled the fourth-lowest ERA and 10th-lowest WHIP (0.99), among all qualifying MLB pitchers in 2022.

His latest outing was the shortest out of 64 career starts.

Manoah faced nine Astros and got just one out, allowing six runs and seven hits - including a grand slam - while walking one.

He'll now be working at one of the lowest minor league levels.

The future is now for the Cincinnati Reds.

Elly De La Cruz will make his highly anticipated major league debut after the Reds called up the touted prospect ahead of Tuesday's series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

With the lethal combination of power and speed, the 21-year-old shortstop is ranked as Baseball America's third-best prospect, and has been crushing the ball in the minors.

In 38 games this season for Triple-A Louisville, Cruz slashed .297/.398/.633 with 12 home runs, 11 doubles and 11 stolen bases. He's also driven in 36 runs and scored 38.

This came after he hit .304 with 28 homers and stole 47 bases in 120 games last year for Class A Dayton and Double-A Chattanooga.

Signed as a teenager by Cincinnati out of the Dominican Republic, the tall middle infielder has drawn comparisons to Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz.

De La Cruz joins a Reds team that has won three in a row to improve to 27-33, and is surprisingly in the mix in the pedestrian NL Central, sitting 5 /1/2 games behind the first-place Pirates.

The first-place Arizona Diamondbacks have given manager Torey Lovullo a contract extension through the 2024 season.

The deal, which was announced Sunday, is the third straight one-year extension for Lovullo.

A year after finishing in fourth place in the NL West and two years removed from a 110-loss season, the Diamondbacks enter play Sunday with a 35-24 mark to tie the Los Angeles Dodgers for the best record in the league.

It’s the first time Arizona has 35 wins through 59 games since 2007, when the team won the NL West with a 90-72 record and reached the National League championship series.

With their 5-4 walkoff win over the Rockies today, the Diamondbacks ended a streak of 69 consecutive home series of four or more games without a sweep.

That was the longest such streak by an NL team since the Boston Braves (also 69, 1937-1946). pic.twitter.com/nOi9XpTlul

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) June 1, 2023

The New York Yankees have decided to cut ties with struggling outfielder Aaron Hicks.

The Yankees designated Hicks for assignment on Saturday before their game against the Cincinnati Reds.

Through 28 games this season, Hicks is slashing just .188/.263/.261 with one home run, two doubles and five RBIS.

Among the 315 major league hitters with at least 75 plate appearances, Hicks' .524 OPS ranks 299th.

It is a costly decision for the Yankees, as Hicks' contract runs through 2025 and the team will be forced to eat nearly $30million remaining on the seven-year, $70m contract he signed in 2019.

The sides agreed to that deal after Hicks enjoyed a career year in 2018, when he hit 27 homers and drove in 79.

In almost four-and-a-half seasons since then, however, the 33-year-old Hicks has managed just 31 home runs while batting .218.

In a corresponding move Saturday, the Yankees selected the contract of outfielder Greg Allen from the minors.

The 30-year-old Allen was acquired in a trade from the Boston Red Sox on Friday and is beginning his second stint with the Yankees after appearing in 15 games for them in 2021.

Jose Altuve will return to the Houston Astros’ lineup for Friday’s game against the Oakland Athletics after the team activated the 2017 American League Most Valuable Player from the injured list.

Altuve has yet to play this season due to a fractured right thumb he sustained while playing for his native Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic on March 19. He underwent surgery on March 22 and was given an eight-week timeline to return.

The eight-time All-Star prepped for his 2023 debut by playing five minor league rehab games over the past week, though he went just 2 for 22 at the plate.

Altuve finished fifth in voting for last season’s AL MVP after finishing with a .300 average, 28 home runs, 103 runs scored and 18 stolen bases in 141 games for the World Series champion Astros.

The 33-year-old’s career .307 batting average ranks third among active players with at least 1,000 plate appearances, trailing only 2022 AL batting champ Luis Arraez and fellow Venezuelan Miguel Cabrera.

Altuve will be counted on to provide a spark to a Houston offense that’s averaging just 4.44 runs per game, 15th in the majors. The Astros currently stand two games behind division-leading Texas in the AL West with a 24-19 record.

The Tampa Bay Rays re-discovered their free-scoring ways as Isaac Paredes managed a career-high five RBIs in a 14-5 victory over the slumping Chicago White Sox on Thursday.

The Sox fall to their eighth straight loss, even with Dylan Cease on the mound, pounded for seven runs from nine hits across four innings, with only three strikeouts.

Paredes started it off with a second-inning RBI single, grounded out to third to score Randy Arozarena in the fifth, before a three-run double in the sixth opened up an 11-2 lead.

Brandon Lowe maintained his excellent early season hitting with a 358-foot third inning homer along with a two-run single in the fifth. Lowe's solo shot took his season tally to seven homers.

Shane McClanahan (5-0) allowed two runs and struck out five across five innings, while Luke Raley went three-for-five with three RBIs including a ninth-inning homer, and moved from the outfield to the mound in the ninth.

The Rays, who started the season 13-0, had been beaten and shut out in consecutive games by the Houston Astros, 1-0 and 5-0 on Wednesday and Tuesday respectively.

Tampa Bay delivered 16 hits for the game and ended their scoreless run at 20 innings.

Ohtani's mixed game as Angels edge home

Shohei Ohtani responded after a shaky start on the mound to lead the Los Angeles Angels past the Oakland Athletics 8-7.

Ohtani (4-0) earned the win, although he gave up five runs in a rough fourth inning, with three-run blasts to Brent Rooker and a two-run homer to Shea Langeliers. He had thrown three perfect innings to that point and finished with eight strikeouts, allowing three hits across six innings.

The Japanese two-way star went three-for-five with the bat, including a triple, double and single, scoring two runs, with an eighth-inning shot caught by Esteury Ruiz on the warning track in center field.

Brandon Drury delivered a 409-foot three-run home run over left-center field in the first inning, with Ohtani scoring after his prior double.

Keller fans 10 as Pirates continue fine form

Mitch Keller matched his career-high 10 strikeouts as the Pittsburgh Pirates downed the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2.

Keller improved to 3-0, giving up two runs on five hits across six innings, as the Pirates continued their excellent run having won nine of their past 10, moving to an 18-8 record.

Pittsburgh rallied from an early 2-0 deficit, with three runs at the bottom of the first inning, before Connor Joe's two-run blast followed by Rodolfo Castro's 414-foot homer in the sixth.

Aaron Judge overcame injury as he drove in three runs to lead the New York Yankees past the Minnesota Twins 12-6 on Wednesday.

Judge had an injury scare with an awkward slide into third base on a failed steal attempt in the second inning, immediately walking off the field and into the Yankees tunnel.

The Yankees outfielder got himself stuck in the ground on the head-first slide, with his shoulders lurching forward while his body stayed almost still.

Judge, on his 31st birthday, appeared to be favouring his right arm as he left the field and seemed to have some wrist discomfort when he returned to the bench. He would return to play, with a walk, single and strikeout, having hit a three-run double in the second inning before his injury scare.

Gleyber Torres capped a six-run fourth-inning by crushing a 429-foot two-run blast to left field to open up an 11-1 lead.

Jose Miranda homered twice for the Twins, while Joey Gallo drove in Miranda with a sixth-inning blast to make it 11-5, but the Yankees were always in control after racing to an early 5-0 lead.

Anthony Volpe and Anthony Rizzo both had two-run doubles, with the former going two-for-three with three RBIs. Dominic German had eight strikeouts across six innings but allowed five runs.

Rays shut down again

The record-breaking Tampa Bay Rays were shut down for the second straight time as they fell to a 1-0 defeat against the reigning world champion Houston Astros.

Hunter Brown had a career-high eight strikeouts as he combined with two relievers on a two-hitter, with Ryan Pressly working a 1-2-3 ninth for his second save.

The Astros scored on a Wander Franco error for misplaying a potential inning-ending double play, with Alex Bregman credited with the RBI, as Jeremy Pena scored.

Houston ended the Rays' 14-game home winning run to start the new season on Tuesday and backed that up.

Maggi's magic moment after long wait

Drew Maggi had a moment to remember, making his MLB debut after 13 seasons and more than 1000 games in the minor leagues, as the Pittsburgh Pirates downed the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-1.

The 33-year-old journeyman came in to pinch hit in the eighth inning and struck out on four pitches, having cranked a foul shot into the stands down the left-field line off his first pitch. It was Maggi's only at-bat and the end result was slightly underwhelming but it stirred up loud applause from the PNC Park crowd.

Jason Delay went three-for-three with three RBIs, while Roansy Contreras took a no-hitter into the sixth inning. Contreras finished with five strikeouts and two walks, allowing only two runs.