Chris Bassitt tossed 6 1/3 effective innings to lead the way as the Toronto Blue Jays dealt the New York Yankees their first losing streak of the season with Monday's 3-1 win to open a three-game series.

Bassitt allowed just one run on four hits to help Toronto to its season-high third straight win. The right-hander has now won back-to-back starts after losing his first two outings of the season. 

The Blue Jays managed just four hits but took advantage of seven walks issued by New York starter Luis Gil in five innings of work.

Gil walked three straight Toronto hitters to force in a run after Cavan Biggio opened the bottom of the second inning with a ground-rule double with the Blue Jays trailing 1-0. The right-hander later uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Alejandro Kirk to cross the plate for a 2-1 lead.

Kirk recorded two of the Blue Jays' four hits, including a two-out double in the third that scored Bo Bichette, who had reached on an infield single.

The Yankees had briefly gone ahead in the top of the second on Oswaldo Cabrera's run-scoring single, the last of three consecutive hits off Bassitt.

Bassitt did not surrender a hit from the fourth inning on, however, and relievers Tim Mayza and Chad Green combined for 1 2/3 scoreless innings before Yimi Garcia retired the side in order in the ninth for his second save.

Gil struck out six but permitted all three Toronto runs as the Yankees lost consecutive games for the first time in 2024. New York was coming off Sunday's 8-7 defeat at Cleveland in which the Guardians rallied for three runs in the 10th inning.

Riley helps Braves pull away from Astros

Austin Riley collected three hits, including an RBI single during a four-run ninth inning that enabled the Atlanta Braves to pull away for a 6-1 win over the Houston Astros.

Four Atlanta relievers combined for 5 1/3 scoreless innings to protect an early 2-1 lead and allow the Braves to take the opener of this three-game series between the two participants in the 2021 World Series.

Aaron Bummer was credited with the win after retiring two of three hitters in relief of Darius Vines, who held Houston to one run and four hits over 4 2/3 innings.

The Astros did touch Vines for a run in the first inning as Kyle Tucker drew a walk, stole second and scored on Alex Bregman's two-out single.

Atlanta answered by scoring two runs in the second off Houston starter Spencer Arrighetti, all with two out.

Travis d'Arnaud started the rally with a double and later scored on an error by Houston shortstop Jeremy Pena, who threw wildly to first base after fielding Luis Guillorme's infield single.

Arrighetti then walked Ronald Acuna Jr. to load the bases before hitting Ozzie Albies with a pitch to bring in the go-ahead run.

The score remained 2-1 until the Braves erupted in the ninth off struggling Houston closer Josh Hader, who surrendered four hits and a walk while recording just one out.

Hader also threw a wild pitch that allowed Adam Duvall to advance to second in front of Orlando Arcia's run-scoring single that gave Atlanta a 3-1 advantage. Riley and Marcell Ozuna later delivered RBI singles and the Braves scored another run on a fielder's choice groundout.

Arrighetti struck out five over four innings in his second major league start, but took the loss after permitting two runs.

Cubs rally in ninth inning, then beat Diamondbacks in 11

Nico Hoerner's run-scoring single in the 11th inning capped a late rally that propelled the Chicago Cubs to a 3-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the opener of a three-game series.

Hoerner finished 2 for 4 and also scored the tying run in the ninth when he raced home from second base on a wild pitch thrown by Arizona reliever Kevin Ginkel.

Michael Busch tied a franchise record for Chicago with his fifth consecutive game with a home run. The first baseman achieved the feat with a solo shot off Diamondbacks' starter Merrill Kelly in the top of the second inning that gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead.

Kelly did not allow a run over the remainder of his five-inning stint, helping the Diamondbacks eventually move ahead when Randal Grichuk doubled in the eighth and scored on Corbin Carroll's single off reliever Drew Smyly to put Arizona up 2-1.

Ginkel surrendered one-out singles to Hoerner and Mike Tauchman in the ninth, however, before Hoerner hustled home from second on the closer's errant pitch to the plate with the Cubs down to their final out.

Hoerner put Chicago ahead in his next at-bat by delivering a bases-loaded single off Bryce Jarvis in the 11th. Keegan Thompson then stranded the tying run at third in the bottom of the inning to wrap up the Cubs' third straight victory.

Chicago starter Ben Brown worked six innings and yielded just one hit, a single to Jake McCarthy in the second that brought in Arizona's first run.

Seiya Suzuki drove in three runs and the Chicago Cubs scored five times in the second inning before holding on for a 9-7 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Friday's opener of a three-game series.

Michael Busch, acquired from the Dodgers in the offseason, had a solo homer against his former team to help Chicago to its fifth consecutive win. Dansby Swanson also homered for the Cubs and Ian Happ contributed a two-run triple.

The Dodgers had a four-game winning streak snapped despite Shohei Ohtani connecting for his second homer of the season, a two-run shot in the fifth inning. Teoscar Hernandez went 3 for 4 with four RBIs for Los Angeles.

After Hernandez's two-run single in the first inning gave the Dodgers an early lead, the Cubs answered and then some against Los Angeles starter Bobby Miller in the second.

Swanson got Chicago on the board with a one-out solo homer and Miller walked Busch before yielding back-to-back singles to Nico Hoerner and Nick Madrigal, the last of which plated Busch. Happ later walked to load the bases and Hoerner scored on Miller's wild pitch for a 3-2 Cubs lead.

Suzuki then doubled to right to knock in two more runs and extend the margin and chase Miller, who was tagged for five runs in just 1 2/3 innings.

Busch homered in the third to put Chicago up 6-2, but Ohtani followed Mookie Betts' single in the fifth with a blast into the right-field seats off Cubs' starter Kyle Hendricks to close the gap. Hendricks then walked Freddie Freeman before giving up a double to Will Smith that cut Los Angeles' deficit to 6-5.

Hendricks was charged with five runs on eight hits over four-plus innings.

Happ brought in Hoerner and Yan Gomes with a triple in the sixth to give Chicago some breathing room, then scored on Suzuki's sacrifice fly for a 9-5 lead.

Hernandez plated Freeman and Smith with a single in the seventh to get the Dodgers closer, but relievers Julian Merryweather and Adbert Alzolay shut Los Angeles out over the final two innings to protect the lead.

Rangers roll past Astros in ALCS rematch

Adolis Garcia and Marcus Semien each belted three-run homers as the Texas Rangers cruised to a 10-2 rout over the Houston Astros in the American League West rivals' first meeting since last season's League Championship Series.

Garcia also had an RBI single to back 7 2/3 outstanding innings from Cory Bradford as the Rangers took the opener of this four-game Lone Star series. 

Bradford yielded just one run and two hits with no walks to help Texas end a run of eight consecutive Houston wins at the Rangers' Globe Life Park, including three during the 2023 ALCS that Texas won in seven games before later capturing the franchise's first World Series title.

The Rangers went up big early in the rematch, scoring five two-out runs off Houston starter Hunter Brown in the second inning.

Singles by Josh Smith and Semien put two runners on before Corey Seager drove in Texas' first run with a double. Semien then scored on Wyatt Langford's infield single before Garcia launched a three-run homer for a 5-0 advantage.

Smith's RBI double in the fourth and Garcia's run-scoring single in the fifth increased the margin further, and Semien made it a 10-0 lead when he homered off Brandon Bielak with two aboard in the sixth.

Bradford was removed after giving up a two-out single to Jeremy Pena in the eighth. Jake Meyers then greeted reliever Yerry Rodriguez with a two-run homer to end Texas' shutout bid.

Brown lasted just three innings and was tagged for five runs and eight hits while walking four.

Clement's homer helps Blue Jays spoil Yankees' home opener

Ernie Clement broke a scoreless tie with a pinch-hit home run in the seventh inning, and five Toronto Blue Jays pitchers combined on a six-hitter to spoil the New York Yankees' home opener with a 3-0 victory.

Clement sent a pitch from Yankees reliever Caleb Ferguson into the left-field seats to help Toronto take the opener of this three-game series.

The Blue Jays tacked on two more runs in the top of the ninth before ex-Yankee Chad Green worked around a pair of hits in the bottom of the inning to finish off the shutout and earn his first save of the season.

New York was dealt just its second loss in eight games this season despite an outstanding start from former Blue Jay Marcus Stroman, who yielded just three hits and struck out six in six scoreless innings.

Yusei Kikuchi was just as good for Toronto, as the left-hander permitted just four hits and struck out seven in 5 1/3 innings.

Alejandro Kirk had three hits for the Blue Jays, including a single in the ninth that was followed by a base hit from Daulton Varsho. Isiah Kiner-Falefa then drew a walk to load the bases before New York reliever Nick Burdi threw a wild pitch that allowed pinch-runner Brian Serven to score for a 2-0 lead.

Burdi uncorked another wild pitch later in the inning that enabled Varsho to score Toronto's final run. 

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.

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. 

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

It turns out he will be sidelined much longer.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chicago's Tim Anderson has been suspended six games and Cleveland's Jose Ramirez has received a three-game ban by Major League Baseball for starting a fight that sparked a benches-clearing brawl between the White Sox and Guardians on Saturday.

MLB announced the penalties on Monday, which also included fines to Anderson and Ramirez. Both players are appealing.

Also receiving suspensions are Guardians manager Terry Francona, closer Emmanuel Clase and third base coach Mike Sarbaugh. All received one-game bans, as did White Sox manager Pedro Grifol.

Francona and Clase will serve their ban Monday, when the Guardians open a four-game series against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays, while Sarbaugh will sit on Tuesday.

Grifol will carry out his suspension Monday in the opener of a three-game set between the White Sox and New York Yankees in Chicago.

While the White Sox are out of the playoff picture, Ramirez's absence could hurt Cleveland's chances of reaching the postseason.

The Guardians enter Monday 4 1/2 games behind the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins, while the five-time All-Star third baseman leads the team in home runs (18), doubles (27), runs (67) and OPS (.861).

The incident that sparked all the discipline from MLB occurred in the sixth inning of the White Sox's 7-4 win at Cleveland on Saturday on a play that began innocently.

Ramirez slid headfirst into second base with an RBI double and Anderson stood over him, straddling Ramirez. Ramirez was reportedly upset at Anderson's late, hard tag and when he got up, he pointed his finger in the second baseman's face and yelled, prompting the two to square off like a boxing match.

Anderson dropped his glove and threw the first punch, setting off a melee that saw both dugouts empty onto the infield. While trying to be restrained by White Sox pitcher Michael Kopech, Ramirez swung blindly and connected with a right hand to the face of Anderson, who fell backward to the ground.

Anderson got back up incensed and tried unsuccessfully to get at Ramirez while being restrained by several teammates.

Ian Happ and Yan Gomes each hit two-run homers and the Chicago Cubs defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1 for their eighth straight win on Saturday night.

Jameson Taillon won his third consecutive decision, allowing one run and two hits over six innings with four walks and four strikeouts.

Mike Tauchman, who had a game-saving catch in Friday’s win, had three hits with a seventh-inning RBI double, a night after scaling the center field fence to rob Alec Burleson of a potential winning home run.

Happ drove in Tauchman with his 10th homer of the season in the third inning to put the Cubs ahead 2-1.

Gomes’ two-run homer in the fourth inning off Adam Wainwright extended the lead to 4-1.

Wainwright was reached for four runs on seven hits with three walks in six innings. He remained stuck on 198 career victories.

The last-place Cardinals have lost three straight and seven of nine.

Acuna stars in Braves’ win

Ronald Acuna homered and stole his 50th base of the season to propel the Atlanta Braves to an 11-5 win over the Milwaukee Brewers in a matchup of division leaders.

Acuna went 3 for 4 with two runs, two RBIs and walk to become the first player in history with 20 or more home runs and 50 steals before August. He is one homer away from the 12th 25-50 campaign in MLB history.

Atlanta opened the game with four straight singles against Julio Teheran. After a sacrifice fly by Travis d’Arnaud, Marcell Ozuna had an RBI double and Eddie Rosario followed with a home run for a 6-0 lead.

Astros belt 5 home runs in rout

Jeremy Pena drove in a career-high four runs and the Houston Astros hit five homers in a 17-4 drubbing of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Yainer Diaz homered off starter Taj Bradley and Jose Abreu went deep off reliever Calvin Faucher before Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and Yordan Alvarez all homered off catcher Rene Pinto in his first career pitching appearance.

Houston got eight hits and five RBIs from the bottom three batters in its lineup.

Hunter Brown limited the Rays to two runs and four hits over six-plus innings for his first win since June 13.

The St. Louis Cardinals gave up four runs in the first inning but rallied to beat the Chicago Cubs, 7-5, on Sunday to split the teams’ two-game series at London Stadium.

Former Cubs catcher Willson Contreras went 4 for 4 and scored two runs for St. Louis, while Paul Goldschmidt delivered the go-ahead RBI single that chased NL ERA leader Marcus Stroman in the fourth.

The Cubs later said that Stroman exited early due to a blister on his throwing hand. He was charged with six runs - three earned - on eight hits. 

St. Louis committed two errors in the first inning before recording an out, saddling starter Matthew Liberatore with four unearned runs, but five Cardinals relievers held the Chicago lineup in check the rest of the way.

The Cubs fell to 37-39 and missed a chance to get back to .500, while the Cardinals have won five of seven following a six-game losing streak.

Yankees rally to take series from AL West-leading Rangers

Harrison Bader delivered a go-ahead two-run double during an eighth-inning rally that lifted the New York Yankees to a 5-3 victory over the American League West-leading Texas Rangers.

The Yankees trailed 3-2 before scoring three times in the eighth to win the rubber match of the three-game series. DJ LeMahieu had a two-run double earlier for New York, which went 4-2 on its week-long homestand after returning to the Bronx on a season high-tying four-game losing streak.

New York also overcame ace Gerrit Cole's shortest outing of the season, a 4 2/3-inning stint in which he was tagged for three runs and nine hits.

Jonah Heim had a solo home run off Cole and finished 2 for 4. Leody Tavares also collected two hits and an RBI for Texas, which stranded 10 runners compared to just three for the Yankees. 

Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi was in line for his 10th win of the season after yielding two runs and four hits over 5 2/3 innings and exiting with a one-run lead. 

Braves hang on to take two of three from Reds

Matt Olson hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the sixth inning and the Atlanta Braves staved off a comeback attempt from the Cincinnati Reds for a second straight day to hold on for a 7-6 win.

Olson's 25th homer of the season, which snapped a 3-3 tie and matched him with Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani for the major league lead, helped Atlanta win the three-game series between National League division leaders and two of its hottest teams. The Braves have now won 17 of 20 and snapped Cincinnati's 12-game winning streak with a 7-6 victory on Saturday.

The Braves tacked on a needed insurance run in the top of the eighth to go up 7-4, but the Reds rallied and pulled within one on Matt McClain's two-run double with two out in the bottom of the inning.

McClain was left stranded, however, and Raisel Iglesias later got Kevin Newman to ground into a game-ending double play with two on in the ninth to record his 12th save.

McClain finished 4 for 5 with a home run, three doubles and five RBIs to become only the second Reds rookie since 1901 with four extra-base hits in a game, joining Chris Sabo in 1988.

Marcell Ozuna knocked in a pair of runs for Atlanta, while Charlie Morton earned the win after striking out seven while allowing three runs in five innings. 

The St Louis Cardinals stormed back from a 4-0 first-inning deficit to beat the Chicago Cubs 7-5 and split Major League Baseball’s second London Series.

For some punters this event was about gawking at two-foot long hot dogs and potentially seeing a handful of home runs, though noises around London Stadium suggested a decent number of the 55,565 in attendance were genuinely invested in the sport.

Players from both sides emphasised the seriousness of MLB’s trip across the pond – which holds genuine consequences for the National League Central rivals’ postseason hopes – while MLB will be evaluating if and how they can continue to stage games in London after the last scheduled series here in 2026.

Chicago were dealt a blow when pitching ace Marcus Stroman was forced off with injury to start the fourth, while the division-bottom Cardinals (32-45)  benefitted from an alert offence and strong performance from the bullpen in a game that featured 11 different men on the mound.

Stroman entered the afternoon with wins in an MLB-leading seven straight starts, while Cardinals boss Oliver Marmol turned to Matthew Liberatore after Jack Flaherty was a late fitness scratch.

The Cardinals quickly fell behind after the ‘visiting’ Cubs batted first, capitalised on a pair of errors and got themselves out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning.

But St Louis rallied in the bottom half of the second and had the bases loaded with two outs before singles from Tommy Edman and Brendan Donovan made it 4-3.

With a man on first, Marmol swapped his starter for right-hander Jake Woodford at the top of the third, while neither of the two pinch runners Cubs boss David Ross introduced for the subsequent at-bats crossed home plate and the score stood at 4-3.

But it was all tied up at the end of the inning after Jordan Walker’s line drive to centre brought home Lars Nootbaar.

The Cards took the lead for the first time in the bottom of the fourth through Paul Goldschmidt, who this weekend became the first MLB player to play in five countries and drove in Edman to make it 5-4.

Something seemed to be troubling the usually reliable Stroman. He began the game with the national league’s lowest earned-run average, but in London he ended the afternoon with six runs allowed and hit Donovan with a pitch.

A mound visit determined the Cubs ace was suffering from a blister to his right index finger and he was pulled after 3.1 innings and replaced by Michael Fulmer, St Louis extending their lead when Lars Nootbaar’s sacrifice fly allowed Donovan to score from third.

The Cardinals managed just six hits across all nine innings on Saturday. By Sunday’s seventh-inning stretch they had posted 11, including Nolan Gorman’s fifth-inning single to make it 7-4.

The bullpen quartet of Woodford, Genesis Cabrera, Giovanny Gallegos and Andre Pallante combined for seven scoreless innings before Jordan Hicks gave up a sacrifice fly to Nico Hoerner, allowing Nick Madrigal to cross home plate.

Though the Cubs had no given up a run since the fifth it was too late to spark a comeback, despite winning a video review challenge.

It was down to Seiya Suzuki to make magic happen with their last out. Instead, Hicks caught him swinging to seal the all-important victory in Britain.

Chicago Cubs pitcher Marcus Stroman is confident Major League Baseball has the right ingredients to go global with more marquee international events like this weekend’s London Series against the St Louis Cardinals.

Stroman will start Sunday’s second contest of the two-game series at London Stadium, with the Cubs targeting a sweep of their bitter National League Central rivals after Justin Steele picked up a 9-1 win in Saturday’s opener.

The 32-year-old is one of the sport’s most dynamic and expressive personalities both on and off the mound, resulting in the alliterative moniker ‘the Stro Show’ for his starts – the last seven of which have ended in wins.

Stroman, who on Saturday was described by manager David Ross as “the MVP of our team” who “loves the spotlight”, had never visited the English capital before this trip and said it has opened his eyes to Major League Baseball’s international reach.

Asked if MLB could be embraced globally, Stroman told the PA news agency: “Absolutely I think we can. It’s just a matter of marketing our players and putting us on this stage so that the world can kind of see.

“Yeah, I would love to continue playing in all the cities around the world. I think it’s pretty special. I think you also realise how many fans we have worldwide, whereas when we stay in America you kind of lose sight of that.”

Stroman made his big-league debut in May 2014 for the Toronto Blue Jays, the only MLB franchise outside the United States.

An anterior cruciate ligament tear sustained in spring training the following year denied him a coveted hometown opening-day start at Yankee Stadium, with many assuming he would miss the entire season.

But Stroman saw an opportunity in the rehab stint, using it to do something he had long been determined to accomplish: finish his undergraduate degree in sociology at Duke university, sandwiching four to five hours of classes between training sessions.

That September Stroman made his avowed miracle comeback, returning just in time to help Toronto secure a first trip to the post-season in 22 years.

At 5ft 8in, ‘Stro’, whose personal motto is ‘height doesn’t measure heart’ stands below the MLB average of about 6ft and, from an early age was fuelled to disprove the coaches, peers and pundits who wrote him off because of his stature.

Stroman’s success combined with an eternally optimistic, heart-on-his-sleeve personality has endeared the pitcher to fans in Chicago since he signed a three-year deal worth a reported USD 71million in 2021.

Supporters want the Cubs to sign Stroman to an extension – a point they made abundantly clear at a rally in London by chanting his name at chairman Tom Ricketts.

Stroman is aware of his seven-game streak, but insisted he will not approach Sunday’s start differently, saying: “I just prepare really well and I go out there at the end of the day whatever happens happens, so I do all I can to prepare and then go out there and compete and have fun.”

Ross does not underestimate the potentially valuable impact his equally talented and entertaining Sunday starter could have as MLB tries to convert curious Britons into to bona-fide fans.

He said: “Come out and see the Stro Show. It’s going to be fun. He’s one of the best pitchers in the league. He’s carried us. He’s been our ace. He loves the moment.

“He’s going to be a star on the big stage, you’re definitely going to get that. He’s a guy that loves the spotlight and rises to the occasion when things matter.

“He’s been our MVP of our team, I would say. If the fans want entertainment, definitely show up. They’re going to get a good show.”

Chicago Cubs pitcher Justin Steele heaped praise on the 54,662 supporters who packed London Stadium to see his side cruise to a 9-1 victory over bitter division rivals the St Louis Cardinals.

The Cubs’ bats handed starter Steele, who struck out eight and gave up one run across six innings, a comfortable lead and were up 7-0 after four innings on a humid evening that also saw outfielder Ian Happ hit two home runs.

Saturday’s attendance exceeded the capacity of most Major League Baseball stadia, and Steele delighted in how strongly the fans – or in some cases the baseball-curious wearing blue – got behind his team.

He said: “It’s something I’ll never forget. Truly special. It felt like everybody was on the mound there with me, really exciting energy. It was really cool to cap it off like that, punch out the side, it was really cool, and I just can’t say enough about the atmosphere.”

Steele’s comments will be music to the ears of MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, who on Friday said positive player experiences in series like these will be central to whether or not the league returns to places like London following their final scheduled contest on these shores in 2026.

That is the same year the MLB’s current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) expires, with international series once again set to be one of the topics on the table with the players’ association.

The pace of this London Series opener was likely a relief to fans and organisers alike after the first-ever MLB game in London, 2019’s 17-13 slugfest between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, lasted a near record-breaking four hours and 42 minutes.

Outfield fences were pushed further back for this contest, which ended after a comparatively brief two hours and 40 minutes, capped off for the Cubs by shortstop Dansby Swanson’s two-run homer in the top of the ninth.

Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt made history in London by becoming the first player in MLB history to play in five different countries, and also ended the evening the lone Card to have picked up a run batted in (RBI) in England.

Cubs manager David Ross admitted there was uncertainty about how the effects of crossing the pond would affect his team, and was delighted by their efforts on unfamiliar turf.

He said: “I think some of the nerves are gone from the group, especially from my seat where you’re not sure how guys are going to feel with all the travel and everything.

“They go out there and the bats did what they did, I thought it was a really nice performance top to bottom from our line-up, they did a phenomenal job. Happer getting us started off with a homer just kind of lets everybody relax a little bit and still be great.”

Ross’ side remain in third place in the division, so they will be eagerly eyeing up a chance to sweep the division’s bottom-dwelling Cardinals when the series concludes on Sunday.

He is also looking forward to the unique experience of hearing ‘go Cubs go’ chanted in England for a second successive day.

“That sounded good,” he enthusiastically agreed. “That’s the first thing that stood out to me. It was nice and loud. I hope someday I’ll get to watch that on video somewhere tonight or tomorrow. Hopefully we’ll hear it again tomorrow.”

The Tampa Bay Rays tied the record for the most consecutive games with a home run to start a season as they went deep three times in Friday's 8-7 home win against the Chicago White Sox.

With the win, the Rays improved their MLB-leading record to 17-3, having hit at least one homer in each game to tie the 2019 Seattle Mariners for the record.

Home fans did not have to wait long for the action to heat up, as Josh Lowe connected on a two-run double in the first inning, before Harold Ramirez followed him with a two-run homer as the very next batter to take a 4-0 lead.

The White Sox came storming back with three runs in the second inning – from three RBI singles – and another three runs in the third, courtesy of two bases-loaded walks and a wild pitch.

An Eloy Jimenez solo home run put Chicago up 7-4 in the fourth inning, and while the Rays got one run back in the bottom of the fourth, they left their comeback until the very end.

Christian Bethancourt's lead-off home run in the bottom of the ninth cut the margin to 7-6, and after a Yandy Diaz single, Brandon Lowe stepped up and hit a walk-off home run.

It was the second blown save of the season for Reynaldo Lopez, failing to get a single out in the ninth, while Diaz, Lowe, Ramirez and Bethancourt all finished with two hits each for the Rays.

Smyly finishes six outs from perfection

Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Drew Smyly pitched seven perfect innings before allowing his first baserunner in a 13-0 domination of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Smyly dismissed the first 21 Dodgers batters in order, before his bid for a perfect game was broken up in the eighth inning when Smyly tried to field a ball dribbling down the third-base line, but his catcher Yan Gomes crashed into him in his own effort to field it.

He ended up striking out 10 in his seven-and-two-thirds innings, allowing one run and no walks, while Nico Hoerner starred at the plate with four RBIs to go with his four-for-five day. 

Patrick Wisdom was one of five Cubs with multiple hits, including his ninth home run of the season to draw level with New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso for the league's most.

Ohtani dominates the Royals

Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani put together his best pitching performance of the season as he struck out 11 batters in a 2-0 win over the visiting Kansas City Royals.

With three-time AL MVP Mike Trout not suiting up, the Angels knew they had to keep the Royals' scoring down, and the combination of Ohtani (seven innings, two hits, two walks), Carlos Estevez (one inning) and closer Jose Quijada (one inning) restricted Kansas City to three hits for the game.

The only runs of the contest were produced by veteran catcher Chad Wallach in his first game of the season, connecting on a two-run homer with his first at-bat of 2023.

The win pulls the Angels' record even at 10-10, while Ohtani lowered his ERA to 0.64 from his 28 innings, and the Royals fell to an equal MLB-worst 4-16.

Anthony Rizzo's hot start to the season continued on Thursday as he reached base safely five times in the New York Yankees' 9-3 home victory against the star-studded Los Angeles Angels.

Rizzo hit a single in the first inning, another single in the second inning, before drawing walks in both the fourth and seventh frames, and he capped off his great on-base percentage outing with an RBI single in the eighth.

The stat-boosting performance from the Yankees first-baseman improved his batting average to .344 from his 18 starts this season, while also boasting an on-base percentage of .449 and a slugging figure of .578.

Rizzo's sole RBI was the only RBI produced by the top four bats in the Yankees' line-up, with the bottom of their order picking up the slack.

Catcher Jose Trevino did the damage with a bases-clearing double in the first inning to open up a 5-0 lead, while Oswald Peraza and Isiah Kiner-Falefa also finished with two RBIs each.

It was a solid start on the mound for Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes, making it through six full innings in 94 pitches, allowing three runs from four hits and two walks, and striking out seven.

For the Angels, their superstar duo of Mike Trout (one-for-four) and Shohei Ohtani (zero-for-three with a walk) combined to go one-for-seven at the plate with a walk, but rookie catcher Logan O'Hoppe continued to show promise with a three-for-four day, driving in two runs.

The win improves the Yankees' record to 12-7 – the third-best record in the American League – while the Angels fell below .500 at 9-10.

Outman sends two balls out, man

Los Angeles Dodgers rookie outfielder James Outman had the first multi-home run game of his career in a 6-2 win away from home against the Chicago Cubs.

Outman, who was bumped up to the lead-off spot, connected on a 420-foot bomb in the third inning for his fourth homer of the season. He added number five in emphatic fashion, blasting a grand slam in the top of the ninth to turn a 2-2 tie into a 6-2 triumph.

The 25-year-old is slashing .290/.397/.645 as he looks to insert his name into NL Rookie of the Year conversations early.

Alonso hits MLB-leading ninth homer

New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso now sits alone atop the home run leaderboard after hitting his ninth in a 9-4 road win against the San Francisco Giants.

One of the best power-hitters in the sport, Alonso is coming off a 40-homer campaign, and he broke a three-way tie atop this season's standings in the fourth inning with a 366-foot, two-run shot to left-field.

Alonso went on to finish with four RBIs after a two-run single in the seventh frame, with 30-year-old Japanese rookie Kodai Senga collecting the win on the mound to improve his record to 3-0 from four starts.

New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole delivered another terrific start as he shut out the Minnesota Twins in a 2-0 home victory on Sunday.

Cole, who came into the contest with a 3-0 record this season after giving up just three earned runs in his 19.1 innings pitched, banked another win with nine scoreless frames against the Twins.

He allowed two hits and one walk to go with 10 strikeouts, retiring the game's last 11 batters to finish the complete game in 109 pitches (73 strikes).

With the bat, it was veteran infielder D.J. LeMahieu who was the Yankees' hero. The 34-year-old three-time All-Star came through with a two-out RBI single to give New York a 1-0 lead in the third inning, before doubling their advantage with a solo home run in the sixth inning.

Exciting rookie shortstop Anthony Volpe continued to make an impact for the Yankees, showing off his speed by reaching on an infield single in the fifth inning, and then he made his way into scoring position with his seventh stolen base of the season. 

His seven steals lead all rookies and tie him for the second most in the majors, while only Volpe and Baltimore Orioles speedster Cedric Mullins (eight steals) have nabbed at least seven bases without being caught stealing.

With the win, the Yankees secured a series split with the Twins, with both teams now at 10-6.

Bellinger bombs one against his former side

Former NL MVP with the Los Angeles Dodgers Cody Bellinger got revenge on his former side as his home run was the difference in the Chicago Cubs' 3-2 win.

Bellinger, who won Rookie of the Year in 2017 and NL MVP in 2019 as a member of the Dodgers, connected on the biggest hit of the game in his first series back in Los Angeles following an offseason move to the Cubs.

The 27-year-old blasted a 422-foot solo home run in the sixth inning to extend the Cubs' lead to 3-1, after team-mate Patrick Wisdom broke the tie with his own solo homer just three pitches earlier.

The victory secured the second impressive series win in a row for the Cubs after also taking their three-game set against the Seattle Mariners 2-1, and improved Chicago's record to 8-6.

Castillo flirts with perfect game

Luis Castillo showed why he is the top arm in the Mariners' rotation, not allowing a baserunner until the seventh inning as his side defeated the Colorado Rockies 1-0.

Castillo dismissed the first 18 Rockies batters in order, allowing no hits or walks through six innings, before his bid for a perfect game was broken up by back-to-back singles in the seventh frame.

The Mariners' offense needed all the help they could get, collecting only four hits as a team, but Jarred Kelenic came through with the crucial two-out RBI single in the sixth inning to get his team over the line.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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