The New York Yankees' big bats put on a show Sunday as Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton both blasted home runs in a 6-0 shutout of the San Francisco Giants.

Judge, the reigning AL MVP, gave the Yankees the lead in the third inning when he connected on a 392-foot solo shot, but he would get outdone by his heavy-hitting team-mate later in the same frame.

After Anthony Rizzo reached on an infield single, Stanton stepped up and hit the third-longest homer in Yankee Stadium history, travelling 485 feet to center field. Judge and Stanton now both have two home runs each through their first three games.

Yankees catcher Kyle Higashioka got in on the fun with his own solo homer in the fourth inning, but despite all the power on display, the performance of the game came from 25-year-old rookie starting pitcher Jhony Brito.

In his first major league start, Brito pitched five scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and one walk to go with six strikeouts in 76 pitches.

The result means the Yankees have taken their opening series 2-1, with the reigning NL Champion Philadelphia Phillies rolling into town next for another three-game set.

Trout and Ohtani hammer A's

Three-time AL MVP Mike Trout got his season up-and-running as he crushed a deep home run as one of his three hits in a 6-0 Los Angeles Angels' win.

On the road against the Oakland Athletics, Trout had gone one-for-seven with two walks in the first two games of the season, but his first four at-bats this time resulted in a double, a single, a home run and a walk.

His 434-foot, two-run homer in the fifth inning would have been the biggest hit in most games, but he was bettered later in the same inning by superstar team-mate Shohei Ohtani.

Ohtani's only hit of the day sailed 443 feet over the wall at right-center, and 23-year-old rookie Logan O'Hoppe made it a game he will never forget with his first career home run.

Springs throws six no-hit innings

Coming off a career-best season, Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Jeffrey Springs made a near faultless start in Sunday's 5-1 home win against the Detroit Tigers.

Springs went six full innings without allowing a hit, giving up just one walk in the second inning while striking out 12 batters in a dominant display. 

The team no-hitter was broken up the very first batter after Springs' exit, but Tampa's five runs – highlighted by Randy Arozarena's 436-foot solo home run – were more than enough.

The Tampa Bay Rays are "optimistic" emerging shortstop Wander Franco will be available for their Opening Day game with the Detroit Tigers on Thursday despite a quad injury concern.

Franco, 22, underwent an MRI on Sunday which Rays manager Kevin Cash said returned "favourable" results.

Despite the good results, Cash said Franco would not play in Tampa Bay's spring training game against the New York Yankees on Monday but was hopeful of their season opener against the Tigers.

"We've got three days to treat him," Cash told the Tampa Bay Times. "I don't think anything's been decided.

"We're optimistic that if we can get this thing treated the right way, we should be in a spot where he's good to go.

"Three days off in a row for him. Maybe get him out there that last day and take [batting practice] and see how he feels, but I'm pretty optimistic."

Franco had been scratched from the lineup for Saturday's spring training game against the Boston Red Sox due to right quadriceps soreness, although the Rays called that precautionary.

The 22-year-old has been a revelation for the Rays since debuting in 2021, including tying Frank Robinson (1956) for the longest on-base streak (43 games) in AL/NL history by a player 20 years old or younger.

Franco finished third in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2021, before hitting .277 with six home runs and 33 RBIs in 2022.

Aaron Judge stands alone at the top of home run history in the American League after breaking Roger Maris' 61-year single-season homer record with his 62nd blast in the New York Yankees' 3-2 loss to the Texas Rangers on Tuesday.

Judge, who had hit just one homer in his previous 13 games coming in, blasted a 1-1 slider off Rangers' pitcher Jesus Tinoco over the left-field fence for a lead-off homer to break the mark.

The Yankees outfielder's home run was his 62nd of the season, surpassing Maris' 61-homer mark from 1961, which he had matched last Wednesday against the Toronto Blue Jays.

The blast came in the Yankees' penultimate game of the regular season, with Judge's 62 homers sitting seventh for most in a single season in MLB history.

Ahead of Judge are only three players, all from 1997 to 2001; Barry Bonds (73 in 2001), Mark McGwire (70 in 1999 and 65 in 1999) and Sammy Sosa (66 in 1998, 64 in 2001, 63 in 1999).

The home run means 11 of Judge's past 14 blasts have come on the road. Gerrit Cole also made franchise history, reaching 257 strikeouts for the most in a single season for the Yankees.

The Yankees were beaten after the Rangers added two fifth-inning runs, with the visitors having won the first game in the double header 5-4 when Judge went one-for-five with a single.

Braves complete turnaround to clinch NL East

Following their sweep over the New York Mets, the Atlanta Braves clinched their fifth straight National League (NL) East title with a 2-1 victory over the Miami Marlins.

William Contreras drove in the go-ahead run in the fifth inning with an infield single, earning the reigning world champions a first-round bye as the NL second seed. The achievement comes after the Braves had trailed the Mets by 10-and-a-half games in June.

Jake Odorizzi had seven strikeouts across five innings, while Kenley Jansen recorded his 41st save with a perfect ninth inning. Ronald Acuna Jr hit a second-inning single to give the Braves an early lead.

AL seeds locked in as Verlander stars for Astros

The Seattle Mariners locked in the number five seed in the AL playoffs with a 7-6 walkoff win over the Detroit Tigers, highlighted by back-up catcher Luis Torrens pitching the 10th inning.

Entering extras ahead of the postseason, the Mariners shuffled their deck, with Torrens becoming the first position player other than Shohei Ohtani to earn a win since John Baker in 2014 for the Chicago Cubs. Abraham Toro's sacrifice fly allowed Carlos Santana to score the walkoff run.

That result meant the Tampa Bay Rays were locked for the third AL Wild Card spot, not helped by a 6-0 loss to the Boston Red Sox where Xander Bogaerts delivered a fifth-inning grand slam.

Meanwhile, the Houston Astros go into the postseason as the AL top seed after a 10-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies where Cy Young Award favourite Justin Verlander had 10 K's and kept the opposition hitless until the ninth inning.

The Detroit Tigers have hired San Francisco Giants general manager Scott Harris as their new president of baseball operations.

Harris has spent the past three seasons with the Giants, having previously been with the Chicago Cubs over seven years where he ascended to assistant general manager.

The Tigers have hired Harris to replace long-time general manager Al Avila who was fired in August.

Detroit had high ambitions for the 2022 season, having invested $230 million on Javier Baez, Eduardo Rodriguez and Andrew Chafin. Instead, the Tigers have the fourth-worst record (55-91) in the majors this season.

Tigers chairman and CEO Christopher Ilitch said: "Scott's vision for how to construct a baseball organization to compete and win in the modern game is impressive.

"His leadership ability is polished from both his experience as an executive at multiple levels and mentorship from some of the game's most talented baseball operations leaders. Scott is a difference maker, innovator and fiercely competitive, always looking for an edge."

Three-time American League (AL) MVP Mike Trout moved one away from the major league record after homering in his seventh-straight game as the Los Angeles Angels lost 5-4 to the Cleveland Guardians.

The 10-time All-Star drove high to center-field at the top of the fifth inning for a game-tying two-run blast and his 35th home run of the season. Trout crushed a fastball for the third straight game, this time from Konnor Pilkington for a 422-foot drive.

The Angels center fielder is within one blast of the eight-game record, held jointly by Dale Long (1956), Don Mattingly (1987) and Ken Griffey Jr (1993). Trout will get the chance to match the mark on Tuesday against the Guardians.

"That's good company to be in," Trout said. "I'm just putting a good swing on the ball and they're going out."

The win was important for the AL Central-leading Guardians, as Amed Rosario doubled home Steven Kwan in the seventh inning for the go-ahead run.

The Guardians are 74-65, three games ahead of the Chicago White Sox (72-69) who did not play on Monday.

Valdez equals deGrom quality-start record

Left-hander Framber Valdez tied the record with a 24th consecutive quality start as the Houston Astros won 7-0 over the Detroit Tigers.

Valdez's shutout tied New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom (2018) for the all-time single-season streak record since 1913, tossing down 107 pitches with eight strikeouts allowing six hits and one walk.

The Astros pitcher's shutout was almost broken when Willi Castro was called safe at the plate from Yordan Alvarez's throw but that was overturned on replay.

Dodgers secure postseason berth for real

The Los Angeles Dodgers officially clinched their postseason berth with a 6-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks after the MLB prematurely declared that on Sunday.

The MLB confirmed that an internal error in determining the Dodgers' postseason scenario meant that Dave Roberts' side actually needed one more win to lock in their 10th straight playoffs berth.

Mookie Betts blasted a ninth-inning three-run home run, marking a career-high 34 homers this season for him.

Three-time American League (AL) MVP Mike Trout moved one away from the major league record after homering in his seventh-straight game as the Los Angeles Angels lost 5-4 to the Cleveland Guardians.

The 10-time All-Star drove high to center-field at the top of the fifth inning for a game-tying two-run blast and his 35th home run of the season. Trout crushed a fastball for the third straight game, this time from Konnor Pilkington for a 422-foot drive.

The Angels center fielder is within one blast of the eight-game record, held jointly by Dale Long (1956), Don Mattingly (1987) and Ken Griffey Jr (1993). Trout will get the chance to match the mark on Tuesday against the Guardians.

"That's good company to be in," Trout said. "I'm just putting a good swing on the ball and they're going out."

The win was important for the AL Central-leading Guardians, as Amed Rosario doubled home Steven Kwan in the seventh inning for the go-ahead run.

The Guardians are 74-65, three games ahead of the Chicago White Sox (72-69) who did not play on Monday.

Valdez equals deGrom quality-start record

Left-hander Framber Valdez tied the record with a 24th consecutive quality start as the Houston Astros won 7-0 over the Detroit Tigers.

Valdez's shutout tied New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom (2018) for the all-time single-season streak record since 1913, tossing down 107 pitches with eight strikeouts allowing six hits and one walk.

The Astros pitcher's shutout was almost broken when Willi Castro was called safe at the plate from Yordan Alvarez's throw but that was overturned on replay.

Dodgers officially secure postseason berth

The Los Angeles Dodgers officially clinched their postseason berth with a 6-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks after the MLB prematurely declared that on Sunday.

The MLB confirmed that an internal error in determining the Dodgers' postseason scenario meant that Dave Roberts' side actually needed one more win to lock in their 10th straight playoffs berth.

Mookie Betts blasted a ninth-inning three-run home run, marking a career-high 34 homers this season for him.

The New York Mets won a barnburner on Sunday as they came from behind in the ninth inning to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 10-9 on the road.

It looked early on like it would be a fun night for the Philly fans in attendance, with the hosts jumping ahead 3-0 through a three-run Alec Bohm home run before they recorded a single out.

Philadelphia ended up with their first five batters reaching base, and Nick Maton batted in the fourth run of the frame with his single.

The Mets showed fight in the middle innings, with Michael Perez bringing in two runs with his base hit in the second, before Daniel Vogelbach trimmed the margin to one with his RBI double in the third, and Starling Marte tied things at 4-4 in the fourth with a single.

Just when the Phillies started to feel the pressure, Bohm came through with his second three-run homer of the night to jump back ahead 7-4 later in the fourth inning, and that score would hold until the seventh.

After Pete Alonso and Tyler Naquin got on base, Mets left-fielder Mark Canha tied things up with a single swing as his 345-foot shot barely scraped over the left-field wall, and there were plenty of fireworks still to come.

Jean Segura sent the home fans into raptures with his solo home run in the eighth inning, giving the Philles an 8-7 lead, before Canha delivered once again, connecting on a two-run shot for his second home run of the game. Brandon Nimmo then launched his own solo homer to add one more insurance run for the Mets.

That extra tally would be needed, as the Phillies were able to score once in the ninth inning through a sacrifice fly, but they could not manufacture a 10th run to force extra innings.

Bohm finished with six RBIs and Canha had five, while eight more players had multiple hits as the two sides combined for 30 knocks.

Yankees steady the ship

The New York Yankees collected a much-needed 4-2 victory at home against the Toronto Blue Jays, avoiding a series sweep, although they have now lost six consecutive series after dropping the first three games.

New York had won three of their past 17 games entering Sunday's contest, and they benefited from a strong start by pitcher Nestor Cortes, who finished with one earned run from three hits and one walk in his six innings.

With the bat, D.J. LeMahieu batted in two of the four runs, although one was not credited as an RBI due to a fielding error, before newly acquired lead-off hitter Andrew Benintendi came through with the scores tied at 2-2 with his first home run as a Yankee to grab the winning break.

Lou Trivino shut the door out of the bullpen, pitching the last two-and-a-third innings for the Yankees, giving up just one walk and no hits.

Ohtani struggles on the mound

A disappointing pitching performance from Shohei Ohtani doomed the Los Angeles Angels to a 4-0 away loss against the Detroit Tigers.

Ohtani, who has struck out no fewer than five batters in each of his past 11 starts – averaging 9.1 per game over that span – finished with just two strikeouts as he was only able to make it through four innings, making it his second-shortest start since April.

He allowed five hits, but a season-high four walks in a showing that got off to the worst possible start, with Tigers lead-off hitter Riley Greene sending Ohtani's very first pitch of the game 448 feet over the right-field wall.

Long-time Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila was dismissed on Wednesday with his side sitting last in the American League (AL) Central division.

Avila has been involved with the Tigers since 2002, being elevated to general manager in 2015 while also working as executive vice president of baseball operations.

The 64-year-old's dismissal comes with the Tigers holding a 43-68 record with a minus-122 run differential, having come into 2022 with increased expectations.

Detroit's long rebuild was declared over in pre-season, having missed the playoffs for seven straight games.

"I think heading into the season, all of us at the ballclub -- that would include the players, front office and I think many of you, if not all of you - had high expectations and excitement for the season," Tigers chairman and CEO Christopher Ilitch said in a press conference.

"Unfortunately, we did not see progress this season at the Major League level, and it's a big reason why I decided it's time to make a change."

The Tigers had finished in last place in the AL Central four times under Avila, who was the only general manager of Latin American descent in the MLB.

Ilitch added: "At this point in time, enough of the season has occurred and we’ve played enough games to where I feel as though we just have not seen progress this year.

"And I’ve been very clear year in and year out, we need to make progress each and every year. If we do that, ultimately, we will accomplish our objectives. That’s what led me to the decision."

It was far from a warm welcome for newly acquired New York Yankees starting pitcher Frankie Montas, getting smacked around in a 12-9 away loss to the St Louis Cardinals.

Montas, who was traded from the Oakland Athletics before the deadline, struggled mightily, conceding six runs in the first two innings, with four coming off the bat of Nolan Arenado.

Arenado collected an RBI single in the first inning to cancel out an early Yankees run, and after the visiting side jumped ahead 4-1 in the second frame thanks in large part to a two-RBI base hit from AL MVP favourite Aaron Judge, it all began to fall apart.

Dylan Carlson's RBI double started the rally and cut the margin to 4-2, a sacrifice-fly from NL MVP favourite Paul Goldschmidt made it 4-3, and then Arenado connected on a three-run home run to lead 6-4 after two innings.

Montas would be pulled to begin the fourth frame, finishing with figures of six earned runs from five hits and three walks in his 64 pitches.

To the Yankees' credit, they refused to lay down, with Judge driving in another two runs with a double in the fifth inning to tie the game at 6-6, but the Cardinals continued to answer right back, adding three more runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth.

The Yankees again cut the lead to 9-8, but Paul DeJong put the game to bed in the eighth inning with a three-run homer to grab a winning break.

Overall, the teams combined for 21 runs from 27 hits, with Arenado going three-for-five at the plate with four RBIs, and Judge finishing two-for-five with four RBIs. Judge now leads the majors in RBIs with 97, two more than New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso.

DeGrom makes his case as the game's best pitcher

There were concerns that perhaps injuries would strip New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom of his status as the sport's most elite pitcher, but he continued to dispel that myth on Sunday in his side's 5-2 win against the Atlanta Braves.

DeGrom, in his second start of the season, struck out 12 of the 19 batters he faced, going on to finish with two earned runs from one hit and one walk in five-and-two-thirds innings.

Through five innings, deGrom had a perfect game with 10 strikeouts, but was pulled in the sixth after his first walk of the game was followed by a home run from Dansby Swanson to cut the Mets' lead to 5-2, with both bullpens keeping things scoreless the rest of the way.

Rays pull off improbable late rally

With two outs in the top of the ninth inning, there had yet to be a run in the Tampa Bay Rays' road game against the Detroit Tigers, before an incredible offensive explosion saw the Rays prevail 7-0.

The Rays as a team conceded only three hits and no walks as six pitchers combined beautifully, while the Tigers relied on Matt Manning to get them through most of the game, pitching seven scoreless frames for seven baserunners and seven strikeouts.

In the ninth inning, after two outs, the Rays rattled off consecutive at-bats resulting in a double, three walks, a single, a double and another single as seven straight batters reached base.

Miguel Cabrera has clarified previous comments that began rumours of his retirement, saying: "No way am I going to quit."

Cabrera has had a difficult year with the Detroit Tigers, playing through knee pain in recent weeks and seeing his stats suffer as a result, with just three extra-base hits in his past 21 games.

The 39-year-old set tongues wagging on Thursday when he seemed to indicate his future was uncertain, telling reporters: "I don't think about next year. I'm thinking about trying to finish healthy this year."

However, speaking to The Detroit News, Cabrera made it clear he did not mean he was about to call it a day, insisting he intends to play through to the end of the 2023 season. 

"I'm not going to retire," he said. "Not until after next year when my contract is done. They didn't understand what I said. No way am I going to quit."

Cabrera in April became only the seventh player in the history of the major leagues with at least 500 home runs and 3,000 hits, and will be owed $32million in 2023, the final fully guaranteed year of his contract.

"Next year is going to go way better," he added. "Next year I'm going to be right there."

Chris Sale starred on his return following a nine-month layoff for the Boston Red Sox, fanning five across five scoreless innings in their 3-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday.

Seven-time All-Star Sale had not played since last season after sustaining a stress fracture in his right rib cage in February.

Sale appeared physically stronger on his return, having also had Tommy John surgery in August last year, and displayed that on the mound, allowing only three hits while walking one with five strikeouts.

The lanky left-hander tossed down 78 pitches across the five innings, averaging 95.1 mph, maxing out at 96.9 mph.

"I'm not broken anymore," Sale said after the game. "It’s different this year. It’s definitely different this year. That’s all I’ve really got to say."

Sale's return could not inspire the Red Sox to victory, slumping to their 10th defeat from their past 15, fluffing a 2-0 lead with a sixth-inning defensive mishap and an ensuing base-running blunder.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said: "He threw the ball well and finished well. Did an outstanding job toward the end, had good velocity and command of the pitches were OK. Delivery was under control, and he gave us five innings, so that's a good start."

Orioles maintain remarkable win streak

The Baltimore Orioles extended their win streak to nine games with a come-from-behind 4-2 triumph over the Chicago Cubs.

Trailing 2-1 in the fourth inning, Ramos Urias hit a two-run home run to put the O's ahead, with Jorge Mateo's solo blast in the seventh inning adding an insurance run.

Baltimore's run is their first single-season win streak of nine or more games since winning 13 in a row in 1999 and lifts them to a 44-44 record in the competitive American League East.

Miggy steals his way home

Veteran designated hitter Miguel Cabrera managed a rare stolen base as he scored in the Detroit Tigers won 7-5 over the Kansas City Royals to end their four-game losing run.

The 39-year-old's game included a game-tying sacrifice fly, a go-ahead ground ball and the stolen base to get home at the top of the seventh inning to put the Tigers up 5-3.

Cabrera took off for third base from second when Jose Cuas unleashed a wild pitch, but Royals catcher MJ Melendez's throw sailed wide too, allowing the veteran to keep going all the way for home. It marked Cabrera's first stolen base since 2020.

New York Mets star pitcher Max Scherzer appeared back to his best in Monday's 4-1 win against the reigning champion Atlanta Braves in his second game back from injury.

Scherzer, who struck out 11 batters against the Cincinnati Reds last week in his return from six weeks on the sidelines, was a match-winner against the Braves, striking out nine while only allowing three hits and no walks in seven innings.

The Mets jumped out to a lead in the third inning through Pete Alonso's RBI double, before Alonso came around to score and make it 2-0 off Luis Guillorme's ground-out.

Those would be the only two runs from the first six innings, with Atlanta's one and only run coming from a solo homer in the seventh inning from Austin Riley as Scherzer approached 90 pitches, ultimately finishing his day with 93.

Guillorme drove home his second run in more emphatic fashion in the eighth inning, with his solo home run giving the Mets a 3-1 buffer, before Alonso collected an RBI ground-out in the last frame to seal the win.

Alonso's two RBIs give him a league-leading 72 for the season – six more than any other player – with Colorado Rockies first-baseman C.J. Cron and Cleveland Guardians third-baseman Jose Ramirez tied for second on 66.

With the win, the Mets move to 54-33 for the season, giving them the second-best record in the National League, three games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Mikolas deals on the mound for Cardinals

The St Louis Cardinals came from some early adversity to comfortably defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-1 at home, with Miles Mikolas pitching a strong seven innings.

Mikolas' day started in bumpy fashion, giving up a first-inning home run to Rhys Hoskins, but the Phillies would score no more runs the rest of the way as Mikolas found his footing. He finished with seven-and-a-third innings pitched, giving up six hits and no walks while striking out five.

With the bat, Edmundo Sosa, Andrew Knizner and Corey Dickerson drove in a run each with three consecutive hits in the fifth inning, before Dickerson launched a two-run homer in the seventh and Lars Nootbaar completed the rout with a solo shot in the eighth.

Bobby Witt Jr makes history for Royals

Highly touted rookie Bobby Witt Jr had a spectacular day for the Kansas City Royals as they took both games of their double-header against the Detroit Tigers.

Witt went two-for-four at the plate in the Royals' 3-1 win in the first game, before going four-for-five with a double and a home run in his side's 7-3 victory later in the day.

He became the first player in MLB history to ever have at least six hits, three RBIs and three stolen bases in a double-header sweep.

The Boston Red Sox moved to third place in the American League after they rallied to defeat the New York Yankees 11-6 on Sunday.

The Red Sox reeled off four runs in the seventh inning to split their four-game series at Fenway Park and claim first place in the AL's wildcard race.

Nick Pivetta was pulled early after the Yankees shot out to a 6-2 lead at the top of the third inning, before Christian Vazquez's solo home run off Jameson Taillon kept them in touching distance.

It was the first of nine consecutive runs for the Red Sox, only a day after they managed three runs in the 10th inning to set up the series split.

Giancarlo Stanton and Matt Carpenter homered for the Yankees early, but the pitchers who followed Pivetta gave up only three hits over the rest of the game.

Marlins win after nine scoreless innings 

An epic pitchers' duel between Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara and New York Mets former All-Star Taijuan Walker saw the two sides reach the end of regulation without a run scored, before the Marlins won 2-0 in extra innings.

The National League's Cy Young Award favourite Alcantara pitched seven scoreless innings, giving up six hits and no walks while striking out four. Walker was just as good, allowing three hits and one walk in his seven shut-out frames.

In the top of the 10th inning, the Marlins finally broke the deadlock through a fielding error by Mets catcher Tomas Nido, before Luke Williams collected the game's only RBI with a base hit to give his side some breathing room.

Grossman drops game and record for Tigers

The Chicago White Sox took advantage of a costly error from Robbie Grossman in the eighth inning to defeat the Detroit Tigers 4-2 at home.

With the scores tied at 2-2 in the eighth, with two outs, Grossman dropped a routine pop-up in left-field, keeping the inning alive and allowing the White Sox to capitalise with two runs after RBI base hits from A.J. Pollock and Eloy Jimenez.

It was Grossman's first error in 440 games – dating back to June 13, 2018 – setting a new major league record for games between errors by a position player. He was a perfect 821-for-821 in fielding opportunities over that period.

The sputtering Arizona Diamondbacks are in need of a spark and hope a former Cy Young Award winner can ignite it.

Hoping to shake off a horrendous start to the season, Dallas Keuchel will make his Diamondbacks debut and try to help Arizona end a five-game losing streak in Sunday's series finale with the Detroit Tigers.

The 34-year-old left-hander signed a minor league contract with the Diamondbacks on June 6 following a desperate start to the season by the Chicago White Sox leading to his release.

The move to Arizona reunited him with pitching coach Brent Strom, who worked with Keuchel in 2015 when he won the AL Cy Young Award with the Houston Astros while going 20-8 with a 2.48 ERA.

The Diamondbacks are hopeful Keuchel can replicate the success he had with the Astros as opposed to the way he was knocked around with the White Sox over this season's first two months.

In eight starts for Chicago this season, Keuchel went 2-5 with a 7.88 ERA, permitting 49 hits and 20 walks in just 32 innings.

Among the 208 players with at least 30 innings pitched this season, Keuchel's 2.16 WHIP is the worst in the majors.

Prior to being called up by the Diamondbacks, he went 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA in two starts in the Arizona Complex League.

An explosive first inning and some big hitting from Yordan Alvarez lifted the Houston Astros to a 5-3 home win against the New York Mets on Wednesday.

It was a clash between two of the best teams in baseball, with the Mets entering the contest leading the National League at 45-25, and the Astros second in the American League at 42-25.

In a rough start for Mets pitcher Carlos Carrasco, the Astros started the game with a walk to Jose Altuve, followed by an RBI double to Michael Brantley, and then home runs to both Alex Bregman and Alvarez to lead 4-0 after the first four batters.

The Mets were able to pull one run back in the third, when Dominic Smith was brought home by a Brandon Nimmo sacrifice-fly, but Alvarez took that run straight back in the next inning when he crushed the longest hit of the game with a 412-foot homer to right-field.

Starling Marte's RBI double in the sixth inning cut the margin to 5-2, and Pete Alonso's sacrifice-fly brought home Marte for one more run, but that would be the last run of the game as both bullpens held out down the stretch.

Alonso's RBI was his league-leading 66th of the season – only Jose Ramirez (62 RBIs) and Paul Goldschmidt (58) have more than 52 this season as Alonso continues to put a gap on the field.

Astros starting pitcher Luis Garcia was credited with the win after giving up three runs in five innings, striking out five, and Ryan Pressly collected his 14th save of the season to close it out.

Wacha wins it for Boston

The Boston Red Sox rode a quality start from pitcher Michael Wacha to a 6-2 home win against the Detroit Tigers.

Wacha pitched six full innings as the Red Sox moved to an 8-2 record over the past 10 games, giving up two runs from hits and two walks, striking out seven in a terrific 98-pitch outing.

After giving up a two-run homer to Javier Baez in the first inning, the Boston pitching staff held the Tigers scoreless the rest of the way.

With the bat, exciting youngster Jarren Duran tied the game in the third inning with a two-run double, before Rob Refsnyder scored another two with his home run in the next at-bat.

Hays hits for the cycle

Baltimore Orioles centre-fielder Austin Hays hit for the cycle in his side's 7-0 home win against the Washington Nationals.

Batting lead-off, Hays opened the game with an infield single, and connected on a 405-foot home run in his next plate appearance in the third inning.

An inning later, he collected the toughest leg of the cycle when the right-hander sliced a drive into the right-field corner for a triple, and he completed the feat in his fourth at-bat with a two-run double to deep centre-field.

This all took place before the game was called off in the seventh inning due to persistent rain.