Bobby Witt homered to cap a nine-run first inning and finished with four hits, two home runs and five RBIs as the Kansas City Royals routed the Houston Astros 12-3 for their seventh consecutive victory on Thursday.

Vinnie Pasquantino added three hits and three RBIs and Maikel Garcia knocked in two runs for the Royals, who completed a perfect seven-game homestand. It’s just the third time in franchise history they’ve played at least seven games on a homestand without a loss. The other two came in 1988 and 1985.

Kansas City sent 15 men to the plate in the first inning and tied a club record with 11 hits. The Royals batted around in an inning for the second straight game.

Hunter Brown recorded just two outs and allowed nine runs and 11 hits.

Houston gave up 24 runs in the final two games of the series and dropped to 4-10. It is the Astros’ worst 14-game start since also opening 4-10 in 2013.

Sears, Athletics 1-hit Rangers

JP Sears pitched no-hit ball into the seventh inning and the Oakland Athletics combined on a 1-hitter in a 1-0 win over the Texas Rangers.

Sears allowed leadoff walks in the first, second and fifth innings before Adolis Garcia ended his no-hit bid with a one-out single in the seventh on an 0-2 pitch.

Sears struck out five, including 2023 World Series MVP Corey Seager three times.

Austin Adams got the final two outs of the seventh and Lucas Erceg and Mason Miller each worked one inning to finish the one-hitter.

Cowser hits 2 homers as Orioles sweep

Rookie Colton Cowser capped a stellar series with his first two career home runs and four RBIs as the Baltimore Orioles rallied for a 9-4 win in 10 innings to complete a three-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox.

Gunnar Henderson opened the 10th with a two-run homer off Isaiah Campbell and Cedric Mullins singled home a run before Cowser drilled a 3-0 pitch over the wall in right field for a three-run shot.

Cowser, who hit his first career homer in the fifth inning, went 6 for 13 with two home runs and 10 RBIs in the three-game set.

Orioles prospect Jackson Holliday scored two runs but went 0 for 4 for the second straight game.

Jackson Holliday had a relatively quiet MLB debut, but teammate Jordan Westburg capped a four-run seventh with a three-run homer to lift the Baltimore Orioles to a come-from-behind 7-5 win over the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday.

Triston Casas’ two-run homer in the fifth inning extended Boston’s lead to 5-0, but Baltimore answered with three runs in the sixth.

Colton Cowser delivered a two-run single and Westburg doubled before Holliday’s ground out scored him.

Cower is 3 for 8 with six RBIs in the first two games of this series.

The Orioles scored four runs in the seventh off Chris Martin, with a wild pitch scoring one run before Westburg’s blast to center made it 7-5.

The 20-year-old Holliday – baseball’s top-rated prospect - went 0 for 4 with an RBI and two strikeouts in his debut.

After Cole Irvin gave up five runs in five innings, the Orioles’ bullpen pitched one-hit ball and struck out nine over the next four innings. Craig Kimbrel fanned two in a perfect ninth for his second save.

Surging Royals pound Astros

Vinnie Pasquantino homered and drove in a career-high five runs to lead the Kansas City Royals to their sixth straight win, an 11-2 rout of the Houston Astros.

Pasquantino entered 4 for 37 with four singles and no RBIs before going 3 for 3 with a single, double, homer and a walk.

His two-run double ignited a seven-run third inning, and he homered an inning later to put the Royals up 8-2.

Seth Lugo limited the Astros to two runs and seven hits in six innings for Kansas City’s ninth quality start in 12 games – the most in the majors.

Naylor brothers power Guardians

Bo Naylor and Josh Naylor had RBI hits in the 10th inning after the brothers both homered earlier and the Cleveland Guardians rallied for a 7-6 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

Josh Naylor doubled home the tying run in the 10th and Bo Naylor singled to score pinch-runner Tyler Freeman to complete Cleveland’s comeback from a 5-0 deficit.

Bo Naylor hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning and Josh added a two-run shot later in the inning to draw the Guardians within 5-3.

Cleveland improved to 9-3 for its best start since going 11-1 in 2002.

Gavin Sheets hit a three-run homer and had five RBIs for the injury-riddled White Sox.

The Boston Red Sox decided to move on from oft-injured Chris Sale on Saturday, trading the veteran left-hander to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for infielder Vaughn Grissom.

The Red Sox will also send cash to the Braves to cover a portion of the $27.5 million salary Sale is owed in 2024, the final guaranteed season of a $160 million, six-year contract.

Sale is a seven-time All-Star but has battled injuries since he was acquired from the Chicago White Sox in December 2016. He made nine trips to the disabled and injured lists with the Red Sox, mostly due to shoulder and elbow ailments.

Sale helped Boston to a World Series title in 2018 but has made only 56 starts in the last four years, going 17-18 with a 4.86 ERA. He was 6-5 with a 4.30 ERA in 20 starts and 102 2/3 innings last season.

He joins a Braves rotation that projects to include Spencer Strider, Charlie Morton and Max Fried.

The 22-year-old Grissom batted .287 with five home runs and 27 RBIs over 64 games during the past two seasons for Atlanta. He made 41 starts and second base and 19 at shortstop.

A time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance.

Two days after the death of all-time great third baseman Brooks Robinson, the Baltimore Orioles have cause to smile.

The Orioles beat the Boston Red Sox 2-0 Thursday to set off a raucous celebration at Camden Yards as Baltimore clinched its first AL East title since 2014, guaranteed themselves home-field advantage throughout the AL playoffs.

Baltimore, which lost 110 games in 2021, completed a stunning turnaround with its 100th win, accomplished for the first time since 1980.

Dean Kremer pitched 5 1/3 sterling innings and DL Hall, Yennier Cano, Cionel Perez and Tyler Wells pitched well out of the bullpen as the O’s held the Red Sox to just three hits – all singles.

Anthony Santander went deep off Chris Sale in the first inning, and Heston Kjerstad added some late insurance with a pinch-hit double in the eighth that plated Adam Frazier.

There was even more excitement at Camden Yards during the game when the team announced on the scoreboard that it had reached agreement with the state to keep the Orioles in Baltimore for at least the next 30 years.

The team’s lease at Camden Yards was set to expire at the end of 2023.

Crawford’s clutch hit gives Mariners vital win

J.P. Crawford singled home the tying and winning runs with two outs in the ninth inning to lift the Seattle Mariners to a thrilling 3-2 victory over the Texas Rangers.

The Rangers entered the bottom of the ninth with a 2-1 run lead, but Aroldis Chapman gave up singles to Cal Raleigh and Dylan Moore.

Both runners moved up on a wild pitch and Ty France walked to load the bases before Chapman was replaced by Jonathan Hernandez. After Mike Ford popped out and Josh Rojas fouled out, Crawford lined a 1-1 pitch to the wall in left to give Seattle a much-needed win.

The Mariners pulled within one game of Houston for the final AL wild card.

Adolis Garcia and Leody Taveras homered for Texas, which could’ve clinched a playoff berth with a win.

Olson hits 54th homer as Braves win again

Matt Olson extended his major league lead with his 54th home run and the Atlanta Braves clinched home-field advantage throughout the postseason with a 5-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

Austin Riley had three hits and scored twice as Atlanta won for the sixth time in seven games and secured the best record in baseball.

Olson’s two-run blast gave him a team-record 136 RBIs, surpassing the 135 for Eddie Matthews in 1953.

The Cubs have lost three straight and 13 of 19 to fall one-half game behind Miami for the final NL wild card.

James McCann hit two of the Orioles’ five home runs and Baltimore held on for its seventh straight win, topping the Boston Red Sox 13-12 in a wild slugfest on Saturday.

Baltimore had leads of 7-2 in the fourth inning, 12-6 in the seventh and 13-9 in the ninth before Yennier Cano retired Emmanuel Valdez on a game-ending flyout to strand the tying run at third and give the Orioles their AL-best 90th win.

The Red Sox, who outhit the Orioles 23-14, got a two-run, two-out double from Trevor Story and an RBI single from rookie Wilyer Abreu before left fielder Austin Hays caught Valdez’s flyball to end a three-hour, 40-minute contest.

Baltimore became the first team to win when allowing at least 23 hits since the Seattle Mariners on September 3, 1981, at Boston in a 20-inning game.

No team had done that in a nine-inning game since the St. Louis Cardinals on June 3, 1930.

Aaron Hicks and Gunnar Henderson hit three-run homers, McCann had a two-run shot and a solo blast and Jordan Westburg also went deep for Baltimore, which has won 13 of 16 to maintain a four-game lead over Tampa Bay in the AL East.

Justin Turner hit a two-run homer in the first and Abreu went 5 for 5 with three RBIs, but Boston dropped its fourth straight.

Diaz’s home run lifts Rays over Mariners

Yandy Diaz hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Tampa Bay Rays a 7-5 win over the Seattle Mariners.

After Taylor Walls drew a two-out walk from Taylor Saucedo, Diaz drilled an opposite-field shot to right.

The win kept Tampa Bay four games behind Baltimore in the AL East and moved it 7 ½ games ahead of Seattle and Toronto in the race for the top wild card.

Julio Rodriguez went deep for his 29th home run and is one short of joining Alex Rodriguez as the only Mariners to have 30 homers and 30 steals in a single season.

Seattle blew a lead for a second straight day to drop 1 ½ games behind AL West-leading Houston.

Diamondbacks beat Cubs again

Tommy Pham delivered an RBI single to cap a two-run 10th inning and the Arizona Diamondbacks made it four straight wins, 3-2 over the Chicago Cubs.

Gabriel Moreno scored on a wild pitch in the 10th to snap a 1-1 tie before Pham drove home Jordan Lawlar with a liner to left.

Paul Seward gave up Cody Bellinger’s run-scoring single with two outs in the 10th but got Dansby Swanson to foul out for his 32nd save.

Arizona pulled within one game of Chicago for the No. 2 spot in the wild-card race.

The Cubs have just four runs through the first three games of the four-game series and have fallen four games behind NL Central-leading Milwaukee.

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. 

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.

Boston Red Sox center-fielder Jarren Duran continued his terrific start to the season in Tuesday's 8-6 road win against the Baltimore Orioles.

Duran, 26, collected three hits from his four at-bats, highlighted by a 409-foot grand slam to center-field in the third inning to bust the game wide open.

Through nine games and 31 at-bats this season, Duran is slashing sizzling figures of .387/.417/.645, and he is not the only Red Sox hitter with a hot bat.

AL Rookie of the Year hopeful Masataka Yoshida finished two-for-four with a walk, marking his fourth multi-hit game in a row. After a cold start to his debut season in the majors, the 29-year-old is 12-for-24 in his past six outings.

The Orioles tried to mount a late comeback as Cedric Mullins hit a ninth-inning grand slam, making it the first time in MLB history that the center-fielder on each team finished with a grand slam.

With the win, the Red Sox improved their record to above .500 at 13-12, while the Orioles are still in a strong position at 15-8 in the ultra-competitive AL East.

Kelenic does it again

Seattle Mariners outfielder Jarred Kelenic hit a home run for the third game in a row to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-3 on the road.

Kelenic had his eye in, hitting a double in the second inning, a solo home run in the fifth, and a single in the ninth, with his only out in the contest coming on a hard-hit line out to left-field.

He was the only Mariners player with more than one hit, although Teoscar Hernandez's two-run home run ended up being the difference.

Berrios and Jansen take down the White Sox

The Toronto Blue Jays battery of Jose Berrios and Danny Jansen combined to dominate the Chicago White Sox in a 7-0 shutout.

Berrios pitched seven scoreless innings in 103 pitches, allowing four hits and one walk to go with nine strikeouts, and as well as calling a great game behind the plate, Jansen punished the White Sox with his bat.

Jansen went three-for-four at the plate including two home runs, driving in four of his team's runs, while team-mate George Springer also collected three hits.

Superstar duo Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout made their presence felt on Sunday as they hit back-to-back home runs in the Los Angeles Angels' 4-3 home win against the Kansas City Royals.

Despite coming into the contest with the second-worst record in the majors (4-16), the Royals struck first through an opening-inning home run from young outfielder M.J. Melendez.

The Angels tied things up before the end of the first inning after Trout's double put Taylor Ward on third base, setting up Ohtani for the sacrifice fly.

Neither team scored in the next four frames as Angels starter Reid Detmers and Royals pitcher Jordan Lyles kept things tight, but the runs started to flow again in the sixth.

Vinnie Pasquantino gave Kansas City a 2-1 lead with his solo home run, signalling the end of Detmers' day, before Lyles had a rotten finish to his six innings.

Lyles threw a total of nine pitches in the sixth. The very first was hit 376 feet to left-field by lead-off batter Ward, before Trout followed with a 389-foot blast to center field three pitches later. Ohtani made it three in a row five pitches after that, launching a curveball 415 feet to center for the biggest of the bunch.

Top Royals youngster Bobby Witt Jr tried to drag his side back into it with his own solo homer an inning later, but Carlos Estevez was able to secure his third save of the season to pull the Angels' record even at 11-11.

It was the fifth home run of the season for both Ohtani and Trout, leaving them tied for 17th on the major league leaderboard.

Gausman guts the Yankees

Toronto Blue Jays ace Kevin Gausman pitched his best start of the young season in a 5-1 road victory over the New York Yankees.

Gausman made it through seven complete innings in 103 pitches, allowing only three hits and no walks to go with 11 strikeouts. The Yankees' only run would come from a consolation solo shot from Anthony Rizzo in the ninth inning.

For the Blue Jays, 24-year-old franchise star Vladimir Guerrero Jr connected on his fifth home run of the season, opening the scoring with a two-run bomb in the sixth inning. His batting average of .341 is eighth-highest in the majors, and his 29 total hits is tied for the sixth-most.

Yoshida stars for the Red Sox

AL Rookie of the Year contender and top international signing from the offseason Masataka Yoshida was the star of the show in the Boston Red Sox's 12-5 come-from-behind victory against the Milwaukee Brewers.

After signing a five-year, $90million free agent deal to come over from Japan's Orix Buffaloes, the 29-year-old Yoshida had his first game-changing performance for his new team, becoming the first Red Sox player since David Ortiz in 2008 to hit two home runs in the same inning.

The left-fielder, who starred for Japan in March's World Baseball Classic, hit a solo home run early in the eighth inning to give the Red Sox a 5-4 lead, and eight batters later he stepped up again and hit a 407-foot grand slam to make it 12-4. Brewers third baseman Brian Anderson also hit two home runs of his own.

Clayton Kershaw brought up his 200th career win with a shutout as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Mets 5-0 on Tuesday.

The Dodgers left-hander moved to 22nd on the all-time major league strikeout list with nine K's across seven scoreless innings, allowing only three hits and no walks.

Kershaw joined Don Sutton and Don Drysdale as the only pitchers with 200 wins in a Dodgers uniform, while he becomes one of four active players to reach the mark, alongside Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Zack Greinke.

J.D. Martinez blasted home runs in the first and third innings, before adding an eighth-inning RBI single to finish with four RBIs.

Freddie Freeman went one-for-four, with one run and one RBI from a sacrifice fly.

The win was the Dodgers' first shutout of the season, led by Kershaw who produced a vintage performance to bring up his milestone.

The three-time Cy Young ward winner's career record improved to 200-88 in 405 games.

Ohtani laser sets up Angels win over Yankees

Shohei Ohtani blasted a two-run laser beam homer in the first inning as the Los Angeles Angels downed the New York Yankees 5-2 on the 100th anniversary of Yankee Stadium.

Ohtani's early blast sparked the Angels' triumph in a star-studded encounter featuring three AL MVPs where Aaron Judge went none-for-three, struck out twice while he drove in one with a fourth-inning sacrifice fly.

Mike Trout went two-for-four scoring in the fourth inning from Anthony Rendon's single. Rendon also drove in Ohtani in the fifth with a sacrifice fly, opening up the decisive 5-2 lead.

Verdugo delivers bizarre walk-off hit

Alex Verdugo produced a bizarre walk-off hit as the Boston Red Sox edged the Minnesota Twins 5-4 in a dramatic 10th inning thriller.

Verdugo's fly ball to right field barely stayed fair, catching outfielder Max Kepler unaware as it bounced off the wall just short of Pesky's Pole and back into play. The umpires reviewed the drive for several minutes, deeming it fair to clinch the walk-off win.

Red Sox starter Chris Sale had 11 strikeouts across six innings, while Verdugo went three-for-five with one run and the decisive RBI for Reese McGuire to score after the Twins had gone 4-2 up at the top of the 10th.

Shohei Ohtani helped his Los Angeles Angels snap a three-game losing streak on Sunday, igniting a 5-4 road win against the Boston Red Sox.

Ohtani started on the mound at Fenway Park, giving up one run while striking out three batters across the opening two innings. 

He also collected a base hit in the first frame, and followed it with another single in the second, before rain arrived and forced a weather delay.

With his arm cooling down during the lengthy break, Ohtani was replaced by Tucker Davidson upon resumption, but the five runs the Angels put up in the first two innings proved to be enough.

The catalyst for their bright offensive start was Hunter Renfroe, connecting on a three-run homer with the game's fourth at-bat. Renfroe then added his fourth RBI of the contest an inning later with a ground-out.

Red Sox star Rafael Devers tried to ignite a late comeback in the bottom of the ninth, with his RBI single bridging the gap to 5-4 while runners remained on first and second base with one out, but Rob Refsnyder and Masataka Yoshida could not muster a hit from either of the final two at-bats.

After the win, Angels manager Phil Nevin said the team would discuss moving up Ohtani's next start due to his limited workload this time out.

Rangers pitch combined one-hitter 

There was an injury scare for Texas Rangers ace Jacob deGrom, but it could not sour their terrific 4-0 shutout of the Kansas City Royals.

DeGrom was withdrawn after four innings of work with what the team called a precaution due to wrist soreness, but he held the Royals hit-less during those four innings, and the bullpen only allowed one hit the rest of the way.

Dane Dunning came in and tossed four innings in relief, allowing one hit and one walk in a great showing, while the bulk of the offensive damage was done by a three-run homer from Josh Jung in the first inning.

It was Jung's third home run of the season, and team-mate Marcus Semien joined him with three for the campaign after a solo homer of his own.

Rays keep home run streak alive in loss

The Tampa Bay Rays suffered a disappointing 8-1 road defeat at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds, but not before keeping their historic home run streak alive.

The Rays were down 8-0 in the last inning when Josh Lowe hit a consolation home run, but with it, he marked the 17th consecutive game Tampa have hit a home run in to start the season.

Tampa Bay slipped to a still league-leading 14-3 record with the loss, but they are now just three games with a home run away from tying the 2019 Seattle Mariners for the longest streak to start a season in MLB history.

Mike Trout joined some elite company with his 300th career double but it was an unhappy return for the Los Angeles Angels who lost 9-7 to the Boston Red Sox on Saturday.

Trout, who went three-for-four, became just the fourth player in MLB history to reach 300 doubles, 300 homers and 200 stolen bases by his age-31 season, alongside  Willie Mays, Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez.

The Angels had skipped ahead to a 4-0 lead after Urshela's first-inning grand slam, with Trout having doubled to left to reach his milestone with a rocket off the Green Monster.

But Rafael Devers halved the deficit with his seventh blast of the season, a two-run shot, taking him up to the top of the majors' charts for home runs.

Yu Chang ended his none-for-29 drought with a go-ahead two-run homer in the fourth inning,

The Angels regained the lead in the sixth inning from Shohei Ohtani's RBI single. Ohtani also extended his on-base streak to 36 games, which is the best active streak in the majors.

But Chang delivered again with a two-run single in the eighth inning to finish with four RBIs. That came amid an eighth where Angels' Matt Thaiss was called twice for catcher interference, prolonging the inning.

Ryan Brasier got the win, with Kenley Jensen taking the final three outs for his fourth save.

Alonso blasts league-leading homer in Mets win

Pete Alonso crushed his league-leading seventh home run of the season as the New York Mets rallied past the Oakland Athletics 3-2.

Alonso's fourth-inning blast got the wheels in motion for the Mets, after the A's opened up a 2-0 lead at the bottom of the second inning.

The Mets rallied into the lead with two runs in the seventh inning, with Mark Canha's 414-foot homer followed by Brandon Nimmo's RBI double.

Alonso leads the majors for homers with seven alongside Red Sox's Rafael Devers, with Baltimore Orioles' Ryan Mountcastle and Los Angeles Dodgers' Max Muncy having six each.

Miggy records 16th career walk-off with single

Miguel Cabrera produced an 11th-inning walk-off single for the Detroit Tigers to edge the San Francisco Giants 7-6.

The Tigers had to rally from a five-run deficit, trailing 6-1 after J.D. Davis' two-run blast at the top of the third inning, pulling back two runs in the fifth, before Javier Baez's two-run double in the eighth followed by Spencer Torkelson's single.

Detroit's 39-year-old pinch-hitter, who recorded his 3,000th career hit last season, brought up his 16th career walk-off with his 3,095th career hit up the middle to score Torkelson.

The Minnesota Twins came back from the worst possible start to earn a 4-3 road win against the New York Yankees on Friday.

In a stunning first inning in front of their home fans, the Yankees led 2-0 after two at-bats. Rookie Anthony Volpe connected on a 394-foot shot to left-center field for his first career home run, and he was followed by reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge, who sent his solo home run 404 feet for his fifth dinger of the season.

Judge's five home runs this season trails only Baltimore Orioles slugger Ryan Mountcastle and New York Mets star Pete Alonso for the league's most, both with six.

But those two runs would be the only scores until the sixth inning, when Carlos Correa put the Twins on the board with a solo home run of his own, barely scraping over the short-porch at right-field with a distance of 331 feet.

Giancarlo Stanton answered for the Yankees in the bottom of the sixth, cancelling out Correa's blast with another solo home run, before Kyle Garlick smacked the game's fifth solo homer to cut the New York lead to 3-2.

But after Michael Taylor and Byron Buxton both got on base to lead off the eighth frame, Correa came through again with a two-run double to give the Twins their first lead, setting up Jhoan Duran to come in and pick up the save – his fourth of the season.

The win was the Twins' fourth in a row, improving their AL Central-leading record to 10-4, while the Yankees slipped to 8-6.

Jays end the Rays' historic start

The Tampa Bay Rays have had their perfect start to the season snapped at 13 wins after the Toronto Blue Jays defeated them 6-3 at home.

George Springer gave the Blue Jays an early lead when he sent the second pitch from Rays starter Drew Rasmussen 440 feet for a lead-off home run, before team-mate Bo Bichette doubled their lead with a ground-rule double in the second inning.

Bichette went on to collect five hits from his five at-bats – three singles and two doubles – but it was loose pitching from Tampa Bay that doomed them to defeat.

Trailing just 2-1 in the sixth inning, the Rays issued two bases-loaded walks, and then allowed two more runs to score on an error.

Tampa Bay tied the 1982 Atlanta Braves and the 1987 Milwaukee Brewers for the best start to a season (13-0) since the 1884 St Louis Maroons (20-0).

Ohtani and Trout both hit, walk in Angels loss

The Los Angeles Angels went down 5-3 on the road against the Boston Red Sox, despite their two former AL MVPs both finishing with a hit and a walk.

Shohei Ohtani went one-for-four with a walk, while Mike Trout also went one-for-four with a walk, although his hit went for a double down the left-field line.

The production from the Angels' stars was not enough to overcome three fielding errors as a team, including two costly errors from third-baseman Anthony Rendon to allow three runs, and a fourth run scored on a passed ball from catcher Logan O'Hoppe.

Boston's top bat Rafael Devers was the highlight for the home side, connecting on his equal league-leading sixth homer.

Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash reflected on a "pretty amazing" achievement on Thursday after his side improved their perfect start to 13-0.

The Rays defeated the Boston Red Sox 9-3 to bring up their 13th consecutive win, tying the 1982 Atlanta Braves and the 1987 Milwaukee Brewers for the best start to a season in modern history.

Tampa Bay are seven games away from tying the overall record of 20-0, set 139 years ago by the St Louis Maroons back in 1884.

They did it with a fifth-inning surge, where they turned a 3-1 deficit into an 8-3 lead. A double and three singles brought in three Rays runs to jump ahead by one, and after Wander Franco was hit by a pitch, Manuel Margot surprised even his manager with his decision.

With bases loaded and two outs, Margot opted to drop a first-pitch bunt down the third-base line, safely reaching first, bringing another run in and keeping the inning alive.

Designated hitter Harold Ramirez took full advantage, following with a bases-clearing double to take the contest by the scruff of the neck.

Speaking after the win, Cash was asked what the most impressive aspect of their current run has been.

"Just the overall quality of our at-bats," he said. "I can't say that we foresaw that coming, but we've got a bunch of guys who are seeing the ball well right now.

"We've come up with some timely hitting – [tonight] might have been the mostly timely to-date. But we got momentum, and it just seemed like it was going to continue to roll.

"Manny's at-bat, the bases-loaded bunt – it certainly shocked me – and then Harold comes up and hits a double down the line to open up the game.

"I think we were all pretty shocked [by the bunt]... but it worked."

Touching on their 13-0 record after series sweeps against the Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals, Oakland Athletics and now the Red Sox, Cash said it is rare to have everything clicking like this.

"Pretty amazing," he said. "Congrats to all of our guys, and I'm glad that we did it at home, because we had tremendous fan support throughout this entire home stand. They really got loud when we needed them to, and it seemed like our guys were energised by that.

"When you do something like that you're playing really well. There's not one part of our game right now that we don't feel good about.

"We want to be really good with our roster from 14-15 throughout 40, and we feel like we are. We've got many guys who are going to contribute during the season, and many guys that have already contributed.

"To go on a run like this everything's got to be clicking, and you've got to get contributions from all parts of your roster."

Tampa Bay's 13-game winning streak also sets a new franchise record for longest winning streak at any point of a season, eclipsing their 12 wins in a row during the 2004 campaign.

The Tampa Bay Rays tied the record for the best start to an MLB season since 1884 after defeating the Boston Red Sox 9-3 on Thursday to improve to 13-0.

To reach 13-0, the Rays completed their fourth consecutive series sweep to begin the campaign. They began their season at home with a three-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers, before a three-game sweep at the Washington Nationals, followed by a three-game sweep of the visiting Oakland Athletics.

Thursday's victory polished off a four-game series against the Red Sox, and while the whole team is in great touch, nobody is swinging a hotter bat than second-baseman Brandon Lowe.

Lowe, 28, hit a solo home run in the seventh inning, marking his fifth game with a home run from his past six starts. He has made the most of his extra-base hits, with only one double and no triples, as five of his 11 total hits this season have cleared the wall.

Tampa Bay ended up scoring the last eight runs of the contest, as the Red Sox opened up a 3-1 lead in the fifth inning thanks to a home run from Rob Refsnyder and RBIs to Enrique Hernandez and Justin Turner.

But a seven-run explosion from the Rays at the bottom of the fifth turned the tide, highlighted by a bases-clearing double from designated hitter Harold Ramirez as one of his three hits on the day.

Tampa Bay starting pitcher Jeffrey Springs was forced to leave earlier than planned in the fourth innings due to inflammation in his elbow, but that only put a slight damper on the evening as they joined the 1982 Atlanta Braves and 1987 Milwaukee Brewers as the only teams since 1884 to reach 13-0.

One more win on the road against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday would give the Rays the best post-1900 start to a season, with 20-0 the overall record set by the 1884 St Louis Maroons.

Rutschman nails walk-off homer for Baltimore

Elite young catcher Adley Rutschman was the hero as he connected on a walk-off home run to give the Baltimore Orioles an 8-7 victory over the Oakland Athletics.

In a back-and-forth contest where the teams combined for 21 hits, Rutschman himself was hit-less from four at-bats when he stepped up for a fifth time to lead off the bottom of the ninth.

He saw two fastballs, and connected on the second, sending it 405 feet to right-center field and ending the game.

Orioles shortstop Jorge Mateo collected his league-leading seventh stolen base, while team-mate Cedric Mullins stole his sixth to sit in a tie for second.

Twins hammer Yankees rookie

It was a day to forget for New York Yankees rookie starting pitcher Jhony Brito as he was only able to secure two outs before being pulled in his side's 11-2 home loss to the Minnesota Twins.

Brito gave up six hits and a walk, punctuated by a two-run Michael Taylor homer to put the Twins up 7-0 in the first inning. Brito was pulled, but his replacement Colten Brewer gave up two more solo homers before the end of the first.

Taylor ended up hitting his second two-run homer of the game in the third inning, before Anthony Rizzo added a pair of consolation solo home runs to put the Yankees on the board.