Home runs from J.T. Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber backed six solid innings from Aaron Nola as the Philadelphia Phillies clinched their first National League East title since 2011 with Monday's 6-2 win over the Chicago Cubs.

The Phillies also received a run-scoring single from Nick Castellanos to enhance their chances of earning one of the NL's top two seeds and a first-round bye for the upcoming playoffs. Philadelphia (93-64) now trails the Los Angeles Dodgers by a half-game for the majors' best record with less than a week remaining in the regular season.

Nola (13-8) scattered seven hits and struck out seven while allowing just two runs. The steady veteran pitcher held the Cubs scoreless through the first six innings of play as the Phillies gradually built a 6-0 lead.

Realmuto opened the scoring with his 14th homer of the season, a two-run shot off Caleb Kilian in the second inning. Schwarber made it 3-0 an inning later with a lead-off homer that gave him 100 runs batted in for a second straight season.

The Phillies added another run off Kilian in the third when Trea Turner followed Schwarber's blast with a double and later scored on Castellanos' single.

Bryce Harper led off the bottom of the fifth with a double and eventually crossed the plate on an error by Chicago second baseman Nico Hoerner to increase the margin to 5-0. The Phillies scored again in the sixth when Brandon Marsh drew a walk, advanced to third on Johan Rojas' single and came home on a double-play grounder off the bat of Schwarber.

Nola was removed after surrendering back-to-back doubles by Isaac Paredes and Hoerner that got the Cubs on the board. Hoerner later scored on a groundout for the game's final run.

Kilian (0-1) allowed all six Philadelphia runs - five earned - and eight hits across 5 2/3 innings. 

Mariners put Astros' AL West title plans on hold

The Seattle Mariners got seven scoreless innings from Bryce Miller and two runs batted in from Julio Rodriguez to prevent the Houston Astros from clinching the American League West with Monday's 6-1 win.

Rodriguez went 3 for 5 to lead a 13-hit attack that closed Seattle within 1 1/2 games of the co-holders of the AL's final two wild-card spots, the Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers.

The Mariners still have a faint chance of winning the AL West, though Houston needs to win just one of this series' two remaining games to claim its fourth straight division title.

Miller (12-8) continued a strong finish to his season by yielding just two hits and a pair of walks. The right-hander is now 2-0 with a 0.72 ERA over his last four starts.

Hunter Brown (11-9) allowed just one run while striking out eight over six innings for Houston, but issued two walks in the third inning that led to Seattle taking a 1-0 lead on Cal Raleigh's single that plated Victor Robles.

The Mariners added on in the seventh after loading the bases on singles by Justin Turner and J.P. Crawford and a walk to Dylan Moore. Two batters later, Rodriguez singled to center to drive in Turner for a 2-0 advantage.

Seattle loaded the bases again in the eighth on three consecutive singles before Turner brought in Raleigh with a sacrifice fly. Jorge Polanco followed with a run-scoring double to stretch the margin to 4-0.

Jason Heyward finally got Houston on the board with a solo home run in the eighth, but the Mariners scored twice more in the ninth to put the game out of reach. 

Back-to-back doubles by Robles and Rodriguez increased the lead to 5-1 before Rodriguez scored on Randy Arozarena's double.

Giants drop Diamondbacks back in NL wild card standings

The San Francisco Giants hit three home runs, including an inside-the-park shot from Matt Chapman, to come through with a 6-3 win over Arizona that knocked the Diamondbacks out of a tie for the NL's second wild card.

Casey Schmitt and Michael Conforto also homered to help the Giants to a fourth straight win. Chapman finished 2 for 3 and drove in three runs, while San Francisco starter Hayden Birdsong (5-5) struck out six while holding the Diamondbacks to two runs in five innings.

Arizona fell a half-game behind the New York Mets in the standings and now holds a 1 1/2-game lead on the Atlanta Braves for the final NL wild card. The Braves and Mets begin a pivotal three-game series in Atlanta on Tuesday.

The Diamondbacks had an early 1-0 lead after consecutive doubles by Geraldo Perdomo and Joc Pederson in the first inning, but the Giants went ahead with three runs in the third off Eduardo Rodriguez.

After Heliot Ramos singled and scored on Jerar Encarnacion's double, Chapman drove a pitch off the center field wall and sprinted around the bases for the first inside-the-park homer by a Giants' player since Denard Span in 2017.

Christian Walker drove in Corbin Carroll with a double in the bottom of the third to pull Arizona within 3-2, but Schmitt's solo homer in the fourth restored the Giants' two-run advantage.

Conforto went deep an inning later to increase the lead to 5-2, then doubled in the seventh before crossing the plate on a Chapman triple.

Arizona got a run back in its half of the seventh when Jose Herrera doubled and scored on Perdomo's single. The Diamondbacks failed to score thereafter, though, with Ryan Walker throwing a perfect ninth for San Francisco to record his 10th save.

Rodriguez (3-4) struck out eight in 4 2/3 innings but was tagged for five runs on seven hits. 

Rafael Devers set a Red Sox record by homering in his sixth consecutive game, and Tanner Houck threw seven dominant innings as Boston cruised to a 5-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in Monday's opener of a three-game series between American League East rivals.

Devers cracked a two-run shot off Taj Bradley in the fourth inning to become the first player in franchise history to put together six straight games with at least one home run. The star third baseman had shared the record with six other players, including Hall of Famers Ted Williams and Jimmie Foxx. 

Houck (4-5) lowered his season ERA to 1.94 by limiting the Rays to two hits and a walk. The right-hander halted a personal three-start losing streak in which he received a combined three runs of support.

He got more help in this one as the Red Sox broke out for three runs in the fourth, which Jarren Duran opened with a triple in front of Wilyer Abreu's double that staked Boston to a 1-0 lead.

Two batters later, Devers launched an 0-1 pitch into the seats in left field for his historic homer.

Boston extended the margin on Ceddanne Rafaela's two-run homer in the fifth.

Bradley (1-2) fanned eight of the first nine Red Sox hitters and finished with 10 strikeouts in seven innings, but allowed all five runs to take the loss.

The Rays mustered just three hits for the game and were dealt a second straight loss following a four-game winning streak.

Mariners score four in ninth inning to end Yankees' streak

Ty France knocked in the go-ahead run with a single as the Seattle Mariners scored four times in the ninth inning to halt the New York Yankees' seven-game winning streak with a stunning 5-4 win.

Seattle's offence managed just three hits through eight innings before coming to life against New York closer Clay Holmes while down 4-1 in the ninth. 

Julio Rodriguez began the rally with a one-out single and Cal Raleigh drew a walk before Luke Raley reached on an infield hit, in which Yankees' second baseman Gleyber Torres threw wildly to first to allow Rodriguez to score on the error.

After Mitch Haniger followed with a single that plated Raleigh, Raley crossed the plate on Dominic Canzone's sacrifice fly to tie the game at 4-4. France then shot a single to right that brought home Haniger to put Seattle ahead.

Andres Munoz then struck out two in the bottom of the ninth to earn his ninth save as the Mariners took the opener of this four-game series.

Holmes' struggles ruined a terrific outing from New York starter Marcus Stroman, who yielded just one run on three hits while striking out six over 7 1/3 innings.

Alex Verdugo went 3 for 5 for the Yankees and had three RBIs, two of which came on a first-inning double that opened the scoring. New York had put two aboard on a hit batter and Aaron Judge's one-out double. 

Verdugo struck again in the fifth by following back-to-back singles from Juan Soto and Judge with a base hit of his own that increased the lead to 3-0. 

Stroman took a shutout into the eighth that was broken up by Canzone's solo homer with one out. The Yankees countered in their half of the inning, however, when Torres drew a walk and later scored on Jon Berti's single.

Seattle starter Logan Gilbert worked six innings and allowed three runs on eight hits.

Guardians down Mets in Lindor's return to Cleveland

Ben Lively allowed one run over 5 2/3 sharp innings as the Cleveland Guardians remained hot with a 3-1 win over the New York Mets in Francisco Lindor's return to Progressive Field.

Lindor was playing in Cleveland for the first time since the Guardians traded the four-time All-Star shortstop to New York in January 2021. Lindor spent his first six MLB seasons with the Guardians and was an integral part of four play-off teams during his tenure.

The former fan favourite went 0 for 4 in his return as the Mets got little going against Lively (3-2), who struck out seven and scattered six hits to help the AL Central leaders win for the seventh time in eight games. 

Lively got all the support he would need via David Fry's two-run single in the first inning off Tylor Megill. The hit brought in Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor, both of whom singled and advanced a base on a fielding error by New York left fielder Brandon Nimmo.

Tomas Nido brought the Mets within 2-1 with a solo homer off Lively in the third inning, though Cleveland restored its two-run advantage in the fourth when Fry drew a walk and later scored on Kyle Manzardo's double.

Lively and the Cleveland bullpen successfully protected the lead as four relievers combined for 3 1/3 scoreless innings. Emmanuel Clase retired the side in order in the ninth to register his 14th save, tied with St. Louis' Ryan Helsley for the major league lead.

Megill (0-2), activated from the injured list prior to the game, struck out seven over five innings while giving up three runs, two of which were earned. 

Pete Alonso had two of the Mets' six hits as New York lost for the eighth time in 11 games. 

The MLB announced more award winners on Monday, with budding Seattle Mariners superstar Julio Rodriguez named the American League Rookie of the year, while the National League version went to Atlanta Braves center-fielder Michael Harris II.

It is the third major honour bestowed upon the 21-year-old Rodriguez in his first year, as he was also named as the only rookie to make the All-Star game, and last week became one of the three AL outfielders to win a Silver Slugger.

Batting .284 with an OPS of .853, Rodriguez became the only first-year player to ever tally at least 25 home runs and at least 25 stolen bases.

He was one first-place vote away from taking the AL's best rookie unanimously, claiming 29 of the 30 first-place votes, with the other going to impressive Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman.

Cleveland Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan was a clear third, with the Kansas City Royals' Bobby Witt Jr and the Houston Astros' World Series MVP Jeremy Pena also collecting some third-place votes.

In the National League, Harris received 22 of the 30 first-place votes, and the other eight went to his Braves teammate, starting pitcher Spencer Strider.

Strider's 202 strikeouts was 11th-most in the majors, and his rate of 13.8 strikeouts per nine innings was the best figure among starting pitchers this season.

However, voters preferred what Harris could provide every day with the bat and glove, batting .297 with an identical OPS to Rodriguez at .853. He also hit 19 home runs with 20 stolen bases, and boasted a fielding percentage of .992, with two errors from 257 chances.

Exciting Seattle Mariners youngster Julio Rodriguez has been rewarded for his spectacular rookie season as one of the three American League (AL) outfielders named as Silver Sluggers on Thursday.

Rodriguez, 21, had arguably the best rookie season since Aaron Judge finished MVP runner-up with his debut campaign for the New York Yankees back in 2017.

In 132 games, Rodriguez led all rookies with 28 home runs, and became the third rookie to ever tally at least 25 homers and 25 stolen bases in their first year. He is the fourth rookie outfielder to ever win a Silver Slugger, joining fellow Mariner Ichiro Suzuki (2001), three-time MVP Mike Trout (2012) and Judge (2017).

Likely this season's AL MVP, New York's Judge joined Rodriguez in the outfield to collect his third Silver Slugger, with Trout filling the third outfield spot. 

Texas Rangers first-baseman Nathaniel Lowe, Houston Astros second-baseman Jose Altuve, Cleveland Guardians third-baseman Jose Ramirez and Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk complete the AL infield. Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez is in the designated hitter spot, and Atlanta Braves batting champion Luis Arraez was named as the utility.

The San Diego Padres landed three players in the NL team, with Juan Soto named in the outfield, while Josh Bell took the DH slot and Brandon Drury is the utility.

Los Angeles Dodgers teammates Trea Turner (shortstop) and Mookie Betts (OF) made the cut, as did St Louis Cardinals duo Paul Goldschmidt (first base) and Nolan Arenado (third base).

The Philadelphia Phillies had both J.T. Realmuto (catcher) and Kyle Schwarber (OF), and New York Mets second-baseman Jeff McNeil completed the line-up.

Exciting Seattle Mariners youngster Julio Rodriguez has been rewarded for his spectacular rookie season as one of the three American League outfielders named as Silver Sluggers on Thursday.

Rodriguez, 21, had arguably the best rookie season since Aaron Judge finished MVP runner-up with his debut campaign for the New York Yankees back in 2017.

In 132 games, Rodriguez led all rookies with 28 home runs, and became the third rookie to ever tally at least 25 homers and 25 stolen bases in their first year. He is the fourth rookie outfielder to ever win a Silver Slugger, joining fellow Mariner Ichiro Suzuki (2001), three-time MVP Mike Trout (2012) and Judge (2017).

Likely this season's AL MVP, New York's Judge joined Rodriguez in the outfield to collect his third Silver Slugger, with Trout filling the third outfield spot. 

Texas Rangers first-baseman Nathaniel Lowe, Houston Astros second-baseman Jose Altuve, Cleveland Guardians third-baseman Jose Ramirez and Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk complete the AL infield. Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez is in the designated hitter spot, and Atlanta Braves batting champion Luis Arraez was named as the utility.

The San Diego Padres landed three players in the NL team, with Juan Soto named in the outfield, while Josh Bell took the DH slot and Brandon Drury is the utility.

Los Angeles Dodgers teammates Trea Turner (shortstop) and Mookie Betts (OF) made the cut, as did St Louis Cardinals duo Paul Goldschmidt (first base) and Nolan Arenado (third base).

The Philadelphia Phillies had both J.T. Realmuto (catcher) and Kyle Schwarber (OF), and New York Mets second-baseman Jeff McNeil completed the line-up.

The New York Yankees took advantage of an outrageous three-run error to defeat the Boston Red Sox 5-3 on the road on Wednesday.

With the game scoreless entering the fifth inning, a fielding error allowed Aaron Hicks to reach base safely for the Yankees, and after Aaron Judge got on base as the next batter with an infield single, the Red Sox committed a costly mistake.

Gleyber Torres hit a regulation single to right-field, and while Hicks came around to score, Red Sox catcher Connor Wong tried to pick Torres off at first base, but instead sent his wild throw wide and back into the outfield, allowing Torres and Judge to both round the bases and score.

Instead of a 1-0 game, it was a 3-0 score, with those two runs proving to be the difference.

Wong would do his best to make up for the error later in the fifth inning, driving in a run with his double, but the poor fielding continued throughout the night.

The Red Sox were gifted a run in the eighth inning to cut the margin to 4-2, before another error in the ninth inning handed the Yankees an insurance run, with Clay Holmes coming in to collect the save.

Torres finished three-for-five at the plate, and he was the only player to register more than one hit.

On the mound, Nestor Cortes was credited with his 10th win of the season as he went five innings, allowing one run from three hits and two walks with seven strikeouts.

Brayan Bello took the loss for the Red Sox, despite having no earned runs in his five innings, striking out six batters in five innings.

With the win, the Yankees are now six games clear of the Toronto Blue Jays in the race for the AL East, and six games behind the Houston Astros for the best record in the American League.

J-Rod makes more history in Mariners win

Seattle Mariners standout rookie Julio Rodriguez became the first player to ever reach 25 home runs and 25 stolen bases in their first season, nabbing his 25th base and 26th home run in his side's 6-1 win against the San Diego Padres.

The heavy Rookie of the Year favourite hit a home run as the very first Mariners batter of the game, and after being hit by a pitch in the fifth inning, he stole second base to accomplish the feat. Mike Trout in 2012 and Chris Young in 2007 both technically reached 25 and 25 as rookies, but it was their second season after both debuted at the tail end of the previous campaigns.

It was another tremendous start for the Mariners' big addition at the trade deadline, with Luis Castillo pitching six scoreless innings, striking out nine batters while only allowing five baserunners.

Guerrero, Harper bring up milestones

Both Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr and reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper of the Philadelphia Phillies brought up home run milestones on Wednesday.

Guerrero became the 10th-youngest player to reach 100 home runs after turning 23 in March. He reached triple figures in 486 games, which is 48 games more than it took his father, Vladimir Guerrero Sr, although Senior was two years older.

Meanwhile, Harper hit his 100th home run as a member of the Phillies after arriving in 2019, bringing his career total to 283.

The Phillies beat the Miami Marlins 6-1, and the Blue Jays beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-1.

Seattle Mariners fans love Julio Rodriguez – and the feeling clearly is mutual.  

One day after signing a unique and massive contract extension, Rodriguez spoke to the media on Saturday with several teammates and coaches seated in the back of the room.

Rodriguez’s contract is a $209.3 million, 12-year deal that starts next season, but it could be worth $469.6 million over 17 years if he wins two MVP awards.  

The contract includes seven seasons, a five-year player option, an eight-year club option with award escalators and the possibility the option could extend to 10 years.

"This is not about the contract and how long it is. I would love to be a Mariner for the rest of my career and playing for the Mariners fans," Rodriguez said. "I'd love to be here for the rest of my career, play with a lot of these guys here and be managed by Scott (Servais), have Ty (France) as my babysitter. I genuinely mean that. I love being here.

"It feels very cool to just drive around the city and see (number) 44 jerseys. It really touched my heart because as I said, I come from a place, Loma de Cabrera, 20,000 people, and there was more people in the stands yesterday than was in my hometown. So it feels pretty special to me.'' 

Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto explained how the complicated contract took shape. 

''We started with something that looked very basic, and came out with something that looked like hieroglyphics," he said. "But again, the uniqueness of trying to capture what Julio has a chance to achieve in his career, and to be fair with him about what that could look like in the end was a challenge.'' 

The contract also includes a full no-trade clause. Some of the escalators tied to the deal and MVP voting were suggestions from Rodriguez's side, and betting on his continued increase in production. 

''The very first conversation set the tone,'' Rodriguez's representative Ulises Cabrera said, describing the development of the deal. "If we are going to look at this in the typical lens, that is not going to work.

"So there's going to be points probably in this conversation that what I say won't make sense, and what you say won't make sense, either. But we're going to have to just be comfortable with that because, right now, we're kind of starting something that we don't have any blueprint to point to.'' 

The Seattle Mariners can breathe a sigh of relief as general manager Jerry Dipoto said X-rays taken on Julio Rodriguez’s right hand were negative after the All-Star rookie was hit by a pitch in a 5-4 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday. 

Dipoto told SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio on Sunday that the team would continue to assess Rodriguez’s hand, saying “Julio appears to be okay.” 

Rodriguez was hit on the back of the hand in top of the eighth inning as he struck out while swinging. He completed the inning in the field before being pinch-hit for in the ninth. 

The front-runner for AL Rookie of the Year honours, Rodriguez is batting .271 and lead the Mariners with 18 home runs and 57 RBIs in 96 games this season. 

He is a big reason why Seattle (55-47), in the midst of a 21-year playoff drought, entered Sunday’s MLB action in the second wild-card position in the AL. 

Julio Rodriguez left the Seattle Mariners' win over the Houston Astros in the ninth inning, prompting fears he may have suffered a broken hand.

All-Star Rodriguez is the AL Rookie of the Year favourite after an outstanding first year in the major leagues.

The 21-year-old outfielder has helped boost the Mariners into a wild card spot as they bid to end their 21-year playoff drought.

Seattle improved to 55-47 on Saturday with a 5-4 victory at the AL West-leading Astros, who had won the teams' previous five meetings.

But Rodriguez was out of the game by that point, with Abraham Toro – in as a pinch-hitter as his replacement – delivering the decisive two-run single.

Rodriguez had been hit on the back of the hand batting at the top of the eighth; he struck out and completed the inning in the field before being lifted.

"He did not feel comfortable with a bat in his hand," Mariners manager Scott Servais explained. "So, we'll pray that it is not broke."

This was the Mariners' ninth win this year after trailing in the ninth inning or later.

In the modern era, no MLB team have more such victories before August, with the Mariners' nine tied with the 1921 St. Louis Browns, the 1970 Kansas City Royals, the 1991 Chicago White Sox and the 2003 Cincinnati Reds.

Although Rodriguez's absence was a blow, it was perhaps no surprise Toro was the hero this time.

The former Astro has 52 RBIs as a Mariner, with 20 of those coming against the team he left partway through last season.

"He has been a thorn in our side since we traded him over there," said Astros manager Dusty Baker. "It was a big hit that he got tonight."