Shohei Ohtani’s solo shot keyed a three-run rally in the ninth inning, Trey Cabbage scored the walk-off run on a throwing error in the 10th and the Los Angeles Angels edged the Houston Astros 13-12 in a wild game Saturday.

Ohtani led off the home half of the ninth with his MLB-leading 33rd home run of the season, taking Houston closer Ryan Pressly deep. Taylor Ward scored on a passed ball later in the inning, and Hunter Renfroe’s RBI single tied the game.

After Ohtani was intentionally walked in the 10th, Astros rookie shortstop Grae Kessinger threw wide of first base while attempting to turn an inning-ending double play, allowing Cabbage to cross home plate and trigger a massive celebration.

The Angels, who had won just once in their previous 11 games, overcame deficits of six runs in the seventh inning and three runs in the ninth.

Both teams’ starters – Reid Detmers for the Angels and Framber Valdez of the Astros – pitched at least six innings, with 18 of the game’s 25 total runs coming in the seventh inning or later.  

Brewers blank Reds again, take NL Central lead

Freddie Peralta and three relievers combined to allow just one hit and the Milwaukee Brewers shut out the Cincinnati Reds for the third consecutive game, giving them sole possession of first place in the National League Central.

Christian Yelich homered on the first pitch of the game, and William Contreras and Owen Miller added solo shots later to secure the 3-0 win Saturday.

Peralta (6-7) got his first win since May 21 by throwing six strong innings, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out six.

Elvis Peguero and Joel Payamps pitched an inning each, and Devin Williams shut the door with his 22nd save of the season.

Milwaukee earned 1-0 victories over Cincinnati on July 9 – the last game before the All-Star break – and in the teams’ first game back on Friday. The Reds managed a total of just seven hits over those three games.

Orioles rally from 4 down, win 7th straight game

Gunnar Henderson hit a game-tying solo shot in the seventh inning, helping the Baltimore Orioles complete a four-run comeback and win collect their seventh straight win by beating the Miami Marlins 6-5.

The winning streak ties the Orioles’ season high and is the longest active run in the majors.

Baltimore (56-35) fell behind 4-0 in the second inning but entered the seventh trailing 5-4. Henderson led off the frame and hit a first pitch home run to tie the game, and Anthony Santander plated the go-ahead run with a one-out single.

Miami squandered a 4-for-5 night from Luis Arraez, who raised his batting average to .386 this season.  

The Los Angeles Angels have a clearer idea of how long they can expect to be without Mike Trout.

An early August return would be the best case scenario.

Trout is expected to miss four-to-eight weeks after undergoing surgery to remove a fractured hamate bone on Wednesday.

"I just talked to Mike; he just got out of surgery. He feels great," Angels manager Phil Nevin said. "The surgery went well. We spoke to the doctor a minute ago, but it sounds like everything went great."

The three-time AL Most Valuable Player suffered the injury on a swing while fouling off a pitch in a game against the San Diego Padres on Monday and the team put him on the 10-injured list the next day.

There was no immediate word on how long he would be sidelined, only he was already scratched from next Tuesday's Major League All-Star Game at Seattle.

Trout, who had been selected as a starter in the All-Star Game for a 10th consecutive time, said Tuesday he wasn't sure if he would need surgery or not.

Nevin said Wednesday surgery was the only way for the injury to heal, and the Angels will get a better idea of when he'll return when the 31-year-old gets going with his rehabilitation.

“It just remains to be seen how Mike’s hand responds when he starts doing the treatments and his rehab," Nevin said. "I know he’s anxious to get going. He was happy he could get this done right away so he can get back to the team as quick as possible.”

In 81 games this season, Trout is batting .263 with 18 home runs and 44 RBIs.

A strained right calf limited him to just 36 games in 2021, while left ribcage inflammation forced the 11-time All-Star to miss a month last season.

The Angels (45-43) entered play Wednesday seven games behind the first-place Texas Rangers in the AL West and four games out of a wild-card spot.

Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani was forced from him start with a blister on his right middle finger in an 8-5 loss to the San Diego Padres on Tuesday.

After Ohtani allowed back-to-back home runs to Xander Bogaerts and Jake Cronenworth with no outs in the sixth inning, a trainer came out to check on the Japanese sensation. Ohtani then exited after allowing five runs and seven hits with four walks and five strikeouts.

The right-hander said he doesn’t plan to pitch in next week’s All-Star Game, but he could still play a significant role if he’s healthy enough to remain the starting designated hitter for the American League next Tuesday in Seattle.

Ohtani’s exit came a few hours after the Angels learned star centre fielder Mike Trout will be sidelined several weeks because of a broken left wrist.

Joe Musgrove earned the win with a season-best 11 strikeouts in seven innings to help San Diego take the first two games of the three-game series.

Cronenworth also had two doubles to become the first player with three extra-base hits in a game against Ohtani.

Cronenworth and Bogaerts each finished with three RBIs.

The Angels drew four walks in the ninth and scored four runs, but Josh Hader got the final two outs for his 19th save.

Guardians win in 10 to snap Braves’ nine-game winning streak

David Fry singled home Amed Rosario in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Cleveland Guardians a 6-5 victory over the MLB-best Atlanta Braves, who had their nine-game winning streak stopped.

The game-winner came after Cleveland centre fielder Myles Straw threw out Sam Hlliard at the plate in the top of the 10th to keep the game tied.

Ozzie Albies’ second home run of the game off Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase in the ninth forged a 5-5 tie.

Atlanta had won 17 of 18 of 24 of 27.

Phillies win 10th straight on road

Aaron Nola matched a career high with 12 strikeouts and the Philadelphia Phillies topped the AL-leading Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 for their 10th consecutive road win.

Nola outdueled friend and former teammate Zach Eflin by allowing one run and five hits over 7 1/3 innings to win his third straight decision.

Philadelphia’s 10-game road streak is its longest since the 1976 team won a franchise-best 13 in a row away from home.

The Rays tied a season high with their third consecutive loss.

Ten days after being named the American League's starting designated hitter for next week's All-Star Game, Los Angeles Angels sensation Shohei Ohtani was named to the AL's pitching staff.

Major League Baseball revealed all pitchers and reserves on Sunday for the July 11 game in Seattle, three days after starters were announced.

Ohtani was named an All-Star last week, however, as the league's top-vote getter.

This is the third year in a row Ohtani has been selected as a two-way starter for the All-Star Game.

He pitched and hit at the 2021 Midsummer Classic at Denver, though only hit at last year's game at Dodger Stadium.

The 28-year-old phenom from Japan entered play Sunday, ranking second in the AL in strikeouts (127) and eighth in ERA (3.02).

He also leads all of baseball in home runs (30), slugging percentage (.666) and OPS (1.057).

The Atlanta Braves lead MLB with eight players selected to the All-Star Game - the most by any team since the Texas Rangers in 2012 - after pitchers Spencer Strider and Bryce Elder, first baseman Matt Olson, second baseman Ozzie Albies and third baseman Austin Riley joined the club's previously named starters - outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr., shortstop Orlando Arcia and catcher Sean Murphy.

The Braves enter Sunday with the majors' best record at 55-27.

Shohei Ohtani once again displayed his two-way brilliance Tuesday, striking out 10 batters from the mound and hitting two home runs to lead the Los Angeles Angels to a 4-2 win over the Chicago White Sox.

Ohtani was 3 for 3 from the plate with a walk, and solo shots in the first and seventh innings raised his home run total to 28 on the season, extending his major-league lead.

Ohtani (7-3) allowed one run while pitching 6 1/3 innings, striking out 10 and collecting the win.

The superstar from Japan is just the sixth player in baseball history to hit two home runs while striking out 10 or more batters in a game.

Ohtani is now batting .304 on the season with a 1.009 OPS, and Tuesday’s performance lowered his ERA to 3.02 this year.

Eloy Jimenez was 3 for 4 for the White Sox and scored on an Andrew Vaughn single in the ninth to make things interesting, but Angels closer Carlos Estevez shut the door for his 20th save of the season.  

Mets beat Brewers ahead of owner Cohen’s presser

Brandon Nimmo hit two home runs, David Peterson tossed six shutout innings and the slumping New York Mets beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-2.

The victory came hours after Mets owner Steve Cohen announced on Twitter that he plans to hold a news conference Wednesday to address his team’s struggles.

After winning 101 games last year, New York is 36-43 this season and had lost 16 of their previous 21 games before Tuesday’s victory.

The Mets entered the season with an all-time record payroll of $355million.

Manager Buck Showalter hinted before the game that the Mets’ struggles have been tough for Cohen to tolerate.

“He’s frustrated - very competitive man, trust me, very competitive man,” Showalter said. “He likes to win.”

Kershaw, Martinez in spotlight as Dodgers blank Rockies

Clayton Kershaw gave up just one hit in six dominant innings, J.D. Martinez went deep twice to reach 300 home runs in his career and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies 5-0.

Kershaw held the Rockies hitless until a Brenton Doyle single with two outs in the sixth and needed just 79 pitches to collect his 10th win of the season.

Kershaw, whose only career no-hitter came against the Rockies in 2014, said after the game that he was battling fatigue but plans to make his next scheduled start.

Martinez hit a two-run shot in the third inning, then hit his milestone home run in the sixth – a solo shot off Brad Hand.

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.

As long as the Los Angeles Angels are in contention for a playoff spot, the team’s front office has no intention of trading two-way star Shohei Ohtani in the final year of his contract.

 Angels general manager Perry Minasian fielded questions Tuesday about whether the club would consider trading Ohtani this summer for a hefty return to avoid watching the 2021 American League MVP walk away in free agency in the offseason.

“I think anybody who has watched us play or looked where we’re at in the standings, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, we like him and we hope he’s here a long time,” Minasian said. “It’s pretty self-explanatory with where we’re at.”

The Angels opened play Tuesday with a 41-33 record and in second place in the AL West. The club is looking to end an eight-year playoff drought.

Ohtani is in his sixth season with the Angels and will make $30million this year, his last before having the chance to be a free agent.

While Ohtani could eventually sign a new contract to stay in Anaheim, his agent Naz Balelo indicated in February that Ohtani will not sign an extension during the season, allowing him to hear offers from other teams this winter.

If Ohtani chooses to sign with another team, the Angels would receive only compensatory draft picks in return for his departure.

Ohtani leads the major leagues with 24 home runs this season while batting .300 in 323 plate appearances.

On the mound, the Japan-born superstar has a 6-2 record with a 3.29 ERA and 105 strikeouts in 14 starts.

The Tampa Bay Rays re-discovered their free-scoring ways as Isaac Paredes managed a career-high five RBIs in a 14-5 victory over the slumping Chicago White Sox on Thursday.

The Sox fall to their eighth straight loss, even with Dylan Cease on the mound, pounded for seven runs from nine hits across four innings, with only three strikeouts.

Paredes started it off with a second-inning RBI single, grounded out to third to score Randy Arozarena in the fifth, before a three-run double in the sixth opened up an 11-2 lead.

Brandon Lowe maintained his excellent early season hitting with a 358-foot third inning homer along with a two-run single in the fifth. Lowe's solo shot took his season tally to seven homers.

Shane McClanahan (5-0) allowed two runs and struck out five across five innings, while Luke Raley went three-for-five with three RBIs including a ninth-inning homer, and moved from the outfield to the mound in the ninth.

The Rays, who started the season 13-0, had been beaten and shut out in consecutive games by the Houston Astros, 1-0 and 5-0 on Wednesday and Tuesday respectively.

Tampa Bay delivered 16 hits for the game and ended their scoreless run at 20 innings.

Ohtani's mixed game as Angels edge home

Shohei Ohtani responded after a shaky start on the mound to lead the Los Angeles Angels past the Oakland Athletics 8-7.

Ohtani (4-0) earned the win, although he gave up five runs in a rough fourth inning, with three-run blasts to Brent Rooker and a two-run homer to Shea Langeliers. He had thrown three perfect innings to that point and finished with eight strikeouts, allowing three hits across six innings.

The Japanese two-way star went three-for-five with the bat, including a triple, double and single, scoring two runs, with an eighth-inning shot caught by Esteury Ruiz on the warning track in center field.

Brandon Drury delivered a 409-foot three-run home run over left-center field in the first inning, with Ohtani scoring after his prior double.

Keller fans 10 as Pirates continue fine form

Mitch Keller matched his career-high 10 strikeouts as the Pittsburgh Pirates downed the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2.

Keller improved to 3-0, giving up two runs on five hits across six innings, as the Pirates continued their excellent run having won nine of their past 10, moving to an 18-8 record.

Pittsburgh rallied from an early 2-0 deficit, with three runs at the bottom of the first inning, before Connor Joe's two-run blast followed by Rodolfo Castro's 414-foot homer in the sixth.

Superstar duo Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout made their presence felt on Sunday as they hit back-to-back home runs in the Los Angeles Angels' 4-3 home win against the Kansas City Royals.

Despite coming into the contest with the second-worst record in the majors (4-16), the Royals struck first through an opening-inning home run from young outfielder M.J. Melendez.

The Angels tied things up before the end of the first inning after Trout's double put Taylor Ward on third base, setting up Ohtani for the sacrifice fly.

Neither team scored in the next four frames as Angels starter Reid Detmers and Royals pitcher Jordan Lyles kept things tight, but the runs started to flow again in the sixth.

Vinnie Pasquantino gave Kansas City a 2-1 lead with his solo home run, signalling the end of Detmers' day, before Lyles had a rotten finish to his six innings.

Lyles threw a total of nine pitches in the sixth. The very first was hit 376 feet to left-field by lead-off batter Ward, before Trout followed with a 389-foot blast to center field three pitches later. Ohtani made it three in a row five pitches after that, launching a curveball 415 feet to center for the biggest of the bunch.

Top Royals youngster Bobby Witt Jr tried to drag his side back into it with his own solo homer an inning later, but Carlos Estevez was able to secure his third save of the season to pull the Angels' record even at 11-11.

It was the fifth home run of the season for both Ohtani and Trout, leaving them tied for 17th on the major league leaderboard.

Gausman guts the Yankees

Toronto Blue Jays ace Kevin Gausman pitched his best start of the young season in a 5-1 road victory over the New York Yankees.

Gausman made it through seven complete innings in 103 pitches, allowing only three hits and no walks to go with 11 strikeouts. The Yankees' only run would come from a consolation solo shot from Anthony Rizzo in the ninth inning.

For the Blue Jays, 24-year-old franchise star Vladimir Guerrero Jr connected on his fifth home run of the season, opening the scoring with a two-run bomb in the sixth inning. His batting average of .341 is eighth-highest in the majors, and his 29 total hits is tied for the sixth-most.

Yoshida stars for the Red Sox

AL Rookie of the Year contender and top international signing from the offseason Masataka Yoshida was the star of the show in the Boston Red Sox's 12-5 come-from-behind victory against the Milwaukee Brewers.

After signing a five-year, $90million free agent deal to come over from Japan's Orix Buffaloes, the 29-year-old Yoshida had his first game-changing performance for his new team, becoming the first Red Sox player since David Ortiz in 2008 to hit two home runs in the same inning.

The left-fielder, who starred for Japan in March's World Baseball Classic, hit a solo home run early in the eighth inning to give the Red Sox a 5-4 lead, and eight batters later he stepped up again and hit a 407-foot grand slam to make it 12-4. Brewers third baseman Brian Anderson also hit two home runs of his own.

The Tampa Bay Rays tied the record for the most consecutive games with a home run to start a season as they went deep three times in Friday's 8-7 home win against the Chicago White Sox.

With the win, the Rays improved their MLB-leading record to 17-3, having hit at least one homer in each game to tie the 2019 Seattle Mariners for the record.

Home fans did not have to wait long for the action to heat up, as Josh Lowe connected on a two-run double in the first inning, before Harold Ramirez followed him with a two-run homer as the very next batter to take a 4-0 lead.

The White Sox came storming back with three runs in the second inning – from three RBI singles – and another three runs in the third, courtesy of two bases-loaded walks and a wild pitch.

An Eloy Jimenez solo home run put Chicago up 7-4 in the fourth inning, and while the Rays got one run back in the bottom of the fourth, they left their comeback until the very end.

Christian Bethancourt's lead-off home run in the bottom of the ninth cut the margin to 7-6, and after a Yandy Diaz single, Brandon Lowe stepped up and hit a walk-off home run.

It was the second blown save of the season for Reynaldo Lopez, failing to get a single out in the ninth, while Diaz, Lowe, Ramirez and Bethancourt all finished with two hits each for the Rays.

Smyly finishes six outs from perfection

Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Drew Smyly pitched seven perfect innings before allowing his first baserunner in a 13-0 domination of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Smyly dismissed the first 21 Dodgers batters in order, before his bid for a perfect game was broken up in the eighth inning when Smyly tried to field a ball dribbling down the third-base line, but his catcher Yan Gomes crashed into him in his own effort to field it.

He ended up striking out 10 in his seven-and-two-thirds innings, allowing one run and no walks, while Nico Hoerner starred at the plate with four RBIs to go with his four-for-five day. 

Patrick Wisdom was one of five Cubs with multiple hits, including his ninth home run of the season to draw level with New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso for the league's most.

Ohtani dominates the Royals

Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani put together his best pitching performance of the season as he struck out 11 batters in a 2-0 win over the visiting Kansas City Royals.

With three-time AL MVP Mike Trout not suiting up, the Angels knew they had to keep the Royals' scoring down, and the combination of Ohtani (seven innings, two hits, two walks), Carlos Estevez (one inning) and closer Jose Quijada (one inning) restricted Kansas City to three hits for the game.

The only runs of the contest were produced by veteran catcher Chad Wallach in his first game of the season, connecting on a two-run homer with his first at-bat of 2023.

The win pulls the Angels' record even at 10-10, while Ohtani lowered his ERA to 0.64 from his 28 innings, and the Royals fell to an equal MLB-worst 4-16.

Anthony Rizzo's hot start to the season continued on Thursday as he reached base safely five times in the New York Yankees' 9-3 home victory against the star-studded Los Angeles Angels.

Rizzo hit a single in the first inning, another single in the second inning, before drawing walks in both the fourth and seventh frames, and he capped off his great on-base percentage outing with an RBI single in the eighth.

The stat-boosting performance from the Yankees first-baseman improved his batting average to .344 from his 18 starts this season, while also boasting an on-base percentage of .449 and a slugging figure of .578.

Rizzo's sole RBI was the only RBI produced by the top four bats in the Yankees' line-up, with the bottom of their order picking up the slack.

Catcher Jose Trevino did the damage with a bases-clearing double in the first inning to open up a 5-0 lead, while Oswald Peraza and Isiah Kiner-Falefa also finished with two RBIs each.

It was a solid start on the mound for Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes, making it through six full innings in 94 pitches, allowing three runs from four hits and two walks, and striking out seven.

For the Angels, their superstar duo of Mike Trout (one-for-four) and Shohei Ohtani (zero-for-three with a walk) combined to go one-for-seven at the plate with a walk, but rookie catcher Logan O'Hoppe continued to show promise with a three-for-four day, driving in two runs.

The win improves the Yankees' record to 12-7 – the third-best record in the American League – while the Angels fell below .500 at 9-10.

Outman sends two balls out, man

Los Angeles Dodgers rookie outfielder James Outman had the first multi-home run game of his career in a 6-2 win away from home against the Chicago Cubs.

Outman, who was bumped up to the lead-off spot, connected on a 420-foot bomb in the third inning for his fourth homer of the season. He added number five in emphatic fashion, blasting a grand slam in the top of the ninth to turn a 2-2 tie into a 6-2 triumph.

The 25-year-old is slashing .290/.397/.645 as he looks to insert his name into NL Rookie of the Year conversations early.

Alonso hits MLB-leading ninth homer

New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso now sits alone atop the home run leaderboard after hitting his ninth in a 9-4 road win against the San Francisco Giants.

One of the best power-hitters in the sport, Alonso is coming off a 40-homer campaign, and he broke a three-way tie atop this season's standings in the fourth inning with a 366-foot, two-run shot to left-field.

Alonso went on to finish with four RBIs after a two-run single in the seventh frame, with 30-year-old Japanese rookie Kodai Senga collecting the win on the mound to improve his record to 3-0 from four starts.

Aaron Judge robbed Shohei Ohtani of a homer before delivering a blast of his own as the New York Yankees downed the Los Angeles Angels 3-2 on Wednesday.

Gleyber Torres hit a walk-off sacrifice fly in the 10th inning, after the Angels had squared the game up following Judge's first-inning two-run shot.

Judge was at the heart of everything early, robbing Ohtani of a first-inning homer with a leaping ricochet catch on the wall at center field after the ball hit the heel of his glove and bobbled into his throwing hand.

The reigning AL MVP then launched a two-run blast into the left-center bullpen at the bottom of the first to open up a 2-0 lead. It was Judge's sixth homer of the 2023 season.

Judge produced another moment of magic in the field in the eighth inning with a diving one-handed grab at right-center field to save a go-ahead run from Brandon Drury.

Ohtani had a frustrating game, going none-for-four and stranding three runners with inning-ending strikeouts in the fifth and seventh innings.

The Angels reeled in the Yankees' early lead with Taylor Ward's fifth-inning RBI, before Gio Urshela's two-out RBI single in the eighth.

In the 10th, Urshela lined out to right with Mike Trout stranded on third with two-out, before Torres' walk-off sac fly to center-right field with bases loaded, driving in Isiah Kiner-Falefa.

Soto shines as Braves' run ended

Juan Soto continued to emerge from his early-season slump with a 431-foot blast to right-center field in the San Diego Padres' 1-0 win over the Atlanta Braves.

The result snapped the Braves' eight-game winning streak, with the Padres improving to a 9-11 record with Fernando Tatis Jr set to return from a long-term suspension on Thursday. Joe Musgrove's return from injury is close too.

Soto, who was hitting .175 with three home runs from 19 games coming in, delivered the decisive blast the fourth inning while Nick Martinez threw six strikeouts across seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits.

More milestones for free-wheeling Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays' outstanding early season form continued with an 8-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds setting more records, having started the year with a 13-game winning streak.

The Rays blasted six first-inning runs with Yandy Diaz setting the tone with a lead-off homer, setting a modern era record for differential after 19 games (+83), having scored 133 runs and allowed 50, beating the previous mark held by the 1905 New York Giants (+79).

Tampa Bay also became the first team n the modern era to have four shutouts of eight-plus runs in their first 19 games of the season, as Drew Rasmussen had seven K's across five scoreless innings. It was the team's sixth shutout in 19 games.

Clayton Kershaw brought up his 200th career win with a shutout as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Mets 5-0 on Tuesday.

The Dodgers left-hander moved to 22nd on the all-time major league strikeout list with nine K's across seven scoreless innings, allowing only three hits and no walks.

Kershaw joined Don Sutton and Don Drysdale as the only pitchers with 200 wins in a Dodgers uniform, while he becomes one of four active players to reach the mark, alongside Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Zack Greinke.

J.D. Martinez blasted home runs in the first and third innings, before adding an eighth-inning RBI single to finish with four RBIs.

Freddie Freeman went one-for-four, with one run and one RBI from a sacrifice fly.

The win was the Dodgers' first shutout of the season, led by Kershaw who produced a vintage performance to bring up his milestone.

The three-time Cy Young ward winner's career record improved to 200-88 in 405 games.

Ohtani laser sets up Angels win over Yankees

Shohei Ohtani blasted a two-run laser beam homer in the first inning as the Los Angeles Angels downed the New York Yankees 5-2 on the 100th anniversary of Yankee Stadium.

Ohtani's early blast sparked the Angels' triumph in a star-studded encounter featuring three AL MVPs where Aaron Judge went none-for-three, struck out twice while he drove in one with a fourth-inning sacrifice fly.

Mike Trout went two-for-four scoring in the fourth inning from Anthony Rendon's single. Rendon also drove in Ohtani in the fifth with a sacrifice fly, opening up the decisive 5-2 lead.

Verdugo delivers bizarre walk-off hit

Alex Verdugo produced a bizarre walk-off hit as the Boston Red Sox edged the Minnesota Twins 5-4 in a dramatic 10th inning thriller.

Verdugo's fly ball to right field barely stayed fair, catching outfielder Max Kepler unaware as it bounced off the wall just short of Pesky's Pole and back into play. The umpires reviewed the drive for several minutes, deeming it fair to clinch the walk-off win.

Red Sox starter Chris Sale had 11 strikeouts across six innings, while Verdugo went three-for-five with one run and the decisive RBI for Reese McGuire to score after the Twins had gone 4-2 up at the top of the 10th.

Shohei Ohtani helped his Los Angeles Angels snap a three-game losing streak on Sunday, igniting a 5-4 road win against the Boston Red Sox.

Ohtani started on the mound at Fenway Park, giving up one run while striking out three batters across the opening two innings. 

He also collected a base hit in the first frame, and followed it with another single in the second, before rain arrived and forced a weather delay.

With his arm cooling down during the lengthy break, Ohtani was replaced by Tucker Davidson upon resumption, but the five runs the Angels put up in the first two innings proved to be enough.

The catalyst for their bright offensive start was Hunter Renfroe, connecting on a three-run homer with the game's fourth at-bat. Renfroe then added his fourth RBI of the contest an inning later with a ground-out.

Red Sox star Rafael Devers tried to ignite a late comeback in the bottom of the ninth, with his RBI single bridging the gap to 5-4 while runners remained on first and second base with one out, but Rob Refsnyder and Masataka Yoshida could not muster a hit from either of the final two at-bats.

After the win, Angels manager Phil Nevin said the team would discuss moving up Ohtani's next start due to his limited workload this time out.

Rangers pitch combined one-hitter 

There was an injury scare for Texas Rangers ace Jacob deGrom, but it could not sour their terrific 4-0 shutout of the Kansas City Royals.

DeGrom was withdrawn after four innings of work with what the team called a precaution due to wrist soreness, but he held the Royals hit-less during those four innings, and the bullpen only allowed one hit the rest of the way.

Dane Dunning came in and tossed four innings in relief, allowing one hit and one walk in a great showing, while the bulk of the offensive damage was done by a three-run homer from Josh Jung in the first inning.

It was Jung's third home run of the season, and team-mate Marcus Semien joined him with three for the campaign after a solo homer of his own.

Rays keep home run streak alive in loss

The Tampa Bay Rays suffered a disappointing 8-1 road defeat at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds, but not before keeping their historic home run streak alive.

The Rays were down 8-0 in the last inning when Josh Lowe hit a consolation home run, but with it, he marked the 17th consecutive game Tampa have hit a home run in to start the season.

Tampa Bay slipped to a still league-leading 14-3 record with the loss, but they are now just three games with a home run away from tying the 2019 Seattle Mariners for the longest streak to start a season in MLB history.

Mike Trout joined some elite company with his 300th career double but it was an unhappy return for the Los Angeles Angels who lost 9-7 to the Boston Red Sox on Saturday.

Trout, who went three-for-four, became just the fourth player in MLB history to reach 300 doubles, 300 homers and 200 stolen bases by his age-31 season, alongside  Willie Mays, Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez.

The Angels had skipped ahead to a 4-0 lead after Urshela's first-inning grand slam, with Trout having doubled to left to reach his milestone with a rocket off the Green Monster.

But Rafael Devers halved the deficit with his seventh blast of the season, a two-run shot, taking him up to the top of the majors' charts for home runs.

Yu Chang ended his none-for-29 drought with a go-ahead two-run homer in the fourth inning,

The Angels regained the lead in the sixth inning from Shohei Ohtani's RBI single. Ohtani also extended his on-base streak to 36 games, which is the best active streak in the majors.

But Chang delivered again with a two-run single in the eighth inning to finish with four RBIs. That came amid an eighth where Angels' Matt Thaiss was called twice for catcher interference, prolonging the inning.

Ryan Brasier got the win, with Kenley Jensen taking the final three outs for his fourth save.

Alonso blasts league-leading homer in Mets win

Pete Alonso crushed his league-leading seventh home run of the season as the New York Mets rallied past the Oakland Athletics 3-2.

Alonso's fourth-inning blast got the wheels in motion for the Mets, after the A's opened up a 2-0 lead at the bottom of the second inning.

The Mets rallied into the lead with two runs in the seventh inning, with Mark Canha's 414-foot homer followed by Brandon Nimmo's RBI double.

Alonso leads the majors for homers with seven alongside Red Sox's Rafael Devers, with Baltimore Orioles' Ryan Mountcastle and Los Angeles Dodgers' Max Muncy having six each.

Miggy records 16th career walk-off with single

Miguel Cabrera produced an 11th-inning walk-off single for the Detroit Tigers to edge the San Francisco Giants 7-6.

The Tigers had to rally from a five-run deficit, trailing 6-1 after J.D. Davis' two-run blast at the top of the third inning, pulling back two runs in the fifth, before Javier Baez's two-run double in the eighth followed by Spencer Torkelson's single.

Detroit's 39-year-old pinch-hitter, who recorded his 3,000th career hit last season, brought up his 16th career walk-off with his 3,095th career hit up the middle to score Torkelson.