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.

It was a unique day at the ballpark as the Milwaukee Brewers treated their home fans to a 5-2 extra-innings win against the Chicago Cubs on Independence Day.

Pitchers dominated the early stages, with the only run in the first six innings coming from Cubs center-fielder Nelson Velasquez, who sent a ball 418 feet for the first home run of his career.

Cubs starter Justin Steele retired 20 batters before finally conceding his only run as Pedro Severino collected an RBI double in the seventh inning, tying things at 1-1.

Steele finished his day with nine strikeouts in six-and-two-thirds innings, with his one earned run coming from two hits and four walks. 

Milwaukee's Eric Lauer was just as impressive, pitching six full innings for one earned run from two hits and two walks, also striking out nine.

With scores tied in the top of the ninth inning, in his return from over a month on the sidelines due to injury, Seiya Suzuki sent a ball to deep center-field. It bounced awkwardly off the wall to evade the outfielders, allowing the Japanese rookie star to round the bases for an inside-the-park home run and give the Cubs a 2-1 lead.

But David Robertson could not complete the save for Chicago, giving up a single, a double, a hit-by-pitch and a walk to drive in the tying run, sending the game to extra innings.

The Cubs were unable to put a run on the board in the top of the 10th, setting up the Brewers for a walk-off win.

After Rowdy Tellez was intentionally walked, putting two men on base, Victor Caratini blasted a 411-foot, walk-off home run to finish the contest.

It was the first time in MLB history there had been a player hit his first career home run, another hit an inside-the-parker, and another hit a walk-off homer in the same game.

Alvarez delivers in the clutch

The breakout star of the Houston Astros, Yordan Alvarez, capped off a big comeback on Monday with a walk-off home run to defeat the Kansas City Royals 7-6 at home.

It was the Royals who started hot, jumping out to a 5-0 lead after M.J. Melendez's solo home run in the third inning, and that is when the Astros would begin their fightback.

The Astros pulled back three runs through RBIs to Kyle Tucker, Jose Altuve and Mauricio Dubon, and after Melendez's second home run of the game made it 6-3, Tucker drove in another two runs in the eighth inning.

Lourdes Gurriel tied things at 6-6 in the eighth frame, before with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Alvarez completed the comeback with a no-doubt, 444-foot solo home run to center-field.

Mateo takes one for the team in Orioles win

The Baltimore Orioles took a gutsy 7-6 home win against the Texas Rangers as shortstop Jorge Mateo wore a hit-by-pitch in the botttom of the 10th inning for an unconventional walk-off.

A pair of clutch hits in the ninth inning – first a solo home run from Texas' Marcus Semien to put his side up 6-5, and then an RBI double from Baltimore's Adley Rutchsman to tie it at 6-6 – forced extra innings in the back-and-forth contest.

The Rangers were unable to put on a run on the board in the 10th, allowing the Orioles to escape with the result after a bunt single, an intentional walk and finally Mateo's hit-by-pitch drove in the winning run.

The Seattle Mariners acquired veteran slugger Carlos Santana from the Kansas City Royals for a pair of pitchers on Monday, helping to fill the void at first base in the wake of Ty France's injury.

The 36-year-old Santana is in the midst of a third straight sub-par season, batting .216 with four home runs and 21 RBIs in 52 games, but has shown significant improvements at the plate in the past three weeks.

After slashing .157/.291./.244 with seven extra-base hits in his first 37 games, Santana has compiled a .367/.492./.592 slash line with two home runs, five doubles and 11 RBIs in 15 contests since June 7.

An All-Star in 2019 with the Cleveland franchise, Santana's 263 career home runs are the seventh-most by a first baseman since his 2010 rookie season.

Santana will take over at first for France, who suffered a Grade 2 flexor strain in his left forearm on Thursday and is sidelined indefinitely. 

France was enjoying a stellar season before his injury, batting .316 with 10 home runs while leading Seattle with 45 RBIs.

The Mariners, who own baseball's longest active playoff drought at 20 seasons, begin play on Monday in fourth place in the AL East, seven games out of the league's second wild card spot.

As part of the trade, Seattle sent right-hander Wyatt Mills and minor league righty William Fleming to Kansas City, with the Mariners also receiving cash considerations.

Santana, who was first traded to the Mariners in 2018 but returned for a second stint in Cleveland 10 days later, is in the final year of a two-year, $17.5million contract.

Catcher Salvador Perez will undergo surgery to repair a damaged ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb, the Kansas City Royals announced on Friday.

The procedure will sideline Perez for an extended period, although the Royals said in a statement that the seven-time All-Star is expected to return this season.

Perez, whose 48 home runs in 2021 tied Toronto's Vladimir Guerrero for the major league lead, initially injured his thumb while swinging in mid-May.

He returned on May 28 but aggravated the injury while catching in Kansas City's win over the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday. 

The 32-year-old leads the Royals with 11 homers this season while adding 34 RBIs in 57 games, although his .211 average and .254 on-base percentage are the lowest marks of his 11-year MLB career.

Perez earned his fourth career Silver Slugger Award in 2021 after tying a Royals season record for home runs and leading the majors with 121 RBIs. The veteran is also a five-time Gold Glove Award winner at catcher.

Perez's absence will allow the Royals to give an extended look to rookie MJ Melendez behind the plate.

The 23-year-old Melendez, who entered the season as MLB.com's number 51 overall prospect, led the minor leagues with 41 homers in 2021 while splitting the season between Double and Triple A.

Melendez has hit .234 with six homers and 17 RBIs in 45 games with Kansas City since being called up in early May. 

Shohei Ohtani struck two home runs and hit eight RBI's for the Angels in a stellar individual performance but his side suffered a 12-11 defeat to the Royals in extra innings.

The Angels rallied from deficits of 5-0, 6-1 and 10-7 to send the game to the 11th inning, with Ohtani's career-high of eight runs in a performance that also saw him set a single-game record for a Japanese-born player in the MLB.

A 423-foot homer in the sixth was followed by a game-tying, 438-foot homer in the ninth, with his record-setting RBI coming in the 11th with a sacrifice that pulled the score back to 12-11.

However, it wouldn't be enough after Whit Merrifield and Kyle Isbel drove in runs off Jose Quijada earlier in the final innings.

For Ohtani, it was a 10th multi-HR game in MLB and his fourth of the season, and earned him praise from his opponents after the game.

Royals catcher Salvador Perez said: "Ohtani is unbelievable. He’s the best there is right now. It’s impressive what he’s doing. Thank god I have the opportunity to watch him."

Other records came close to tumbling for Ohtani, who's eight RBIs were the most by an Angels player since Garret Anderson had a franchise-record 10 RBIs against the Yankees in August 2007.

He will be starting pitcher for the final game of the series against the Royals, with the Angels looking to avoid a whitewash after back-to-back defeats.

The Los Angeles Angels tied their longest single-season losing streak in franchise history, going down 1-0 at home to the Boston Red Sox on Monday.

Michael Wacha pitched for his first shutout in five years, extending the Angels' losing streak to 12 games, matching the run to end the 1988 season.

Wacha pitched the full nine innings for only the second time in his career, giving up only three hits and striking out six over 105 pitches.

In a thin silver lining to a rather sizeable cloud for the Angels, Mike Trout went one-of-two off Wacha to end a hitless streak of 26 at-bats, the longest in the 30-year-old's career.

The Red Sox confirmed a fifth consecutive victory, moving past .500 ball at 28-27, but they remain fourth in the American League East.

Escobar and Carrasco lead Mets to series-opening win

The New York Mets kicked off a three-game series with a victory over fellow National League contenders in the San Diego Padres, winning 11-5.

After splitting the four-game series in their high-profile National League matchup with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Mets scored a combined seven runs in the opening and closing innings to pick up the win on Monday.

Eduardo Escobar went four-of-five at the plate, including a home run and six RBIs, while Carlos Carrasco pitched seven innings, striking out 10 and giving up five hits over 105 pitches.

Mariners beat AL West leaders

In Monday's divisional ball, the Seattle Mariners defeated the AL West-leading Houston Astros in a heated contest.

Mariners manager Scott Servais was ejected after the benches cleared when Astros reliever Hector Neris zipped a pitch into the back of Ty France.

Rookie center-fielder Julio Rodriguez hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning, while Cal Raleigh added four RBIs in the win.

The New York Yankees came through in the ninth inning to win a hard-fought pitching duel 3-2 against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Yankees pitcher Jordan Montgomery was strong through five innings, conceding two runs from six hits and no walks, striking out five. For the Blue Jays, Ross Stripling gave up two runs from five hits and no walks in four innings.

It was a scoreless first three frames, before the Yankees finally found the breakthrough when Gleyber Torres stepped up to the plate with Josh Donaldson on first base and two outs, sending a blast over the right-field wall to make it 2-0.

The lead was short-lived, as George Springer led off the bottom of the fourth with a base hit, before coming home with Bo Bichette's double to left-field. Bichette was then brought home by Matt Chapman's two-out base hit, tying the game at 2-2.

It would be another four scoreless innings as both bullpens, particularly the Blue Jays', were lights out, not allowing the Yankees another baserunner until the ninth inning.

Giancarlo Stanton led off the last frame with a single to center-field, before he was withdrawn from the game, replaced by speedy pinch-runner Tim Locastro in a game-winning decision.

Locastro instantly stole second base, breaking up what would have been a double-play when the next batter up grounded out, and made his way into scoring position in the process. 

Aaron Hicks' strikeout brought Torres back to the plate with two outs, and he delivered once again, sending a base hit to right-field to bring Locastro to home plate for a 3-2 lead.

Yankees closer Chad Green closed the door in style, striking out two of the three batters he faced to collect the save.

Angels batters issued Cease and desist 

Chicago White Sox ace Dylan Cease pitched a gem in his side's 3-0 shutout win against the Los Angeles Angels.

Cease got through seven complete innings in 93 pitches, striking out 11 while conceding just one hit and no walks.

He did not have to wait long for run-support either, as the White Sox jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning after A.J. Pollock and Jake Burger drove in one each.

Pitchers put on a show in St Louis

Kansas City Royals starter Zach Greinke only allowed three hits, no walks and one run in his six innings, but was still credited with the loss as his side went down 1-0 against the St Louis Cardinals.

Steven Matz was even better for the Cardinals, pitching six scoreless frames, conceding four hits and no walks.

Paul Goldschmidt put the Cardinals ahead with a solo home run in the opening inning, for the first and last run of the night. 

Two home runs from New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge carried his side to a 6-4 road win against the Kansas City Royals on Sunday.

After the game started with an 11-pitch ground-out from Yankees lead-off hitter D.J. LeMahieu, Judge stepped up next and sent the second pitch he saw – a fastball down the middle from Daniel Lynch – 453 feet over the center-field wall for a 1-0 lead.

That lead held until the bottom of the third inning, when Royals lead-off hitter Michael Taylor smoked the first pitch he saw for a solo home run, igniting a three-run frame for the home side. Kansas City extended their lead to 4-1 after a throwing error from Yankees third baseman Josh Donaldson an inning later.

New York grabbed two runs back in the fifth after Isiah Kiner-Falefa brought Miguel Andujar home with an RBI double, before scoring himself from a LeMahieu single to cut the margin back to 4-3.

Two walks and a hit-by-pitch gave the Yankees life in the seventh inning, loading the bases with no outs to allow Judge to drive in a run by grounding out to the pitcher, before Donaldson drove in one more to grab a 5-4 lead.

With two outs in the top of the ninth inning, clinging to a one-run buffer, Judge let New Yorkers breathe easy as he sent a towering shot over the opposite-field wall for his second homer of the game, sealing the win.

Judge – who will be a free agent at the end of this season after failing to come to terms on a long-term extension with the Yankees – finished with three RBIs, going two-for-five from the plate, and now sits one home run off the major league leader, teammate Anthony Rizzo (nine).

Julio Rodriguez announces his arrival

Seattle Mariners rookie sensation Julio Rodriguez hit his first career home run in a 7-3 away win against the Miami Marlins.

Rodriguez was listed as a top-five prospect in all of baseball before being promoted to the majors at the start of this season, and while he has two more stolen bases than anyone else in the league (nine), he has had some early struggles with the bat.

His big moment came in the sixth inning as he stepped up to the plate with two runners on base and two outs, driving a ball 450 feet over the center-field wall to turn a 2-0 lead into a 5-0 lead. It came after the Marlins opted to intentionally walk the batter before Rodriguez, daring him to make them pay.

The Mariners pitchers finished the job thanks to another strong start from Logan Gilbert, who after conceding just one earned run in five-and-two-thirds is now second in the majors for ERA at 0.68 – giving up two runs through five starts and 28 innings.

Mets give Max some runs

The New York Mets gave ace pitcher Max Scherzer some handy run-support to take a 10-6 win against the Philadelphia Phillies in the Sunday night primetime fixture.

New York's 15 hits set a new season-high for the club, and 10 runs also equalled the Mets' most, as Dominic Smith starred with four hits from four plate appearances.

Smith drove in three runs, as did teammate Starling Marte, giving Scherzer a buffer when he left the game after six complete innings, allowing four runs from five hits and a walk while striking out nine.

Gerrit Cole was once again in impressive form for the New York Yankees, as they beat the Kansas City Royals 3-0 on Saturday.

The 2021 Cy Young runner-up claimed his second win in as many starts this season, giving up five hits and two walks while striking out six in 91 pitches over a dominant six innings.

Cole's performance on the mound was particularly important, given his team did not hit any home runs this time around.

The Yankees (29) only trail the Toronto Blue Jays (30) for home runs this season, and the top of the order in DJ LeMahieu, Josh Donaldson and Anthony Rizzo claimed one hit out of a combined 11 at-bats.

Aroldis Chapman worked a hitless ninth for his fifth save of the season, moving the Yankees to 15-6 and the top of the American League East.

Undermanned Giants still make light work of Washington

The San Francisco Giants are keeping pace with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West despite a number of Covid-19 enforced absences, claiming a 9-3 win over the Washington Nationals.

Not scoring a home run before this series against the Nats, Jason Vosler went deep for the second consecutive day – hitting the famous Bay at Oracle Park - while Darin Ruf had three hits from five at-bats.

The hitting performance came at an ideal time, with Giants starter Logan Webb giving up a career-high 11 hits and striking out three in 95 pitches over six innings.

Orioles break losing streak in extra innings

The Baltimore Orioles claimed a shock win in extra innings, defeating the Boston Red Sox 2-1 at home to end a five-game losing streak.

Jorge Mateo scored the winning run for the Orioles, after a Robinson Chirinos bunt with runners on first and second forced an error from Red Sox pitcher Hirokazu Sawamura, launching the ball past third baseman Rafael Devers.

Orioles reliever Jorge Lopez came up big, pitching two hitless innings before retiring Alex Verdugo in the extra inning with two outs and runners on first and third.

Max Fried starred with eight strikeouts across seven innings as the Atlanta Braves won 3-1 over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday.

Braves left-hander Fried went perfect across the first five innings, before allowing two hits, while Freddie Freeman was quelled against his former side.

The Dodgers' only run of the game, scored by Chris Taylor, came in the eighth inning once Fried had been relieved, with Kenley Jansen closing it out in the ninth.

Travis d'Arnaud hit a solo home run at the top of the second inning, before Orlando Arcia's RBI double in the fourth and Austin Riley's single on a line drive for Ozzie Albies to score in the fifth.

Franco's maiden 2022 blast... at last

Wander Franco blasted his first home run of 2022 in a three-hit game as the Tampa Bay Rays won 6-5 over the Chicago Cubs.

Franco had missed Monday's game to rest his right quad but returned in style with a two-run homer on a 2-0 pitch in the third inning.

The young Rays star has now had seven multi-hit performances across 11 games this Major League season. Franco is a joint leader in the majors for hits, with 19.

"He's unique, special, talented, and we're seeing it in every part of his game," Rays manager Kevin Cash said.

Vintage Scherzer and Perez

Reliever Clarke Schmidt stepped up for the New York Yankees after Gerrit Cole's early struggles by tossing down six strikeouts in their 4-2 win over the Detroit Tigers. Cole had walked four batters, included with base loaded.

Max Scherzer was at his vintage best with 10 strikeouts in the New York Mets' 3-1 win over the San Francisco Giants, which backed up their earlier 5-4 victory on a double-header.

Salvador Perez put aside blurry vision to slug two home runs as the Kansas City Royals won 4-3 over the Minnesota Twins.

Juan Soto made history with his 100th career home run in the Washington Nationals' 16-4 loss to world champions, the Atlanta Braves, on Tuesday.

Soto, 23, became the youngest player in franchise history to reach 100 career home runs with a moon shot at the top of the sixth inning.

The homer, which travelled 451 feet according to Statcast to right-center field, was the fourth longest of his career.

"It just comes to me. I never tried to hit a homer, or anything like that," Soto told reporters. "I’m one of the guys who just tries to hit singles every day. So for me to become consistent hitting homers, it’s just impressive and it tells how good I’ve been working on my body and everything."

Soto is the seventh active player to blast 100 homers at age 23 or younger, having first homered as a 19-year-old in 2018.

The Braves ultimately got the win after 10 runs in three innings to open up a 10-1 lead after four innings, but Soto finished with two hits, one run, one walk and one RBI.

Ozzie Albies, who finished with three hits, two runs and three RBIs, blasted his first homer of the 2022 season in the fourth inning.

With his one hit and two walks in the Cleveland Guardians' 10-7 away win against the Kansas City Royals, rookie Steven Kwan broke a record that dates back to the early days of baseball.

He became the first player since at least 1901 to reach base 15 times in his first four career games, after also setting the record for most times on-base in his first three games with 12.

While personal accomplishments are always nice, Kwan's record-breaking moment came at the biggest stage in the game as his side led 6-5 in the top of the eighth inning, with two outs and the bases loaded.

Up stepped Kwan with a chance to ice the game, and he did so, sending his hit deep into the right corner of the outfield for a bases-clearing triple to put his side up 9-5 with only six more outs needed to end the game.

It was a less impressive outing for Royals AL Rookie of the Year favorite Bobby Witt Jr, who went hitless in his four at-bats, but scored a run when he walked in the ninth inning and was brought around by an Andrew Benintendi consolation home run.

By the end of Monday's game, Kwan is yet to swing and miss at a pitch in his Major League career, after not striking out at all in Spring Training.

Mets meltdown

It was a classic New York Mets meltdown in their 5-4 loss against the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Mets played a near-flawless first seven frames, leading 4-0 going into the eighth inning after Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, Mark Canha and Eduardo Escobar batted in runs.

But everything fell apart in the eighth inning as the Phillies collected five hits – including a home run from J.T. Realmuto – to score five runs in the inning and set the table for Brad Hand to close the show with a save.

Yankees get shutout 

In a highly-anticipated matchup between World Series contenders and divisional foes, the Toronto Blue Jays shutout the New York Yankees 3-0 to win the opening game of their four-game series.

Blue Jays starting pitcher Alek Manoah was at the top of his game, pitching six innings and giving up just one hit and four walks to go with seven strikeouts.

All three runs were batted in by leadoff hitter George Springer, who hit a two-run home run in the third inning and a RBI double in the seventh.

Giancarlo Stanton continued his remarkable home-run hitting form against the Boston Red Sox as the New York Yankees won 4-2 on Saturday.

Yankees slugger Stanton homered for the sixth consecutive game against the Red Sox, hitting the go-ahead two-run homer to left center field in the sixth inning.

Boston had gone ahead in the second inning from Alex Verdugo's two-run homer, before Anthony Rizzo equalled the feat in the fourth inning to level the game up.

The victory means the Yankees have begun the new season with a 2-0 start, ahead of the third and final game of their series against the Red Sox on Sunday.

"I can’t say it’s the rivalry or anything," Stanton said about his record against the Red Sox. "I’m doing my homework and getting the ball over the plate."

Dodgers offense shut down

The Los Angeles Dodgers struggled on offense as they slumped to a 3-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies, who were sparked by an eighth-inning Connor Joe homer.

Rockies closer Daniel Bard shut down the Dodgers in the ninth inning to round out the win, striking out Justin Turner, Edwin Rios and Cody Bellinger.

Austin Barnes had two hits and an RBI for the Dodgers, while Mookie Betts had an eighth-inning RBI single to tie the game up, before Joe's go-ahead blast.

Alonso hits career-first grand slam

Pete Alonso clubbed a fifth-inning grand slam to lead the New York Mets past the Washington Nationals 5-0. That marked 27-year-old's first career grand slam and comes after Alonso had been left with a bloodied lip after being struck by a Mason Thompson fastball earlier in the series.

The benches cleared in the Chicago Cubs' 9-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers after tempers flared between the division rivals when right-hander Keegan Thompson hit Andrew McCutchen in the hip with a fastball.

Dylan Cease stepped in for the Chicago White Sox with eight strikeouts across five innings in their 5-2 win over the Detroit Tigers. Cease remarkably boasts a 9-0 record against the Tigers in 10 starts.

Saturday's results

Tampa Bay Rays 5-3 Baltimore Orioles
Chicago White Sox 5-2 Detroit Tigers
Seattle Mariners 4-3 Minnesota Twins
St Louis Cardinals 6-2 Pittsburgh Pirates
Chicago Cubs 9-0 Milwaukee Brewers
Toronto Blue Jays 4-3 Texas Rangers
Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 Oakland Athletics
Miami Marlins 2-1 San Francisco Giants
New York Yankees 4-2 Boston Red Sox
Kansas City Royals 1-0 Cleveland Guardians
New York Mets 5-0 Washington Nationals
Atlanta Braves 2-1 Cincinnati Reds
Colorado Rockies 3-2 Los Angeles Dodgers
San Diego Padres 5-2 Arizona Diamondbacks
Los Angeles Angels 2-0 Houston Astros

Astros at Angels

The Los Angeles Angels take on the Houston Astros in the final game of their thrilling four-game series, with Shohei Ohtani potentially back on the mound after being rested for the past two games.

St Louis Cardinals ace pitcher Adam Wainwright was nearly flawless as he led his side to a 9-0 Opening Day shutout of the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates.

Wainwright pitched six scoreless innings, giving up five hits and no walks before being relieved to begin the seventh inning, finishing with 81 pitches.

It was far from a stressful game for the home side, scoring in the first inning through a Tyler O'Neill RBI single, before O'Neill smashed a three-run bomb over the wall an inning later to lead 4-0 through two frames.

The middle innings moved quickly as neither team was able to string baserunners together, but the Cardinals gave the home fans some more to cheer for in the eighth inning with home runs to Tommy Edman and Nolan Arenado.

J.T. Brubaker took the loss for the Pirates, finishing with four hits, three walks and four earned runs in three innings of work.

Super Suzuki wins debut

The Chicago Cubs' high-profile international signing, Seiya Suzuki, collected a hit and two walks from four at-bats in a 5-4 home win against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Kyle Hendricks pitched well for the home side, conceding one earned run to go with seven strikeouts before being withdrawn in the sixth inning.

The big moment for Suzuki came as he led-off the fifth inning, sending a base hit to shallow left field for his first career knock after signing a five-year, $85million deal out of the Japanese league this off-season.

The Bobby Witt Jr era begins in Kansas City

While Suzuki is favourite to take home the NL MVP, the Kansas City Royals' Bobby Witt Jr is the favourite in the AL, and delivered on debut in his side's 3-1 home win against the Cleveland Guardians.

After three outs from his first three at-bats, Witt delivered when it mattered, finding the gap with a RBI double in the eighth inning to give his side a 2-1 lead, and then came around and scored himself to finish it off.

Ohtani makes history in Angels loss    

It was not a great Opening Day for the Los Angeles Angels, but reigning AL MVP Shohei Ohtani made history once again.

In the Angels' 3-1 loss to the Houston Astros, Ohtani became the first player to start on the pitchers' mound and lead-off the batting, throwing and facing Los Angeles' first pitch of the season.

He finished with nine strikeouts and one earned run before being withdrawn in the fifth inning after 80 pitches, while going zero-for-four from his plate appearances.

Thursday's results

Atlanta Braves 3-6 Cincinnati Reds

St Louis Cardinals 9-0 Pittsburgh Pirates

Kansas City Royals 3-1 Cleveland Guardians

Chicago Cubs 5-4 Milwaukee Brewers

New York Mets 5-1 Washington Nationals

Arizona Diamondbacks 4-2 San Diego Padres

Los Angeles Angels 1-3 Houston Astros

Red Sox at Yankees

The two historic rivals will kick off their seasons at Yankee Stadium on Friday in the first scheduled game of the day.