Alec Bohm went 4 for 4 with a home run and four RBIs to lead a 17-hit attack that powered the Philadelphia Phillies to a playoff-clinching 12-2 rout of the New York Mets on Friday.

Bohm's three-run homer capped a big fourth inning in which the Phillies scored six times to break a 2-2 tie, and J.T. Realmuto added a two-run shot in the eighth to secure Philadelphia's place in the National League playoffs for the third consecutive year.

Philadelphia, which entered the day tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL's best record, can wrap up its first NL East title since 2011 by winning one of its two remaining games with the Mets this weekend.

The Phillies also received three hits and two RBIs from Nick Castellanos, while Johan Rojas had a two-run double among his two hits.

Jose Iglesias went 2 for 4 with a solo homer for New York, which had a four-game winning streak snapped. The Mets dropped a game back of Arizona for the NL's second wild card after the Diamondbacks earned a 7-4 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Iglesias led off the bottom of the first inning with a home run and Starling Marte followed with a single before later crossing the plate for a 2-0 New York lead against Philadelphia starter Cristopher Sanchez.

Sanchez (11-9) allowed just one more hit over his five-inning stint while finishing with seven strikeouts, and the Phillies scored single runs in the second and third before breaking things open in the fourth.

Rojas' two-run double in the fourth put Philadelphia ahead 4-2, and Bohm later delivered his 15th homer of the season to extend the margin to 8-2.

David Peterson (9-3) lasted just 3 2/3 innings for New York and was tagged for five runs - four earned - on eight hits.

Ohtani follows historic night with encore performance

Shohei Ohtani followed Thursday’s unforgettable performance with another record-breaking outing, and the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Colorado Rockies 6-4.

On Thursday, Ohtani became the first player in MLB history with 50 home runs and 50 steals in the same season, reaching the milestone by going 6 for 6 with three home runs, 10 RBIs and two stolen bases.

Ohtani finished Friday 3 for 4, launched his 52nd home run of the season and stole his 52nd base. It was the 14th time this season that he hit a home run and stole a base in the same game, an MLB record.

Teoscar Hernandez and Andy Pages also went deep for the Dodgers (92-62), whose magic number to clinch the NL West over the San Diego Padres was reduced to four.

The Dodgers opted for a bullpen day, with eight pitchers combining to allow just five hits and strike out 15 batters.

The Rockies squandered home runs from Charlie Blackmon, Michael Toglia and Sam Hilliard.

Kyle Freeland, who allowed four runs and seven hits in six innings, was saddled with the loss.

Orioles cool off Tigers to pad AL wild card lead

The Baltimore Orioles belted five home runs, including two each from Colton Cowser and James McCann, to increase their lead atop the American League wild card standings with a 7-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers.

Anthony Santander also homered for Baltimore, which got all its runs via the long ball to back seven scoreless innings from Corbin Burnes to move five games up on Kansas City for the AL's top wild card. The slumping Royals were dealt a 2-1 loss by the San Francisco Giants for their fifth straight defeat.

Detroit, which entered this key three-game series having won four straight, dropped one game behind Minnesota for the third and final wild card after the Twins posted a 4-2, 12-inning win over the Boston Red Sox.

Burnes (15-8) yielded just three hits and struck out eight to beat the Tigers for the second time in less than a week. The Baltimore ace also tossed seven scoreless innings in a 4-2 win at Detroit on Saturday.

Santander's two-run homer off Tyler Holton in the first inning staked the Orioles to an early lead, and Cowser made it 3-0 an inning later with a solo blast off Keider Montero.

McCann added a two-run shot in the fourth, and he and Cowser came through with solo homers off Montero in the sixth to increase the margin to 7-0.

The Tigers' lone run came on Trey Sweeney's RBI single in the ninth. Sweeney finished with two of Detroit's seven hits.

The San Diego Padres were one strike away from padding their lead atop the NL wild-card standings.

The Detroit Tigers' Parker Meadows changed that with one swing of the bat.

Down 3-0 with two outs and two strikes in the top of the ninth inning, Meadows hit a grand slam to stun the Padres and send the Tigers to a thrilling 4-3 win on Thursday.

Parker hit a 101 mph four-seam fastball off Robert Suarez that travelled 361 feet and landed just over the short left-field fence in San Diego.

San Diego (80-62) lost for the first time in four games and its lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks shrunk to just one-half game for the NL's top wild-card spot.

Jurickson Profar and Xander Bogaerts each homered for the Padres, who end the regular season with a three-game series at Arizona.

Meadows' homer was just his sixth of the season and lifted the Tigers (71-70) back over .500 and within five games of the Royals for the AL's final wild-card spot.

Braves lose, now tied for final NL wild card spot

The Atlanta Braves suffered a 3-1 loss to the last-place Colorado Rockies to drop into a tie for the league's final wild-card berth with the idle New York Mets.

Atlanta and New York have identical 76-64 records with 22 games remaining.

The Braves, who got their lone run on Ramón Laureano's RBI single in the first inning, managed just five hits with Orlando Arcia's second inning-double the only one going for extra bases in the finale with the Rockies (52-89).

Colorado's Michael Toglia and Ezequiel Tovar each hit solo homers off Atlanta starting pitcher Reynaldo Lopez, who gave up three other hits while striking out 11 without a walk in his six innings of work.

Rockies starter Austin Gomber went eight innings, yielding a run and five hits without issuing a walk while striking out six.

Phillies push winning streak to five

The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Miami Marlins 5-2 to extend their winning streak to five games and increase their lead atop the NL East to eight games.

Bryson Stott hit an RBI single in the first inning and a long solo homer during Philadelphia's four-run sixth inning.

Kody Clemens knocked in a pair of runs with a double in the sixth and later came around to score on a wild pitch.

Ranger Suarez gave up three hits over five scoreless innings for the Phillies (84-56), who have won 10 of 12.

The Marlins (52-88) scored their first run in the seventh on an RBI single by Jesús Sánchez and plated their final run an inning later on a throwing error by Clemens.

Blake Snell struck out a career-high 15 over six scoreless innings and Patrick Bailey snapped a tie with a two-run double to give the San Francisco Giants a 4-1 win over the Colorado Rockies in a doubleheader opener on Saturday.

Snell struck out 15 of 18 batters and induced 30 swings and misses, one shy of Tim Lincecum in the 2010 NL Division Series opener against Atlanta for the Giants’ most since pitch tracking started in 2008.

He walked two and his 15 strikeouts were the most for a pitcher this season and the most for any pitcher in an outing of six innings or fewer since at least 1901.

Bailey broke a 1-1 tie in the seventh with a two-out, opposite-field double to the left-center field gap.

Matt Chapman homered in the second for the Giants and Michael Toglia hit a tying homer in the seventh for the Rockies.

In the second game, rookie Hayden Birdsong and four relievers combined on a four-hitter in the Giants’ 5-0 victory.

Streaking Padres roll over Orioles

Michael King pitched two-hit ball into the seventh inning and Manny Machado hit a three-run homer against his former team to lead the San Diego Padres to their seventh straight win, 9-4 over the reeling Baltimore Orioles.

King gave up two runs over 6 1/3 innings with two walks and nine strikeouts to win for the fourth time in five starts.

The Padres scored twice in the second on a two-run error by Ramon Urias and went up 3-0 an inning later on Xander Bogaerts’ RBI double.

Gunnar Henderson’s throwing error in the fourth allowed another run to score and Machado broke open the game with his 14th home run in the seventh off Cole Irvin.

Machado, who spent his first seven seasons with the Orioles, picked up his 1,000th career RBI on the homer.

Jackson Merrill drove in two runs and Machado and Bogaerts each had three hits for the Padres, who have outscored opponents 43-12 during their longest winning streak of the season.

Cedric Mullins had a two-run double and a two-run homer for the Orioles, who have lost five of six and 10 of their last 14 games but remain atop the AL East.

Yankees rally, outslug Red Sox

Austin Wells had a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the 10th inning and Gleyber Torres added a two-run double as the New York Yankees rallied for a wild 11-8 win over the Boston Red Sox.

Aaron Judge reached base a career-high six times, going 4 for 4 with his major league-leading 37th home run, three RBIs and two walks. Juan Soto and Oswaldo Cabrera also went deep as the Yankees snapped a three-game skid with their second win in seven games.

The game was tied five times, matching the most in the majors this season. New York led 3-0 and 4-3, and Boston went ahead 5-4, 6-5 and 8-6.

Tyler O’Neill hit a pair of homers and Wilyer Abreu also cleared the fence for the Red Sox, who have lost six of eight since the All-Star break.

The Red Sox were one strike away from an 8-7 win with closer Kenley Jansen on the mound, but O’Neill couldn’t catch Trent Grisham’s deep fly to left-center and the tying run scored.

After Wells’ sacrifice fly off Chase Anderson snapped a tie, Torres, who had been 0 for 5, doubled off the base of the Green Monster to score two.

Clay Holmes – the seventh pitcher used by New York – worked two hitless innings for the win.

Aaron Judge hit his major league-leading 33rd home run and the New York Yankees defeated the Baltimore Orioles 4-1 in a game marred by a late benches-clearing incident on Friday night.

Benches cleared in the bottom of the ninth after Baltimore’s Heston Kjerstad was hit in the helmet by a pitch from closer Clay Holmes. There was some pushing and shoving, but no punches were thrown.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde walked toward the New York dugout and pointed at someone, at which point Yankees catcher Austin Wells tried to restrain Hyde.

The teams met for the first time since the Orioles took two of three in New York last month. Since then, the Yankees are 6-13 and Baltimore is 8-12.

Gerrit Cole rebounded from a poor start in his last outing by allowing one run and five hits with one walk and seven strikeouts.

Tommy Kahnle and Luke Weaver each worked one inning and Holmes pitched the ninth for his 21st save.

The Orioles had their lead in the East trimmed to one game over the Yankees as they lost their fourth straight. They have scored three runs during that skid and are 1 for 26 with runners in scoring position.

New York scored twice against rookie Cade Povich in the second.

Anthony Volpe singled and moved to third on an error by right fielder Anthony Santander. He scored on Jose Trevino’s double and Jahmai Jones singled home another run.

Judge led off the third by sending an 0-2 pitch from Povich over the wall in left field for his first RBI in nine games. Judge walked in his other four plate appearances.

Surging Mets hold off Rockies

Jose Iglesias and Harrison Bader each homered twice and the New York Mets fended off the last-place Colorado Rockies, 7-6.

Mark Vientos also went deep and had an RBI double for the Mets, who are 4-0 on a six-game homestand against the struggling Nationals and Rockies heading into the All-Star break. New York has won six of seven overall and is 24-10 since it was 11 games under .500 on June 2.

Sean Manaea pitched seven effective innings, throwing a season-high 107 pitches. He allowed three runs and five hits while walking one and striking out nine.

He left with a 7-3 lead, but Charlie Blackmon homered to open the eighth and Brenton Doyle’s two-run shot later in the inning made it a one-run game.

Edwin Diaz worked around consecutive two-out walks in a hitless ninth for his 10th save.

Vientos and Iglesias hit back-to-back home runs in the second and Bader’s blast one batter later gave the Mets three homers in an inning for the first time since July 1, 2023, against San Francisco.

Hendricks pitches Cubs to 5th straight win

Kyle Hendricks pitched seven shutout innings and Nico Hoerner and David Bote each knocked in two runs as the Chicago Cubs stretched their season-best winning streak to five games with a 5-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Hendricks didn’t allow a runner to reach second base and gave up five hits with three strikeouts and a walk. He rebounded from three straight losses to improve to 14-4 with a 2.57 ERA in 27 career appearances against the Cardinals.

Chicago was coming off consecutive shutouts in Baltimore and had a scoreless streak of 32 2/3 innings snapped in the ninth on Paul Goldschmidt’s RBI single.

Hector Neris walked Nolan Arenado with two outs to load the bases before striking out Lars Nootbaar for his 13th save in 17 chances.

Shohei Ohtani hit a leadoff homer for the second straight game and extended his RBI streak to a franchise-record 10 consecutive games in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 4-0 win over the lowly Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night.

Ohtani took Erick Fedde deep on a full-count fastball for his National League-best 25th home run. It was his third leadoff homer of the season and his eighth home run in the last 10 games.

He is batting .310 (27 for 87) with 11 homers and 23 RBIs in 23 games this month.

Gavin Stone shut down the White Sox on four hits in his first career complete game. He struck out seven and walked none to improve to 8-1 with a 2.03 ERA in his last 11 starts.

Los Angeles (51-31) won its fourth straight and has won eight of 10 to move a season-best 20 games over .500.

The major league-worst White Sox (21-61) have lost seven of eight to fall 40 games under .500. They were shut out for the 12th time this season and were 1 for 21 with runners in scoring position while totalling three runs and 17 hits in the three-game series.

Streaking Astros roll Rockies

Spencer Arrighetti struck out a season-high 10 over seven scoreless innings and was backed by Yainer Diaz’s three hits as the Houston Astros won their season-high seventh straight, 7-1 over the Colorado Rockies.

Arrighetti limited the Rockies to three hits and didn’t walk a batter for the first time in the longest start of his rookie season.

Houston (40-40), which opened 7-19, reached .500 for the first time this season and is batting .320 while averaging 6.9 runs during the seven-game streak.

The Astros broke open the game with a four-run seventh to take a 6-0 lead. Cesar Salazar had a sacrifice fly before Jose Altuve hit a soft grounder to shortstop Ezequiel Tovar and his throw home was high, allowing another run to score.

Alex Bregman then grounded into a forceout, but a throwing error by second baseman Brendan Rogers sent another run home. Yordan Alvarez hit a ground-rule double and Diaz’s single stretched the lead to 6-0.

The Rockies are 0-4 against the Astros this season and have dropped 11 in a row at Minute Maid Park, dating to Aug. 15, 2018.

Orioles end skid, cool Guardians

Cedric Mullins snapped a tie with a seventh-inning home run and Gunnar Henderson belted his 26th of the season as the Baltimore Orioles snapped the Cleveland Guardians’ seven-game winning streak with a 4-2 victory.

Ryan O’Hearn also went deep for the Orioles, who had lost five in a row since a 17-5 pounding of the Yankees on June 20. It was their longest losing streak since May 2022.

Mullins connected off Xzavion Curry to lead off the seventh, putting Baltimore ahead 3-2.

Grayson Rodriguez surrendered solo home runs to Jhonkensy Noel and Gabriel Arias but not much else. He gave up three other hits over seven innings without a walk and struck out four.

Cionel Perez pitched a perfect eighth and Craig Kimbrel struck out the side in the ninth for his 17th save and 434th of his career.

Noel was recalled from Triple-A Columbus and became the fourth Cleveland player to homer in his first major league at-bat. The last Cleveland player to go deep in his first at-bat in the majors was Kevin Kouzmanoff in 2006.

Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw will make his first start since June 27 on Thursday after the team activated the veteran pitcher from the injured list prior to their game against the Colorado Rockies.

Kershaw missed the past six weeks with a sore left shoulder that prevented the three-time National League Cy Young Award winner from appearing in last month's MLB All-Star Game.

The 35-year-old prepared for Thursday's assignment by throwing a pair of simulated games, including a four-inning outing last week.

Kershaw was in the midst of another excellent season prior to being sidelined. In 16 starts in 2023, the left-hander has compiled a 10-4 record and a 2.55 earned run average that would lead the majors if he had enough innings to qualify.

The 10-time All-Star is 4-0 with a sensational 1.09 ERA over his past five starts and did not allow a run in three of those appearances. In his most recent start on June 27, Kershaw held the Rockies to one hit over six scoreless frames in a 5-0 Dodgers' victory at Coors Field.

Kershaw's return should help stabilise a Los Angeles rotation that has largely struggled in his absence. Dodgers starters recorded a combined 6.18 ERA in July, the second highest in the majors for the month.

“For the team, I know that we all get excited when he takes the baseball,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Tuesday. “You just feel more comfortable and confident when Kersh is active.

Despite their starting pitching issues, the Dodgers have opened up a six-game lead on the second-place San Francisco Giants in the NL West and have won eight of nine games to begin August. 

 

Mike Trout, Brandon Drury and Matt Thaiss hit home runs on consecutive pitches to open a 13-run third inning and the Los Angeles Angels pounded out a franchise-record 28 hits in a 25-1 drubbing of the Colorado Rockies.

Hunter Renfroe and Mickey Moniak each went 5 for 5 with four RBIs and David Fletcher had four hits and five RBIs as part of the biggest scoring output in Angels history.

The Angels scored 24 runs in a win over the Toronto Blue Jays on August 25, 1979.

Every Angels' starter had at least two hits except major league home run leader Shohei Ohtani, who went 1 for 7.

After Trout, Drury and Thaiss went deep off starter Chase Anderson, the Angels went on to score 10 more runs in the inning on seven more hits, capped by Moniak’s two-run homer.

The Angels piled on eight more runs in the fourth inning to become the only major league team in the modern era (since 1900) to score 20 or more runs over a span of two innings.

Drury and Thaiss singled home runs and Renfroe had an RBI double before Moniak delivered a two-run double. Fletcher’s three-run homer made it 23-0.

The Rockies avoided the shutout on Brenton Doyle’s home run in the eighth inning.

 

 

 

 

Braves hold on to end Reds’ 12-game winning streak

Travis d’Arnaud homered for one of his four hits and the Atlanta Braves held on for a 7-6 victory, ending the Cincinnati Reds’ 12-game winning streak on Saturday.

Ozzie Albies, Matt Olson and Marcell Ozuna also went deep for the National League-best Braves, who rebounded from Friday’s loss to win for the ninth time in 10 games and improve to 16-4 in June.

The Reds’ 12-game streak tied for the longest in the franchise’s modern era and was one shy of matching the 1890 team’s 13-game run. The 1899 Reds won 14 straight.

Cincinnati also hit four home runs, the final two coming in the bottom of the ninth inning. Jake Fraley and Will Benson took Raisel Iglesias deep to make it a one-run game but the Atlanta closer regrouped and struck out Matt McLain and Jonathan India – both on changeups - to end it.

 

Cubs rout Cardinals in London

Ian Happ hit two home runs, Justin Steele struck out eight in six strong innings and the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 9-1 to open the teams’ two-game set in London.

With a crowd of 54,662 filling London Stadium, the Cubs improved to 9-1 over their last 10 games and moved to within a game of .500 (37-38).

Happ hit solo home runs in the second and third innings, and Dansby Swanson hit a two-run shot in the ninth to provide insurance.

The sizzling Cincinnati Reds are now on their longest winning streak in 66 years after rallying for a 5-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday.

Jake Fraley's tie-breaking two-run homer in the eighth inning lifted the Reds to their 11th consecutive win, the franchise's longest streak since a 12-game run from April 30-May 12. The streak is also the longest by a National League team this season, surpassed only by the Tampa Bay Rays winning 13 in a row to start the campaign.

Colorado, which has now lost eight straight, took a 3-0 lead after four innings on solo home runs by Brenton Doyle, Elehuris Montero and Randal Grichuk off Reds rookie Andrew Abbott. Cincinnati responded by scoring three times in the bottom of the fifth, with Luke Maile contributing a two-run single and TJ Freidl following with an RBI single that tied the gae at 3-3.

After Fraley followed Elly De La Cruz's double in the eighth with his ninth homer of the season, Buck Farmer pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save.

Abbott allowed just four hits and struck out a career-high 10 in his fourth major league start.

The NL West cellar-dwelling Rockies have now lost eight in a row for the second time this season, previously doing so from April 11-19. 

 

Sean Hjelle pitched four scoreless innings and the San Francisco Giants turned four double plays to beat the San Diego Padres 4-2 and extend their winning streak to 10 games.

The Giants did all their scoring in the fifth inning against Yu Darvish, as Joc Pederson, Mike Yastrzemski and J.D. Davis delivered RBI singles.

After Ryan Walker worked one scoreless inning, Hjelle allowed three hits with five strikeouts and Camilo Doval pitched the ninth for his 20th save.

San Francisco, which moved a season-high 10 games over .500 at 42-32, have won 10 in a row for the first time since 2004.

 

 

Shohei Ohtani struck out 12 over seven stellar innings but Freddie Freeman and Miguel Vargas homered to lift the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 2-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels.

Ohtani’s only mistake was serving up Freeman’s 14th home run in the fourth inning in the tough-luck loss. The Japanese superstar allowed five hits with two walks and went hitless in three plate appearances with a walk.

Vargas extended the lead with a ninth-inning home run and Evan Phillips closed it out to give the Dodgers their second straight 2-0 win and a sweep of the two-game Freeway Series.

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Aaron Judge remains rooted on 60 home runs for the season after he was kept homerless for the fourth straight game in the New York Yankees' 7-5 win over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday.

Judge had one walk but ended up none-for-three with two strikeouts and a fly out to medium center as the wait draws on to pull level with Roger Maris' franchise and American League (AL) record of 61 home runs in a single season.

The Yankees outfielder was left frustrated when he tried to hold his swing on a wide 2-2 fastball but umpire Chris Conroy signaled a third strike.

"Even for a guy that hit 60 home runs, he still doesn't hit them every day," Yankees coach Aaron Boone said. "A lot of things got to line up to go deep, even for the best of the best. So as long as he continues to take good at-bats and make good swing decisions, it'll happen sooner rather than later."

Judge's showing meant his batting average dropped to .314, with Boston's Xander Bogaerts going two-for-four to move ahead of him at .315, denting the Yankee's triple crown hopes.

Anthony Rizzo's seventh-inning two-run blast earned the Yankees the win in front of a sell-out crowd after scores were locked at 5-5.

Manoah helps Blue Jays claim key win

Alex Manoah led the way as the Toronto Blue Jays regained the top AL Wild Card spot with a 3-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Manoah sent down seven shutout innings with eight strikeouts – including his 300th career K - allowing only four hits with two walks.

Whit Merrifield hit a seventh-inning three-run blast to open up a three-run lead, capping a strong week after two homers against the Rays on Thursday.

The win means the Blue Jays (85-67) lead the Rays (84-68) by one game for the first AL Wild Card spot. The Seattle Mariners (83-68) are next.

Padres make ground in NL Wild Card hunt

Yu Darvish claimed his 16th win of the season as the San Diego Padres defeated the Colorado Rockies 9-3 to climb into second spot in the National League (NL) Wild Card race.

Darvish finished with eight strikeouts across six innings, allowing only five hits and two runs, but the Padres pulled clear with a six-run seventh inning.

Jake Cronenworth and Ha-Seong Kim both had two-run singles amid the seventh inning where they turned a tight game into a rout. The Padres move to 84-68, ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies (83-68) in the NL Wild Card race.

The Tampa Bay Rays welcomed back star shortstop Wander Franco to the lineup after a two-month injury absence, and he returned in style with three hits in a 4-2 road win against the New York Yankees on Friday.

Franco, 21, was rewarded for his stellar rookie season with an 11-year, $182million contract extension, but his second year has been derailed by a fracture in his wrist before finally getting the all-clear Friday morning.

Batting second in the Rays' lineup, Franco hit a double in his first at-bat, and after a pop-out in the second inning, he stepped back to the plate in the fourth frame and doubled again. A single in the sixth inning would complete a three-for-five day at the plate, with two runs scored and two RBIs.

Also going three-for-five at the plate with two doubles and two RBIs was Franco's teammate Randy Arozarena, with the duo combining to drive in all of the Rays' runs.

They had some breathing room early thanks to an excellent start on the mound by Drew Rasmussen, who held the Yankees scoreless through the first six innings, finishing with 10 strikeouts while only allowing six hits and no walks.

An Aaron Judge single in the seventh frame, after Rasmussen had been pulled, gave the Yankees their first run of the contest, with a Kyle Higashioka home run in the ninth proving to be a consolation.

For Judge, the AL MVP favourite, the RBI was his 119th of the season, which is 10 more than any other player. He also has 19 more home runs than any other player (55) and 36 more total bases than any other player (339).

With the win, the Rays have cut the Yankees' lead in the AL East to three-and-a-half games, and they will play twice more over the weekend.

Bo Bichette's bat stays hot

Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette is in the midst of one his best ever hot streaks with the bat, hitting his fifth home run from his past four games in his side's 4-3 win against the Texas Rangers.

Bichette, 24, had three home runs on Monday against the Baltimore Orioles, and followed it up with a home run the very next day in a game where he went four-for-five at the plate. 

Against the Rangers, Bichette opened the scoring with an RBI ground ball in the first inning, and in his next at-bat, he took advantage of star teammate Vladimir Guerrero Jr getting on base and knocked a ball 385 feet over the right-field wall.

Bichette now has five home runs from his past 18 at-bats, after totaling 18 homers from his first 536 at-bats his season.

Cron launches the season's longest home run

C.J. Cron hit a ball he will never forget as his Colorado Rockies defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 13-10 in a high-scoring shootout.

In a game with eight home runs – with six of them traveling at least 418 feet in the altitude-assisted Coors Field – one stood above the rest as Cron connected on a 504-foot nuke to left-field. 

It is the longest home run this season, and ties him for the 10th-longest home run ever recorded.

Christian Yelich blasted the biggest home run seen in the majors since 2019 as the Milwaukee Brewers lost 10-7 to the Colorado Rockies in extras on Tuesday.

Yelich led the game off with a 499-foot home run into the third deck at Coors Field, which was also the third largest blast since Statcast started tracking homers in 2015.

Only home runs from Nomar Mazara, 505 feet in 2019, and Giancarlo Stanton, 504 in 2016, bettered Yelich's effort. Yelich's dinger came from the fourth pitch of the game from Rockies starter Chad Kuhl.

It was only one part of a thrilling contest that ended in the 10th inning with Randal Grichuk delivering a three-run home run to give the Rockies the edge.

The Rockies had trailed 6-1 going into the eighth inning before Grichek capped a five-run rally with a solo blast.

Colorado did most of their damage after Brewers starter Brandon Woodruff exited, having allowed one earned run, two hits and two walks across seven innings with five strikeouts.

Benches clear as O's edge Jays

The benches cleared as tempers flared during the seventh inning of the Baltimore Orioles' 9-6 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.

The incident occurred after Bryan Baker struck out Matt Chapman to finish the Blue Jays innings, with the right-hander appearing to make a "chirping" signal at the Toronto dugout who took umbrage and rushed on field on masse.

The Orioles, who improve to 72-64 to boost their wild card hopes, scored three runs in the eighth inning to pull away led by Ryan Mountcastle's two-run single, with Adley Rutschman safe after review.

Mets NL setback as Cruz blasts

Oneil Cruz lined a home run out of PNC Park into the Allegheny with a two-run blast as the Pittsburgh Pirates blew out the New York Mets 8-2.

Cruz displayed his unique power from Tommy Hunter over right-field and to blast his side into an 8-2 lead.

The result is a major blow for the Mets who slip to 85-51, alongside the Atlanta Braves with the same record in the National League East.

Rookie right-hander Spencer Strider made history with a franchise-record 16 strikeouts in the Atlanta Braves' 3-0 win over the Colorado Rockies on Thursday.

The 23-year-old's 16 K's was the most ever by a Braves pitcher in a nine-inning game, bettering John Smoltz's previous record of 15, coming in only his 17th career Major League start.

Strider, who had 79 strikes from 106 pitches, allowed two hits and did not walk a batter, with a mix of fastballs and sliders across eight innings.

The 16 strikeouts were the most in the majors since Walker Buehler had 16 against the Rockies in June 2019.

"I lost track after five [innings]," Strider said about his strikeouts count. "I came out of the game and Kyle [Wright] was telling me something about John Smoltz or whatever. It didn't make any sense.

"It's pretty wild, the guys who've thrown in this organization, it's a long, incredible list. I'm just grateful to be here and having success."

Austin Riley and Michael Harris II hit solo home runs for the Braves, who improve to 81-51 to be three games behind the New York Mets (84-48) in the National League East.

Kershaw shakes off the rust in Dodgers defeat

Clayton Kershaw returned from the injured list with an efficient display but he could not inspire the Los Angeles Dodgers to victory, losing 5-3 to the New York Mets.

After a rusty start, Kershaw had six strikeouts across five innings, allowing one hit, one earned run while walking three batters.

Francisco Lindor was the hero with a tying RBI double in the sixth inning before scoring the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh, while Edwin Diaz struck out Gavin Lux to escape a jam in the eighth.

Red Sox rally wth Refsnyder career-first walk-off

Rob Refsnyder's single clinched a walk-off win for the Boston Red Sox who rallied with a four-run ninth inning to win 9-8 over the Texas Rangers.

The Red Sox, who had been behind 8-3 in the eighth, trailed 8-5 entering the ninth with Rafael Devers hitting a two-run double to narrow the deficit before Kike Hernandez's RBI single tied it up.

Refsnyder walked it off for the first time in his career with a line shot that drove home Devers.

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