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.

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.

Randy Arozarena was the hero as the Tampa Bay Rays set a major league record for scoring homers in each of their first 21 games in a 4-3 win over the Chicago White Sox on Saturday.

Arozarena brought up the milestone with a two-run blast over left-center field in the first inning, before hitting a walkoff RBI single in the 10th.

The Rays, who started the season with 13 straight wins, improved their record to 18-3, marking the best start by any side in the majors since the New York Yankees in 2003.

Tampa Bay also broke the Seattle Mariners' 2019 record of homering in 20 straight games to start that season.

The game was in the balance after homers from Eloy Jimenez and Yasmani Grandal for the White Sox, before Arozarena singled to left for Diaz to score at the bottom of the fifth.

Gavin Sheets squared the game up with a homer to right field at the top of the eighth, before Arozarena settled the game.

Jimmy Lambert intentionally walked Wander Franco with two out and a runner on second, before Arozarena's first-pitch single to right field, driving in Vidal Brujan. Arozarena finished with four RBIs.

Shane McClanahan sent down 10 strikeouts across six innings, while White Sox starter Dylan Cease had five K's.

Garcia crushed three HRs in Rangers rout

Adolis Garcia blasted three home runs and eight RBIs in five innings as the Texas Rangers smoked the Oakland Athletics 18-3.

Garcia blasted a two-run 432-foot homer at the bottom of the first, repeating the dose in the third inning with a 419-foot bomb over center.

The Rangers outfielder made it 13-2 at the bottom of the fifth with 401-feet blast, before a two-run double in the seventh capped a remarkable showing, taking his season tally to seven homers and 28 RBIs.

Garcia went five-for-four, becoming the third player since 1901 with at least 16 total bases, three homers, eight RBIs and five runs in a single game.

Tatis homers for first time since 2021

Fernando Tatis Jr blasted his first home run since returning from an 80-game drug suspension as the San Diego Padres won 5-3 over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Tatis, in his third game back since the suspension elapsed, crushed a 374-foot homer over left field for his first blast since 2021. The Padres outfielder led the majors for homers in 2021, with 42.

Right-hander Joe Musgrove earned his first win of the season, following a toe injury sustained in the weight room during spring training, striking out six, giving up three runs on seven hits.

Pittsburgh Pirates left-fielder Bryan Reynolds showed why he is one of the hottest hitters in baseball as he batted in six runs during his side's 13-9 home win against the Chicago White Sox on Friday.

Reynolds came into the game batting .417 with an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 1.444. He improved both those figures against Chicago as he went three-for-five at the plate with a single, a triple and a home run.

The 28-year-old had four home runs in his first six games this campaign, and he connected on his league-leading fifth with a three-run shot in the fourth inning. His triple came an inning later, when he also came around to score on the hit after a fielding error.

With his performance, Reynolds improved his batting average to .448 (fourth-best in the majors) and his OPS to 1.572 (third-highest).

It was part of an action-packed contest where the two teams combined for 30 hits, including six home runs. 

Exciting 25-year-old White Sox center-fielder Luis Robert Jr blasted two homers – doubling his tally for the season – while going three-for-five with five RBIs.

Pittsburgh right-fielder Connor Joe was the one of two players to record four hits, with three doubles and a single, and he was joined by Chicago lead-off hitter Tim Anderson (four-for-five with two doubles and four runs).

The win improves the Pirates' record to 5-2 as they seek their first playoff berth since 2015.

Trout blasts his first pitch at Angel Stadium this season

Mike Trout could not have made a better start to the Los Angeles Angels' home opener as he crushed the very first pitch he saw for a home run.

The Angels went on to lose to the Toronto Blue Jays 4-3 thanks to a big three-run homer from Bo Bichette in the seventh inning, but Los Angeles' three-time AL MVP still gave the home fans something to cheer for.

After Taylor Ward was issued a lead-off walk in the first inning, Trout stepped up second and sent a first-pitch fastball 441 feet over the wall at left-center. It was Trout's second homer of the season, and he is slashing .348/.531/.696 in a hot start.

Rays remain MLB's only unbeaten team

The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Oakland Athletics 9-5 to extend their perfect start to the season to 7-0.

After back-to-back series sweeps against the Detroit Tigers and Washington Nationals to open their campaign, the Rays made a winning start against Oakland thanks to more power hitting.

Tampa Bay hit five home runs in the contest, highlighted by an Isaac Paredes grand slam in the second inning. Harold Ramirez (second inning), Manuel Margot (third inning), Christian Bethancourt (third inning) and Wander Franco (eighth inning) also sent a ball each over the fence.

The Boston Red Sox came from behind on the back of power hitting from Adam Duvall and Rafael Devers to defeat the Detroit Tigers 6-3 away from home on Thursday.

It was the Tigers taking the early lead through a big two-run homer from Jake Rogers in the second inning, and after Enrique Hernandez pulled one run back for the Sox in the third frame with a fielder's choice groundout, legendary Detroit designated hitter Miguel Cabrera came through with an RBI single later in the third to restore a 3-1 advantage.

But the Boston bullpen would shut things down the rest of the way, holding Detroit scoreless for the final six innings.

Red Sox franchise centrepiece Rafael Devers trimmed the margin to one run when he blasted a solo home run in the fourth inning, and he delivered again in the sixth inning with an RBI double to tie the contest at 3-3.

While Devers is the future of the team, there is no Red Sox player hotter than Adam Duvall to start this season.

Through his first five games, the 34-year-old Duvall combined for 10 hits, including three doubles, two home runs and a triple.

He added another home run on Thursday – a three-run bomb later in the sixth inning – to give the Red Sox a winning break, and with it he climbed up to second on the early OPS leaderboard with an on-base plus slugging figure of 1.577. For reference, that is nearly double the best season-long OPS of his career, which was .882 through 41 games in 2019.

It was also the third multi-hit game of the season for 29-year-old AL Rookie of the Year hopeful Masataka Yoshida, with an infield single and a double for the man who signed a five-year, $90million free agent deal out of the Japanese league in the offseason.

Arcia walks it off for Atlanta

Atlanta Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia came up big with a walk-off base hit to defeat the San Diego Padres 7-6 at home.

Arcia, batting last in the Braves' line-up, made some noise early when he got hold of a 400-foot solo home run in the third inning, and he ignited his side's comeback with a double in the eighth inning, later coming around to score as Atlanta turned a 6-4 deficit into a 6-6 tie heading into the last.

The contest looked destined for extra innings until Amed Rosario's two-out double in the bottom of the ninth, with Arcia stepping up next for the game-winning base hit.

It was a great showing for last season's NL Rookie of the Year runner-up Spencer Strider, who followed his nine-strikeout opening performance with another nine strikeouts against the Padres in five innings. 

His 18 strikeouts through two starts is tied for the second-most, trailing only New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole (19).

Giants pile on 16 runs in Chicago

The San Francisco Giants put up the equal-biggest score of the season so far in a 16-6 drubbing of the Chicago White Sox away from home.

Blake Sabol, Wilmer Flores, Michael Conforto, J.D. Davis and Mike Yastrzemski all hit home runs for the Giants, and while Davis and Conforto both finished with three hits each, Davis led the way with a game-high five RBIs.

All nine Giants starters ended up with at least one hit as they racked up 20 knocks as a team, and the victory clinched their high-scoring three-game series against the White Sox after also taking the opener 12-3.

World Series hero Yordan Alvarez came to the Houston Astros' rescue again on Friday with a bases-clearing double to ignite a 6-3 comeback win against the Chicago White Sox.

Alvarez, who hit the go-ahead home run in the clinching Game 6 of the World Series in November, was 0-2 with a walk when he stepped up to the plate in the seventh inning with two outs and the bases loaded.

He got on a hanging sinker and drove it to deep left-centre, cannoning off the wall for a three-run double to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 5-3 lead.

It comes after Alvarez connected on an Opening Day home run in Thursday's loss, as he continues to make his case as arguably the best left-handed hitter in the sport.

While Alvarez got the Astros over the line, it was Kyle Tucker initially sparking the comeback, finally getting Houston on the board with a two-run homer in the sixth inning.

White Sox third-baseman Yoan Moncada was the only player to record three hits in the game – including a ground-rule double to bring in Chicago's third run – but the road team could not get anything going after Astros starter Cristian Javier was taken out of the game.

The Astros bullpen – with an inning each from Phil Maton, Seth Martinez, Bryan Abreu and Rafael Montero – combined for four scoreless frames, with five strikeouts, three hits and no walks.

Soler, Chisholm and Luzardo get the Marlins back on track

After dropping their home opener with reigning Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara on the mound, the Miami Marlins rode a strong start from Jesus Luzardo to a 2-1 triumph against the New York Mets.

Luzardo pitched five-and-two-thirds innings of scoreless action, striking out five while walking four and allowing just two hits. 

He was given an early lead to work with after Jorge Soler's second-inning solo home run, and rising star Jazz Chisholm Jr doubled the advantage with another solo shot in the eighth.

New York's top hitter Pete Alonso made it a contest again with his first home run of the year off Marlins closer A.J. Puk in the ninth, but Puk was able to finish off the save.

Padres fall to surprise 0-2 start

The Colorado Rockies have handed the San Diego Padres a rocky start to their season after sealing at least a road series split with a 4-1 victory.

The Rockies came into San Diego and upset the Padres on Opening Day with a 7-2 result, and despite being one of the World Series favourites, the home side's offense failed to fire yet again in a poor display.

Kim Ha-seong finished with three of the Padres' five total hits, while Yonathan Daza, Elehuris Montero and Charlie Blackmon all collected multiple hits for the Rockies, highlighted by Blackmon's two-run homer in the fifth inning.

The Padres will hope to right the ship in the third of their four-game series on Saturday.

Chicago White Sox All-Star closer Liam Hendriks announced he has been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and will begin treatment Monday.

Hendriks disclosed his condition Sunday in an Instagram post in which he said he was optimistic he will make a full recovery. The 33-year-old stated he received news of his cancer in recent days.

"Hearing the word 'Cancer' came as a shock to my wife and I, as it does to millions of families each year," Hendriks wrote. "However, I am resolved to embrace the fight and overcome this new challenge with the same determination I have used when facing other obstacles in my life.

"My treatment begins [Monday], and I am confident that I will make a full recovery and be back on the mound as soon as possible. I know with the support of my wife, my family, my teammates and the Chicago White Sox organisation, along with the treatment and care from my doctors, I will get through this."

White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said in a statement the team does not expect to have a further update on Hendriks' playing status until after the team's March 30 season opener.

"Our thoughts and reactions at this time are for Liam the person, not Liam the baseball player," Hahn said. "I know the entire Chicago White Sox organisation, our staff, his teammates, and certainly White Sox fans, will rally in support of Liam and Kristi during the coming months.

"Knowing everyone involved, especially Liam, we are optimistic he will pitch again for the White Sox as soon as viable. In the meantime, we all will do all everything in our power to support our teammate and his family as they face this challenge, while also respecting their privacy."

Hendriks, a native Australian known for his fiery competitive demeanour, was named an All-Star for the third time in 2022 and finished the season third in the majors with 37 saves.

The right-hander earned the Mariano Rivera American League Reliever of the Year award in 2020 with the Oakland Athletics, then received the honour again the following year after leading the AL with 38 saves in his first season with the White Sox.

Hendriks left Oakland to sign a three-year, $54million contract with the White Sox in January 2021.

The Chicago White Sox made a big move in the free-agent market Friday, signing All-Star outfielder Andrew Benintendi to a $75million, five-year contract.

The deal will be the largest contract ever given by the White Sox once it becomes official, surpassing the $73m Chicago gave to catcher Yasmani Grandal in 2019.

Benintendi finished last season with the New York Yankees after he was acquired from the Kansas City Royals on July 27.

After batting .320 in 93 games with the Royals, Benintendi slumped to a .254 mark in 33 games for the Yankees before his season was cut short in early September by a broken right wrist. He finished the season with a career-best batting average of .304.

The left-handed hitting Benintendi was a first-time All-Star for Kansas City before he was traded, following a 2021 season where he batted .276 with 17 home runs and 73 RBIs in 134 games and also won a Gold Glove.

Benintendi, 28, broke into the majors with Boston in 2016 and spent five seasons with the Red Sox, helping them win a World Series championship in 2018.

The White Sox are coming off a disappointing 81-81 record in 2022 after entering the season with high expectations. They were coming off back-to-back playoff appearances and won the AL Central by 13 games in 2021.

Benintendi will be reunited with new White Sox manager Pedro Grifol, who was a coach in Kansas City.

The reigning World Series champion Houston Astros have struck quickly to fill one of their few glaring needs after agreeing to a reported three-year contract with 2020 American League MVP Jose Abreu.

Abreu, who had spent his entire nine-year major league career with the Chicago White Sox, will earn $19.5 million per season, according to Houston television station KRIV.

The 35-year-old first baseman was named the AL’s top player during the coronavirus-shortened 2020 campaign after batting .317 with 19 home runs and an MLB-leading 60 RBIs in 60 games that season.

Though his home run total dipped from 30 in 2021 to 15 this past season, Abreu finished fifth in the AL in both batting average (.304) and on-base percentage (.378) after drawing a career-high 62 walks. Abreu also recorded the lowest strikeout rate of his MLB career at 16.2 per cent in 2022.

Abreu’s addition makes it unlikely the team will re-sign incumbent first baseman Yuli Gurriel, who struggled to a .242 average and a .647 OPS this past season and turned 38 in June.

It is the second notable signing the Astros have made this offseason after retaining reliever Rafael Montero to a three-year, $34.5 million contract earlier this month.

Houston still hopes to bring back its most prominent free agent in 2021 AL Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander, who is reportedly seeking a deal similar to the three-year, $130 million contract the Mets gave Max Scherzer last offseason.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are heading into the playoffs on the right foot after a convincing 6-1 home win against the Colorado Rockies in their regular season finale on Wednesday.

With the win, the Dodgers finished the season 111-51, setting a new franchise record as they totaled the fourth-most wins in MLB history and the most by a National League (NL) team since 1906.

The NL record is held by the Chicago Cubs from 1906 with 116 wins. The Dodgers' 111-win season is the equal fourth best in MLB history.

It was a stylish final outing for Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, who gave up one run from one hit and one walk in his five innings, striking out nine batters. 

At the plate, Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman did all he could in his last-gasp attempt to win the National League batting title, going three-for-four with a home run to raise his batting average to .325 – finishing .001 behind the New York Mets' Jeff McNeil (.326).

Fellow All-Star Trea Turner also hit a home run for the Dodgers as he went two-for-four with three RBIs, and center-fielder Cody Bellinger collected a deep-ball of his own as five of the Dodgers' six runs scored via home runs.

The Dodgers will play the winner of the Wild Card game between the Mets and the San Diego Padres in the NLDS.

Arraez wins the AL batting title

Luis Arraez risked losing the American League (AL) batting title by suiting up in the Minnesota Twins' 10-1 win against the Chicago White Sox.

Arraez came into the day with the lead at .315, with his only threat, Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees at .311 and not playing on the final day.

But fittingly, Arraez did not record an out, collecting two walks and a double before being pulled. 

Incredibly, it is the third-best batting average from Arraez's four years in the league, posting a .334 in 2019 before going .321 on a small sample size in 2020. His 'down' year in 2021 was still a very strong .294.

Ohtani, Trout end the season in fitting fashion

As has been the story of their time with the Los Angeles Angels, both Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout were excellent, but could not stop their team from losing 3-2 against the Oakland Athletics.

Ohtani only gave up one run from one hit and one walk in his five innings on the mound, lowering his ERA for the season to a magnificent 2.33. It is the sixth-lowest ERA in the league, while he is also 11th in home runs hit with 34.

He went one-for-four with a single at the plate, while Trout hit his 40th home run of the season to finish tied for third in the majors. No other player in the top 15 has played fewer than 130 games, while Trout played 119.

In a feel-good story, after announcing his retirement, Oakland's Stephen Vogt hit a home run with his last ever swing on a day where his children were allowed to do his introduction over the PA system at the start of the game.

Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa is stepping down from his job with the Chicago White Sox due to a series of health issues, ending a disappointing two-year stint on the South Side.  

La Russa announced his resignation on Monday, a day before his 78th birthday.  

The three-time World Series champion has been away from the team since August 30 as he has deals with complications from a pacemaker that was implanted in February.  

La Russa has also been dealing with a second, undisclosed health issue that led to his resignation.  

"It's become obvious that the length of the treatment and recovery process for the second issue makes it impossible to be the manager in 2023,'' La Russa said. "The timing of this announcement now enables the front office to include filling the manager position with their other off-season priorities."

La Russa added that his "overall prognosis is good, and I want to thank everyone who has reached out to me with well wishes related to my health." 

After winning the AL Central with a 93-69 record last season, the White Sox entered this year among the American League favourites but have failed to live up to expectations.  

Chicago entered play Monday at 79-80, already eliminated from playoff contention.  

The White Sox did stage a run in early September under interim manager Miguel Cairo, going 12-5 through September 18, when they were just three-and-a-half games back of the Cleveland Guardians in the division.  

The club proceeded to go on an eight-game losing streak with Cleveland securing the division title.  

La Russa took accountability for Chicago’s up-and-down season as the White Sox remain without a postseason series win since the 2005 World Series.  

"I understand the ultimate responsibility for each minus this season belongs to the manager," he said. "That's accurate, because there's always something else you could do. 

"I was hired to provide positive, difference-making leadership and support. Our record this year is proof I did not do my job." 

La Russa did not say if he would consider managing another team in 2024 or beyond. He has a career record of 2,900-2,514 (.536 win percentage) with the White Sox (1979-86, 2021-22), Oakland Athletics (1986-95) and St. Louis Cardinals (1996-2011).  

General manager Rick Hahn said the White Sox will begin an exhaustive search for a new manager and will be looking for "different perspectives" from that hire.  

"One thing that perhaps breaks from the mould of at least the last few hires: having a history with the White Sox, having some sort of connection to White Sox DNA is by no means a requirement.”  

Despite under-achieving in 2022, Chicago’s roster includes several bright spots, including outfielder Luis Robert and breakout starter Dylan Cease.  

"It was a disappointing year," Hahn said. "We all need to get better at multiple facets. There needs to be ... obviously manager/staff changes and personnel changes.  

"My only point is, and it's easy at the end of a disappointing season to say you have to burn it to the ground. I think that's not where we're at as an organisation."

The Los Angeles Dodgers became the first National League (NL) side in 113 years to reach 110 wins in a single season after rallying for a 6-4 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Saturday.

The last NL side to achieve that fear were the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1909. The Dodgers better their record still, with four regular-season games remaining.

The Dodgers also became just the seventh side in MLB history to record 110 wins in a single season, joining the 2001 Mariners (116), 1906 Cubs (116), 1998 Yankees (114), 1954 Cleveland (111), 1927 Yankees (110) and 1909 Pirates (110).

It was not easy this time, trailing 4-1 entering the seventh inning before a patient batting performance where they drew five straight walks, before Cody Bellinger's sacrifice fly tied the game.

Joey Gallo's sac fly put the Dodgers ahead in the eighth inning before Bellinger's RBI single padded the win.

The victory was the Dodgers' 47th comeback of the season, improving their overall record to 110-48.

Swanson steps up as Braves edge Mets

Dansby Swanson underlined his quality in the big moments with a game-changing two-run blast from Max Scherzer in the Atlanta Braves' crunch 4-2 win over the New York Mets in the NL East battle.

Trailing 2-1 at the bottom of the fifth inning with one out on a 3-2 pitch, Swansby blasted Scherzer over center field to homer for the second consecutive day.

The result means the Braves (99-59) lead the NL East by one game with four remaining, sitting ahead of the Mets (98-60).

Padres slug three home runs

Jake Cronenworth, Manny Machado and Juan Soto all crushed homers as the San Diego Padres sliced their magic number to one with a 5-2 win over the Chicago White Sox.

At 1-1 at the bottom of the sixth inning, Cronenworth deposited a slider from Cy Young hopeful Dylan Cease for a two-run blast over right field.

The Padres' win, combined with the Milwaukee Brewers' 4-3 loss to the Miami Marlins was significant in the NL Wild Card race.

San Diego are in the second slot with a 87-71 record, while the Brewers are fourth at 84-74, either side of the Philadelphia Phillies (85-73) who beat the Washington Nationals 8-2 after Kyle Schwarber's leadoff blast.

The Chicago White Sox have confirmed that manager Tony La Russa will not return to the dugout this season.

La Russa, 78, has been out since late August due to a heart ailment, which had initially forced him to step away from his role indefinitely.

The White Sox manager has been advised by doctors not to manage again this year, after undergoing additional testing and medical procedures over the past week. It remains to be seen if he returns in 2023.

Bench coach Miguel Cairo will continue as acting manager for the White Sox, who have under-achieved this season with a 76-75 record to be second in the American League Central.

La Russa had returned to lead the White Sox in 2021, his second stint in charge after leading the side from 1979 to 1986, before lengthy stints with the Oakland Athletics (1986-1995) and the St Louis Cardinals (1996-2011).

He is a three-time World Series champion, triumphing in 1989, 2006 and 2011, and is a four-time Manager of the Year winner.

The Chicago White Sox dominated with bat and ball on Thursday as they hammered the Oakland Athletics 14-2.

AL Cy Young Award co-favourite Dylan Cease was on the mound for the White Sox and was at his dominant best, keeping the Athletics scoreless through the first six innings as he racked up nine strikeouts while giving up just three hits and two walks.

His six shut-out innings lowered his ERA for the season to 2.06, trailing only Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander, but with Verlander currently out injured, Cease has now made four more starts, and could pull away in the race for the league's best pitcher if his rival cannot return soon.

On offense, it was clearly the best game in the season for White Sox third-baseman Yoan Moncada as he went five-for-six at the plate. He had home runs in each of his first two at-bats, before following them with a single, a double and another single, getting out for the first time in the ninth inning.

Second-baseman Romy Gonzalez also proved to be a tough out, with his first four at-bats resulting in two singles, a double and a home run on his way to finishing four-for-five at the dish.

Seby Zavala, Elvis Andrus, Jose Abreu and A.J. Pollock also finished with multiple hits as the White Sox racked up 21 as a team, while the Athletics could only muster six.

With the win, the White Sox are now one-and-a-half games behind the Cleveland Guardians for the lead in the AL Central.

Molina turns back the clock in Cardinals loss

Future Hall-of-Fame catcher Yadier Molina hit two home runs in the St Louis Cardinals' 11-6 home loss to the Washington Nationals – doubling his total for the season.

Molina only had two home runs from 219 at-bats heading into the contest, but went two-for-four at the plate, hooking two balls over the left-field wall.

But the Cardinals pitching staff could not keep the Nationals off the board, with six Washington players collecting at least two hits each, led by the ninth batter in their lineup, Alex Call. Call finished four-for-five at the plate, including a home run and a double as he drove in five runs.

Burnes burns the Giants

Milwaukee Brewers ace Corbin Burnes had his way with the San Francisco Giants as he carried his side to a 2-1 victory in the first leg of Thursday's double-header.

Burnes pitched eight of the nine innings, allowing just three hits and no walks, while striking out 14 batters. It is the ninth time Burnes has struck out at least 10 batters in a game this season, and while it is a season-high, he finished one off his career-high of 15.

Back-to-back doubles in the fourth inning was the source of all Milwaukee's runs, with Christian Yelich bringing home Jace Peterson, before Yelich scored on a Hunter Renfroe hit.

Chicago White Sox pitcher Dylan Cease lost his no-hitter bid on the last out as his side won 13-0 over the Minnesota Twins in the MLB on Saturday.

Cease enjoyed his longest no-hit bid of his career, and had two outs in the ninth inning before it was spoiled by a Luis Arraez line-drive single into right-center.

It was a cruel ending for Cease who had allowed only two base runners with walks, with seven strikeouts up until that point.

Cease became the second pitcher this season to fall one out short from a no-hitter, after St Louis Cardinals' Miles Mikolas in June.

The White Sox right-hander is the third pitcher to fall one short over the last five seasons. It would have been Chicago's third no-hitter of the last two years.

Cease instead settled for a career-first shutout, striking out Kyle Garlick shortly after Arraez spoiled his party.

Judge homers again as Yankees lose once more

Aaron Judge remains on track for 63 home runs this season after blasting his 52nd of the season in the New York Yankees' 2-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Judge's solo home run came in the ninth inning after the Yankees had gone 21 innings without scoring, with another defeat leaving them with a 15-26 record since the All-Star break.

Yandy Diaz came up with the decisive two-run single in the third inning while Corey Kluber allowed only two hits and no runs with four strikeouts across seven innings.

Riley keeps up streak as Braves walk it off

Austin Riley homered in the fourth consecutive game as the Atlanta Braves defeated the Miami Marlins in a 2-1 walk-off win. Riley also continued his 10-game on-base streak and seven-game hitting streak.

Riley hammered a line-drive blast left in the fourth inning to put the Braves up 1-0 but the Marlins would square it up in the ninth inning before a remarkable finale.

With bases loaded, Robbie Grossman provided the finish with a walk-off walk from Marlins closer Steven Okert.