The San Francisco Giants needed seven runs in extras and some Jake McGee heroics to win 9-6 over the Milwaukee Brewers in MLB on Saturday.

Scores were locked at 2-2 after nine innings, before both sides managed three runs in the 10th.

The Giants got the edge at the top of the 11th, with LaMonte Wade Jr driving in Austin Slater with a right-field base hit before Brandon Belt hit his second home run of the game.

With Wade on first, Belt homered over right field to give the Giants an 8-5 lead, before Kris Bryant's big hit allowed Buster Posey to get home.

McGee, who was expected to rest for this game, came in to close out the win in the 11th, allowing only one run and getting one strikeout to seal it.

"They told me I'd be down today so I came in, got treatment, but didn't do my stretches," McGee said. "I didn't have my brace down there [in the bullpen] or even my cup. They had to run it out to me in extra innings."

 

Bellinger HR as Dodgers down Angels

Trailing 3-2 in the seventh inning, Cody Bellinger homered to turn the tide as the Los Angeles Dodgers won 5-3 over the Los Angeles Angels.

In the eighth inning, Chris Taylor hit a two-run double which proved enough for the world champions.

Alex Verdugo landed a sole home run and Jonathan Arauz hit a go-ahead single as the Boston Red Sox came from behind to win 2-1 over the Toronto Blue Jays.

The in-form New York Yankees claimed five consecutive victories with a 5-4 win over the Seattle Mariners. The Yankees improved to 61-49 with the win.

The Philadelphia Phillies have also hit form, securing their seventh straight win with a 5-3 triumph over the New York Mets. The streak is the Phillies' longest since 2012.

 

Rebuilding Cubs shut out

The rebuilding Chicago Cubs were humbled at Wrigley Field by cross-towners Chicago White Sox 4-0. The result leaves the Cubs in a slump with two wins from their past 10 games, including three straight defeats. The White Sox shut-out makes matters worse as the opposition pitchers notched 17 strikeouts.

 

Winker on song for hot Reds

Jesse Winker had a day out as the Cincinnati Reds stayed hot with an 11-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Winker's form has been crucial to the Reds' run and he displayed that against the Pirates, with two runs, three hits and six RBI.

 

Saturday's results 

New York Yankees 5-4 Seattle Mariners
Chicago White Sox 4-0 Chicago Cubs
Toronto Blue Jays 1-0 Boston Red Sox
Philadelphia Phillies 5-3 New York Mets
Oakland Athletic 12-3 Texas Rangers
Tampa Bay Rays 12-3 Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox 2-1 Toronto Blue Jays
San Francisco Giants 9-6 Milwaukee Brewers
Detroit Tigers 2-1 Cleveland Indians
Cincinnati Reds 11-3 Pittsburgh Pirates
Houston Astros 4-0 Minnesota Twins
St Louis Cardinals 5-2 Kansas City Royals
Washington Nationals 3-2 Atlanta Braves
Colorado Rockies 7-4 Miami Marlins
San Diego Padres 6-2 Arizona Diamondbacks
Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 Los Angeles Angels

 

Angels at Dodgers

Shohei Ohtani's Los Angeles Angels will head across town again to take on the world champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers, for the third and final time in their series.

The Philadelphia Phillies surged into first place with their sixth consecutive win, beating the New York Mets 4-2 on Friday.

Bryce Harper's two-run homer in the eighth inning provided what proved to be the winning margin as the Phillies took over sole possession of the top spot in the National League (NL) East for the first time since May 7.

That was also the last day the Mets spent outside first place, as they have seen a lead that once stood at five games evaporate in dropping four of their last five games.

Trade-deadline acquisition Kyle Gibson allowed one run in his six innings and added an RBI single for the Phillies, who also got a home run from Didi Gregorius as they handed Marcus Stroman the loss.

 

Brewers walk it off against Giants

Rowdy Tellez's 10th-inning single gave the Milwaukee Brewers a 2-1 win over the San Francisco Giants in a matchup ot the teams with the two best records in the National League. Milwauke's Avisail Garcia and San Francisco's Brandon Belt had traded solo homers for the only other runs of the game.

The Chicago White Sox did not get what they expected out of their lockdown bullpen but still managed to pull out an 8-6 win over the rival Cubs in 10 innings. Newly acquired reliever Craig Kimbrel allowed a three-run homer to Andrew Romine in the eighth to tie the game at 4-4, but the White Sox put four on the board in the top of the 10th on a homer from Brian Goodwin and RBI singles by Gavin Sheets and Tim Anderson.

Brett Gardner gave the New York Yankees a 3-2 walk-off win over the Seattle Mariners with an 11th-inning single in a game that saw the Yankees use nine pitchers, none working more than 1.2 innings.

 

Dodgers' extra-inning woes continue

The Los Angeles Dodgers lost 4-3 to the Los Angeles Angels in 10 innings, their 11th straight defeat in extra-inning games. That was not even the worst news of the day for the defending World Series champions, though, as Mookie Betts left the game after six innings with right hip discomfort.

Boston Red Sox starter Nathan Eovaldi cruised through four scoreless innings against the Toronto Blue Jays before everything came apart on him in the fifth. Toronto scored nine times in the frame, with seven of the runs charged to Eovaldi, as they rolled to a 12-4 victory at Rogers Centre.

 

Marte makes it count this time

Starling Marte's first home run after joining the Oakland Athletics was meaningless, a solo shot in an 8-1 loss earlier this week. His second made a bit more noise, a three-run bomb in the 11th inning to give the A's a 4-1 victory over the Texas Rangers.

 

Friday's results 

Tampa Bay Rays 10-6 Baltimore Orioles
Milwaukee Brewers 2-1 San Francisco Giants
Cincinnati Reds 10-0 Pittsburgh Pirates
Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 New York Mets
New York Yankees 3-2 Seattle Mariners
Toronto Blue Jays 12-4 Boston Red Sox
Colorado Rockies 14-2 Miami Marlins
Oakland Athletics 4-1 Texas Rangers
St Louis Cardinals 4-2 Kansas City Royals
Atlanta Braves 8-4 Washington Nationals
Cleveland Indians 6-1 Detroit Tigers
Chicago White Sox 8-6 Chicago Cubs
Arizona Diamondbacks 8-5 San Diego Padres
Minnesota Twins 5-4 Houston Astros
Los Angeles Angels 4-3 Los Angeles Dodgers

 

Red Sox at Blue Jays

The Boston Red Sox (64-47) have lost seven of their last eight games to fall out of first place, but they have a chance to recover with a doubleheader at the Toronto Blue Jays (58-49). 

The Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves picked up unlikely victories on Thursday night as the National League East race continued to tighten up.

Philadelphia scored four runs in the ninth inning to beat the Washington Nationals 7-6, while Atlanta struck for six in the eighth to roll past the St Louis Cardinals 8-4. Those results combined with the New York Mets' 4-2 loss to the Miami Marlins means the top three teams in the division are within 1.5 games of one another.

In Washington, a two-run double from J.T. Realmuto and a two-run single by Rhys Hoskins provided the winning margin for the Phillies as they won their fifth in a row to move within a half-game of the first-placed Mets.

At least the Nationals could take some satisfaction in the Phillies earning the win; that was not the case in St Louis.

The Cardinals led 4-2 with two outs in the eighth when Freddie Freeman singled and Austin Riley tied the game with his 23rd homer. 

After Dansby Swanson doubled, Adam Duvall got hit by a pitch and the next five Atlanta batters walked to force in four more runs before Freeman lined out to end the inning.

According to Stats Perform, the Cardinals' 26 bases-loaded walks this season are the most since the 1999 Seattle Mariners issued 28.

With the victory, Atlanta (55-54) moved over .500 for the first time this season after having been one game under the .500 mark 28 different times.

 

Giants stun Diamondbacks with rally

The San Francisco Giants, who own the best record in MLB, were on the verge of being shut out by the team with the worst record before pulling off yet another miraculous rally. Down 4-0 to the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Giants scored four times in the top of the ninth to tie the game before Kris Bryant's double in the 10th provided the winning margin in a 5-4 victory.

Though Anthony Rizzo failed to drive in a run for the first time in seven games as a New York Yankee, fellow newcomer Joey Gallo picked up the slack. The former Texas Ranger pounded out two doubles and his 26th home run of the season, driving in three runs as the Yankees beat the Seattle Mariners 5-3.

Joey Votto got back in his power-hitting groove with a three-run homer that followed blasts by team-mates Eugenio Suarez and Jonathan India as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-4.

 

Baez whiffs for Mets

The Javy Baez honeymoon did not last long in New York. The new Mets shortstop struck out in all five of his trips to the plate, leaving eight men on base in New York's loss to Miami.

 

Bichette's Blue Jays bomb

Bo Bichette joined Troy Tulowitzki (2016) and Tony Batista (1999) as the only Toronto shortstops to reach 20 home runs in a season with a two-run, fourth-inning shot in the Blue Jays' 3-0 win over the Cleveland Indians.

 

Thursday's results 

Cincinnati Reds 7-4 Pittsburgh Pirates
Philadelphia Phillies 7-6 Washington Nationals
New York Yankees 5-3 Seattle Mariners
Toronto Blue Jays 3-0 Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers 8-1 Boston Red Sox
Miami Marlins 4-2 New York Mets
Los Angeles Angels 5-0 Texas Rangers
Kansas City Royals 3-2 Chicago White Sox
Atlanta Braves 8-4 St Louis Cardinals
Colorado Rockies 6-5 Chicago Cubs
San Francisco Giants 5-4 Arizona Diamondbacks
Minnesota Twins 5-3 Houston Astros

 

Mets at Phillies

The NL East race is the closest of any division, and the top two teams will face off as Marcus Stroman and the New York Mets (56-52) visit Kyle Gibson and the Philadelphia Phillies (56-53).

Max Scherzer has started life with the Los Angeles Dodgers in style, tossing down 10 strikeouts in their 7-5 victory over the Houston Astros in MLB on Wednesday.

Scherzer joined the Dodgers from the Washington Nationals upon last week's MLB Trade Deadline.

The 37-year-old right-hander had 10 K's across seven innings, only allowing five hits and two runs.

Scherzer becomes the seventh pitcher to strike out 10 or more players in their first Dodgers start since the franchise moved to Los Angeles.

The pitcher's display fuelled the 52,724 fans at Dodger Stadium, sparked after striking out Jose Altuve on four pitches.

"The crowd was definitely into it and you can feed off that, you definitely get some adrenaline from that," Scherzer said.

"To go out there and pitch well and to have the fans ask for a curtain call for me, I've never had that happen, so that's a cool moment and something I'll never forget."

Baez stars for Mets, Gausman finds form

Javier Baez dazzled in the New York Mets' 5-3 win over the Miami Marlins that ended their three-game losing run. Baez hit a solo homer in the eighth but also completed an incredible second-inning slide for home plate.

San Francisco Giants pitcher Kevin Gausman re-captured some form as he sent down eight strikeouts across six innings as they triumphed 7-1 over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Two-way star Shohei Ohtani always elicits a lot of excitement but he had no at-bat impact yet tossed down six strikeouts across six innings, allowing only one earned run, in the Los Angeles Angels' 2-1 win over the Texas Rangers.

New recruits Adam Duvall, Jorge Soler and Joc Pederson all delivered for the Atlanta Braves, with the former pair homering and the latter with a double in their 7-4 victory over the St Louis Cardinals.

Bryce Harper starred again with his 17th home run of the season as the Philadelphia Phillies won 9-5 over the Washington Nationals.

Mejia tough shift for Indians

The Cleveland Indians had mounted a good run in the American League Central but their 8-6 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays leaves them 52-53, having lost three of their past four games. They were not helped after trailing 8-0 after three innings as Jean Carlos Mejia allowed seven hits and eight earned runs early.

Rizzo makes Yankees history

Anthony Rizzo hit his third New York Yankees home run to become the first player with RBI in each of his first six games in their long franchise history as they won 10-3 over the Baltimore Orioles. The Yankees have been around since 1903.

Wednesday's results 

Cincinnati Reds 6-5 Minnesota Twins
Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 Seattle Mariners
Milwaukee Brewers 4-2 Pittsburgh Pirates
Oakland Athletics 5-4 San Diego Padres
Philadelphia Phillies 9-5 Washington Nationals
New York Yankees 10-3 Baltimore Orioles
Toronto Blue Jays 8-6 Cleveland Indians
Boston Red Sox 4-1 Detroit Tigers
New York Mets 5-3 Miami Marlins
Los Angeles Angels 2-1 Texas Rangers
Kansas City Royals 9-1 Chicago White Sox
Atlanta Braves 7-4 St Louis Cardinals
Chicago Cubs 3-2 Colorado Rockies
San Francisco Giants 7-1 Arizona Diamondbacks
Los Angeles Dodgers 7-5 Houston Astros

 

Mariners at Yankees

Rizzo will look to continue his hot form for the Yankees (58-49) when they host the Seattle Mariners (58-51) in the first of their four-game series.

Miguel Cabrera moved closer to his 500th career home run with number 498 in the Detroit Tigers' 4-2 win against the Boston Red Sox.

The 38-year-old designated hitter sent Garrett Richards over the fence at right-field with the Tigers trailing 2-0 in the second inning.

The home run takes two-time American League MVP and 11-time All-Star Cabrera's 2021 majors tally to 11 homers, and 498 for his career.

Akil Baddoo drove in Derek Hill's to make it 3-2 to the Tigers in the fifth inning, before Robbie Grossman brought Jonathan Schoop home for an RBI single and insurance run.

 

Polanco's game to remember

Gregory Polanco robbed Eduardo Escobar of a walk-off homer in the ninth inning before the Pittsburgh Pirates on 8-5 over the Milwaukee Brewers.

The catch capped a spectacular game for Polanco who brought up a no-hitter in the seventh inning by grounding a single, before the Pirates late rally.

After a long lay-off, Hyun-Jin Ryu returned to the mound at home and tossed down eight strikeouts across seven innings as the Toronto Blue Jays won 7-2 over the Cleveland Indians.

Bryce Harper homered in the eighth inning against his former club as the Philadelphia Phillies edged the Washington Nationals 5-4.

Tommy Pham hit a lead-off home run, the fourth of the day, as the San Diego Padres won 8-1 at the Oakland Athletics.

 

Five straight defeats for Red Sox

The Red Sox' 4-2 loss to the Tigers means they have lost five games in a row, including three against the Tampa Bay Rays, one against the Toronto Blue Jays (13-1) as well as Detroit. Boston are 63-45 and drop to second behind the Rays in the American League East.

 

Another Mookie Betts special

Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts pulled off a spectacular diving catch on the grass just outside the diamond to rob Michael Brantley of a hit. Only two days ago Betts pulled off another special grab against the Arizona Diamondbacks. For the record, the Dodgers lost 3-0 to the Houston Astros who improve to 64-42.

 

Tuesday's results 

Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 Washington Nationals
New York Yankees 13-1 Baltimore Orioles
Toronto Blue Jays 7-2 Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers 4-2 Boston Red Sox
Minnesota Twins 7-5 Cincinnati Reds
Miami Marlins 5-4 New York Mets
Seattle Mariners 4-2 Tampa Bay Rays 
Los Angeles Angels 11-3 Texas Rangers
Pittsburgh Pirates 8-5 Milwaukee Brewers
Chicago White Sox 7-1 Kansas City Royals
Atlanta Braves 6-1 St Louis Cardinals
Colorado Rockies 13-6 Chicago Cubs
Arizona Diamondbacks 3-1 San Francisco Giants
San Diego Padres 8-1 Oakland Athletics
Houston Astros 3-0 Los Angeles Dodgers

 

Padres at Athletics

The San Diego Padres (62-47) continue their series against the Oakland Athletics (60-48).

Alex Dickerson hammered a grand slam as the San Francisco Giants won 11-8 over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the MLB on Monday.

Leading 3-1 at the top of the fifth inning, Dickerson hit Diamondbacks right-hander J.B. Bukauskas over at right-field with bases loaded.

It was Dickerson's third career grand slam, having crushed one on his memorable franchise debut two years ago.

The home run was only Dickerson's 10th of 2021, with only 28 RBI this season.

The table topping Giants led 7-1 but the Diamondbacks, bottom of the National League West, stormed back after two-run shots from Josh Reddick and Asdrubal Cabrera.

Wilmer Flores homered to make it 8-5 before Arizona tied it up after three runs in the seventh inning off reliever Jay Jackson.

In the 10th inning, Buster Posey drove in Brandon Crawford, before two more runs, with Jarlin Garcia closing it out.

 

Brinson grand slam, Escobar HR home debut

Lewis Brinson hit a first-innings grand slam to lead the Miami Marlins to a 6-3 win over the New York Mets. With bases loaded, Brinson drove it out over right-field.

New acquisition Eduardo Escobar marked his home debut with a three-run home run in the Milwaukee Brewers' 6-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Right-hander Jorge Lopez allowed one hit across six innings as the Baltimore Orioles won 7-1 over the New York Yankees.

Andy Ibanez made an incredible sliding stop at second base with a throw to first in the Texas Rangers' 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels.

 

Rays brushed aside by Mariners

The Tampa Bay Rays (64-43) may be top of the American League East but they were humbled 8-2 by the Seattle Mariners (57-50) after conceding five runs in the third inning. It was not a good shift on the mound for Michael Wacha, allowing eight hits in four innings.

 

Guerrero tops the charts

Vladimir Guerrero Jr hit a two-run home run to tie it up in the Toronto Blue Jays' 5-2 loss to the Cleveland Indians. Guerrero now has an league high 82 runs and 85 RBI, while he is second behind only Shohei Ohtani for most home runs, with 34.

 

Monday's results 

Cleveland Indians 5-2 Toronto Blue Jays
Philadelphia Phillies 7-5 Washington Nationals
Baltimore Orioles 7-1 New York Yankees
Miami Marlins 6-3 New York Mets
Seattle Mariners 8-2 Tampa Bay Rays
Texas Rangers 4-1 Los Angeles Angels
Milwaukee Brewers 6-2 Pittsburgh Pirates
San Francisco Giants 11-8 Arizona Diamondbacks

 

Astros at Dodgers

World champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers (64-43) will host the Houston Astros (64-42) in a blockbuster rivalry meeting.

Though there is plenty of baseball still to be played before October, the Tampa Bay Rays made a statement over the weekend with their three-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox. 

The Rays held on for a 3-2 victory Sunday to increase their lead in the American League (AL) East division to a game and a half after entering the series trailing Boston by the same margin. 

Brandon Lowe started the Rays off in the third inning with a two-run homer but former Ray Hunter Renfroe answered for Boston with a solo shot in the fourth. 

Manuel Margot singled in what proved to be the winning run in the fifth and Boston could get no closer than the seventh-inning wild pitch by Drew Rasmussen that allowed Alex Verdugo to score. 

The Rays had some nervous moments late as the Red Sox put two batters on with two out in the ninth but Randy Wisler got J.D. Martinez to fly out to end the game. 

 

Bryant, Giants down Astros

Kris Bryant hit a home run in his first game since joining San Francisco and Darin Ruf drove in three runs as the Giants defeated Milwaukee Brewers 5-3 to win the series between teams with the two best records in MLB. Bryant joined his former Chicago Cubs team-mates Anthony Rizzo (Yankees) and Javy Baez (Mets) in hitting a homer in their first games with their new teams after being traded this week. According to Stats Perform, they are the first trio in the modern era to homer in their debuts after playing for the same team earlier in the season. 

Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts returned from the injured list to start at second base for only the second time since 2014 before capping the scoring with a ninth-inning home run in a 13-0 rout of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Chicago White Sox bounced back from an agonising loss to the Cleveland Indians with a 2-1 victory on Brian Goodwin's ninth-inning home run punctuated by an epic bat flip. 

Kyle Gibson got plenty of run support in his Philadelphia Phillies debut after coming over from the Texas Rangers in a trade, picking up the win with 6.2 solid innings in a 15-4 rout of the Pittsburgh Pirates. 

The Milwaukee Brewers managed only three hits off Charlie Morton and the Atlanta Braves' bullpen but held on for a 2-1 road victory. 

 

Cubs waste Ortega's big day

A day after Chicago White Sox catcher Seby Zavala hit the first three home runs of his career only to see his team lose, Chicago Cubs outfielder Rafael Ortega hit three in a 6-5 loss to the Washington Nationals. The 30-year-old journeyman, who made his MLB debut in 2012, had six homers in 192 career games entering Sunday. He drove in all of Chicago's runs with a solo homer in the first inning and two-run shots in the sixth and eighth, but it was not enough as Yadiel Hernandez led off the ninth with a homer to give Washington the walk-off win. 

 

Heim the homer hero again

Jonah Heim hit a walk-off home run to beat the Seattle Mariners on Saturday, and he enjoyed it so much he did it again Sunday in a 4-3 Texas Rangers win. Heim became the first Rangers player ever to hit walk-off homers in consecutive games and the first player for any MLB team to do so since Albert Pujols of the St Louis Cardinals did it in June 2011. 

 

Sunday's results 

Philadelphia Phillies 15-4 Pittsburgh Pirates
Washington Nationals 6-5 Chicago Cubs
Toronto Blue Jays 5-1 Kansas City Royals
Cincinnati Reds 7-1 New York Mets
New York Yankees 3-1 Miami Marlins
Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 Boston Red Sox
Detroit Tigers 6-2 Baltimore Orioles
Milwaukee Brewers 2-1 Atlanta Braves
Texas Rangers 4-3 Seattle Mariners
Chicago White Sox 2-1 Cleveland Indians
St Louis Cardinals 7-3 Minnesota Twins
Oakland Athletics 8-3 Los Angeles Angels
Los Angeles Dodgers 13-0 Arizona Diamondbacks
San Francisco Giants 5-3 Houston Astros
San Diego Padres 8-1 Colorado Rockies

 

Indians at Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays (54-48) are riding a four-game winning streak as the Cleveland Indians (51-51) cross the border to visit Rogers Centre. 

Two key hits from highly touted rookie Wander Franco lifted the Tampa Bay Rays past the Boston Red Sox 9-5 on Saturday.

Tampa Bay's third consecutive win and Boston's third straight loss moved the Rays into first place in the American League (AL) East by half a game.

After the Rays' Francisco Mejia and Boston's Bobby Dalbec traded two-run homers in the fourth and fifth inning to leave the score tied 5-5, Franco's triple to right field in the sixth gave the Rays the lead.

Franco would add an RBI single in the eighth and come home on Mejia's two-run single later in the inning as the Rays sealed the win.

 

Baez homers in Mets debut

Javier Baez homered in his first game with the Mets as New York rallied past the Cincinnati Reds for a 5-4 victory. Baez's two-run shot in the sixth drew the Mets within one after Eugenio Suarez and Kyle Farmer home runs had given Cincinnati a 4-1 lead. Dominic Smith's ninth-inning single sent the game to extra innings, where Brandon Drury won it in the 10th. Joey Votto went one-for-five with a single for the Reds, ending his streak of games with a home run at seven straight.

Speaking of new New Yorkers, Anthony Rizzo continues to endear himself to Yankees fans. He reached base in all four plate appearances in a 4-2 win over the Miami Marlins, collecting two walks, a single and his second home run in as many days. According to Stats Perform, Rizzo is the first player in Yankees history to have at least two hits, including a home run, in each of his first two games with the team.

The San Francisco Giants hit five home runs to slug their way past the Houston Astros 8-6 in a matchup of division leaders. Donovan Solano, Wilmer Flores, LaMonte Wade, Darin Ruf and Mike Yastrzemski went deep for the Giants, while Houston got two homers from Aledmys Diaz and one from Martin Maldonado in a losing effort.

Kyle Hendricks is now the longest-tenured Chicago Cubs player after the team's sell-off this week, and he was his usual self in allowing one run in seven innings to beat the Washington Nationals 6-3 and win his 11th consecutive decision.

Colorado Rockies All-Star pitcher German Marquez allowed two runs in six innings and provided one of his one, homering off Yu Darvish in the fifth as the Rockies beat the San Diego Padres 5-3.

 

Rough Brewers debut for Curtiss

Making his Milwaukee Brewers debut after coming over from the Marlins in a trade this week, reliever John Curtiss allowed four hits and a walk to Atlanta, punctuated by a Dansby Swanson grand slam that would give the Braves an 8-1 win.

 

Zavala's first, second and third career homers

Entering Saturday, Chicago White Sox catcher Seby Zavala had played 17 major league games between 2019 and this season, collecting three singles, two doubles and one RBI. You could say he had a career game in Chicago's 12-11 loss to the Cleveland Indians, as the 27-year-old went four-for-four with three home runs, including a grand slam. Zavala is the first player in MLB history to collect his first three career home runs in the same game. 

 

Saturday's results 

Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 Philadelphia Phillies
Chicago Cubs 6-3 Washington Nationals
Toronto Blue Jays 4-0 Kansas City Royals
New York Mets 5-4 Cincinnati Reds
New York Yankees 4-2 Miami Marlins
Tampa Bay Rays 9-5 Boston Red Sox
Baltimore Orioles 5-2 Detroit Tigers
Atlanta Braves 8-1 Milwaukee Brewers
Texas Rangers 5-4 Seattle Mariners
Cleveland Indians 12-11 Chicago White Sox
Minnesota Twins 8-1 St Louis Cardinals
Los Angeles Angels 1-0 Oakland Athletics
Los Angeles Dodgers 8-3 Arizona Diamondbacks
San Francisco Giants 8-6 Houston Astros
Colorado Rockies 5-3 San Diego Padres

 

Red Sox at Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays (63-42) will look to hold onto first place on Sunday with a sweep of the Boston Red Sox (63-43) at Tropicana Field. 

Cincinnati Reds in-form slugger Joey Votto scored a home run for the seventh consecutive game as his side won 6-2 over the New York Mets in the MLB on Friday.

At the top of the sixth inning with the Reds up 2-1, Votto hammered Mets reliever Drew Smith deep over the fence at center field, which breaking his own franchise record.

The 37-year-old also now has nine home runs in seven games, with nine of his last 10 hits leaving the ballpark. He becomes the eighth player in MLB history to hit home runs in seven straight games.

Reds second baseman Jonathan India hit two home runs in the victory, but was overshadowed by Votto's remarkable run of form.

"I’ve never been in a place like this before. It’s exciting," Votto said. "It’s so much more fun doing it on a winning team and doing it in connection with wins."

The Reds have now won four games in a row and six of their past eight to improve their record to 55-49 and second in the National League Central.

 

Rizzo starts with a homer

Trade deadline acquisition Anthony Rizzo homered for the first time for new franchise, the New York Yankees, in a 3-1 win over the Miami Marlins.

Rizzo went two-for-three in his first appearance for the Yankees following his trade from the Chicago Cubs, scoring his 15th home run for the year.

Eduardo Escobar also marked his first game for the Milwaukee Brewers with a home run in their 9-5 win over the Atlanta Braves.

Santiago Espinal took a bare-handed catch to complete the Toronto Blue Jays' 6-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals. Espinal can backwards from Jarrod Dyson's flare and reached up to snatch the ball.

Blue Jays teammate Bo Bichette said: “That was insane. Everything, the situation, the fact he used his hand and the fact he even thought to use his hand. It was crazy, but we’ve come to expect things like that from Santiago."

The benches cleared after James Karinchak's 96 mph fastball hit Jose Abreu flush on the helmet, leaving the batter floored, in the Chicago White Sox's 6-4 win over the Cleveland Indians.

Emotions stayed in check and there were no ejections while Abreu was able to stay in the game, before White Sox short-stop Tim Anderson delivered the go-ahead hit in the eighth inning.

 

Tatis re-injures shoulder

Home-run machine Fernando Tatis Jr re-injured his left shoulder diving for third base in the San Diego Padres' 9-4 loss to the Colorado Rockies. Tatis, who has hit 31 home runs this season, had previously had three issues with his left shoulder this season. Ryan McMahon's grand slam was decisive for the Rockies.

 

Altuve stars for Astros

Jose Altuve starred for the Houston Astros in their 9-6 win at the San Francisco Giants, with two home runs, including a grand slam, to total up five RBI. Altuve has 25 home runs this season, along with 105 hits and 65 RBI.

 

Friday's results 

Pittsburgh Pirates 7-0 Philadelphia Phillies
Washington Nationals 4-3 Chicago Cubs
Toronto Blue Jays 6-4 Kansas City Royals
Cincinnati Reds 6-2 New York Mets
New York Yankees 3-1 Miami Marlins
Tampa Bay Rays 7-3 Boston Red Sox
Baltimore Orioles 4-3 Detroit Tigers
Milwaukee Brewers 9-5 Atlanta Braves
Seattle Mariners 9-5 Texas Rangers
Chicago White Sox 6-4 Cleveland Indians
St Louis Cardinals 5-1 Minnesota Twins
Oakland Athletics 2-0 Los Angeles Angels
Arizona Diamondbacks x-x Los Angeles Dodgers
Houston Astros 9-6 San Francisco Giants
Colorado Rockies 9-4 San Diego Padres

 

Red Sox at Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays (62-42) will host the Boston Red Sox (63-42) will both sides jousting for top spot in the competitive American League East.

The New York Yankees have been one of MLB's most aggressive teams ahead of Friday's trade deadline, and their performance against the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday showed they have plenty of room for improvement. 

The Rays scored four times in the first inning before exploding for 10 runs in the sixth on the way to a 14-0 victory as they handed Yankees ace Gerrit Cole his worst loss of the season. 

Austin Meadows' three-run homer off Cole was the big blow as Tampa Bay took an early lead, and Meadows added a two-run homer in the sixth to cap the scoring. 

The Rays also got a grand slam from Brett Phillips and a two-run shot from Ji-Man Choi in that inning as they drove Cole from the game. 

The Yankees starter was charged with a season-high eight runs, seven of them earned, despite striking out 10 in 5.1 innings, but it was Albert Abreu who let the game get out of hand for New York. 

The reliever faced six batters in the sixth and did not retire any of them, allowing all three Rays homers in the inning while also surrendering a single and walking two. 

New York's hitters did not provide much help, as they managed only four hits off Rays starter Luis Patino and two relievers, but they know reinforcements are coming after trading for Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo the last two days. 

 

Blue Jays pound Red Sox

The Rays-Yankees game was not the only blowout among American League (AL) East rivals Thursday, as the Toronto Blue Jays hammered the Boston Red Sox in a 13-1 win at Fenway Park. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his 33rd home run of the year amid the onslaught, a three-run drive in the fifth inning, as Toronto starter Hyun Jin Ryu allowed just two hits in six shutout innings. 

The San Francisco Giants claimed their second series victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in as many weeks, winning 5-0 as their bullpen turned in 4.1 perfect innings to back up Johnny Cueto's strong start. 

Manny Pina homered in the sixth and eighth innings, driving in five runs as the Milwaukee Brewers pulled away late for a 12-0 win and three-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates. 

Joey Votto homered for the sixth consecutive game, helping the Cincinnati Reds to a 7-4 win over the Chicago Cubs. 

Miguel Cabrera hit the 496th and 497th home runs of his career as the Detroit Tigers beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-2. 

 

Royals take series from White Sox

The first-placed Chicago White Sox fell to the Kansas City Royals for the third time in their four-game series, losing 5-0 as they collected only five hits off Carlos Hernandez and two relievers. 

 

Phillies avoid sweep in dramatic fashion

After dropping the first game of their doubleheader against the Washington Nationals, the Philadelphia Phillies were on the verge of being swept before scoring three in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game. After Washington scored in the top of the eighth, Brad Miller hit a grand slam in the bottom half for the walk-off win. 

 

Thursday's results

Toronto Blue Jays 13-1 Boston Red Sox
Milwaukee Brewers 12-0 Pittsburgh Pirates
Detroit Tigers 6-2 Baltimore Orioles
Atlanta Braves 6-3 New York Mets
Tampa Bay Rays 14-0 New York Yankees
Cincinnati Reds 7-4 Chicago Cubs
Kansas City Royals 5-0 Chicago White Sox
Oakland Athletics 4-0 Los Angeles Angels
San Francisco Giants 5-0 Los Angeles Dodgers
San Diego Padres 3-0 Colorado Rockies
Washington Nationals 3-1 Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies 11-8 Washington Nationals

 

Astros at Giants

Opening a matchup of division leaders, the Houston Astros (63-40) send Framber Valdez to the mound against All-Star Kevin Gausman and the San Francisco Giants (64-38). 

Walker Buehler celebrated his 27th birthday with a dominant performance as the Los Angeles Dodgers routed the San Francisco Giants 8-0 in MLB action Wednesday. 

Buehler improved to 11-1 as he allowed only three hits and two walks in seven shutout innings while striking out eight. 

In the meantime, the Dodgers knocked San Francisco starter Anthony DeSclafani out of the game in the third inning, scoring four times in that frame on RBI singles by Justin Turner and AJ Pollock and a two-run triple by Will Smith. 

Cody Bellinger capped off the rout for LA with a solo homer in the eighth one night after his throwing error cost the Dodgers the game. He had been one-for-35 agains the Giants this season before that hit.

Making matters worst for the first-place Giants, catcher Buster Posey left the game following the third inning after taking a foul ball of his mask. 

Manager Gabe Kapler told reporters after the game that Posey had some dizziness but was not immediately diagnosed with a concussion. 

The rivals wrap up their three-game series Thursday in their seventh meeting in a 10-day span.

 

Judge, Yankees down Rays in 10th

Aaron Judge's 10th-inning single drove in the go-ahead run as the New York Yankees beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1. Yankees pitchers held the Rays hitless for the final six innings after Tampa Bay scored their only run on a Brandon Lowe double in the fourth. 

The Atlanta Braves could not back up a solid seven-inning start from Max Fried, falling 2-1 to the New York Mets on Brandon Drury's solo home run in the seventh after Austin Riley had tied the game with a solo shot of his own in the sixth.

Shohei Ohtani homered for the third time in four games, with his 37th of the season keying a five-run fourth inning as the Los Angeles Angels took an early lead and held on to beat the Colorado Rockies 8-7. 

Not to be outdone, Joey Votto hit a pair of home runs for the second consecutive game as the Cincinnati Reds topped the Chicago Cubs 8-2. 

 

Tigers allow seven homers, still beat Twins

Detroit pitchers allowed seven home runs while Tigers batters hit none of their own, but the visitors still managed to beat the Minnesota Twins in an NFL-worthy final score of 17-14. Every player in the Detroit lineup scored and drove in at least one run as the Tigers became the first team in MLB history to win despite being out-homered by seven or more. According to Stats Perform, teams on the wrong side of that equation had been 0-41 before Wednesday's game. 

 

Perez stuns White Sox

Salvador Perez hit a monster 438-foot home run off All-Star Chicago White Sox closer Liam Hendriks to tie the game in the ninth inning and the Kansas City Royals would go on to defeat the division-leading Sox 3-2 on Michael A. Taylor's run-scoring single in the 10th. 

 

Wednesday's results

Toronto Blue Jays 4-1 Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox 4-1 Toronto Blue Jays
Milwaukee Brewers 7-3 Pittsburgh Pirates
Baltimore Orioles 8-7 Miami Marlins
New York Mets 2-1 Atlanta Braves
New York Yankees 3-1 Tampa Bay Rays
Cleveland Indians 7-2 St Louis Cardinals
Arizona Diamondbacks 3-2 Texas Rangers
Cincinnati Reds 8-2 Chicago Cubs
Kansas City Royals 3-2 Chicago White Sox
Detroit Tigers 17-14 Minnesota Twins
Los Angeles Angels 8-7 Colorado Rockies
Los Angeles Dodgers 8-0 San Francisco Giants
Oakland Athletics 10-4 San Diego Padres
Houston Astros 11-4 Seattle Mariners
Washington Nationals-Philadelphia Phillies (postponed)

 

Braves at Mets

The Atlanta Braves (50-52) send Drew Smyly to the mound as they wrap up a rare five-game series with the New York Mets (54-46), who will start Taijuan Walker in the game at Citi Field. 

Los Angeles Dodgers' star Cody Bellinger produced an unbelievable error gifting the San Francisco Giants a decisive run in their 2-1 victory in the MLB on Tuesday.

With scores locked at 1-1 after the sides traded runs in the fifth and sixth innings, Bellinger inexplicably threw several feet over third baseman Justin Turner, allowing Buster Posey in for the go-ahead run.

Bellinger is normally at center field but was moved to first base to ease the stress on his sore hamstring, but that came back to bite the Dodgers.

At the bottom of the eighth, Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen had walked Posey and Mike Yastrzemski, before Darin Ruf grounded to second baseman Max Muncy who threw to Bellinger for an out.

But then the first baseman opted to send the ball to third to try out Posey, only to deliver a costly wayward throw.

"I don’t know how I would have thrown it that high. It was a horrible throw," Bellinger said. "I’ll go back and watch it on video and see what happened on that play.”

 

Home runs for Ohtani and Tatis

Shohei Ohtani's Los Angeles Angels may have lost 12-3 to the Colorado Rockies at home but he provided a highlight with a two-run home run in the fifth inning with his side 10-0 down.

The homer registered 110.4 mph exit velocity and a projected distance of 463 feet. It was also Ohtani's league-high 36th home run this season.

Fernando Tatis Jr also homered, bringing up his 31st of the season, with a two-run shot in the San Diego Padres' 7-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics. The Padres were trailing 3-0 at the time.

Eloy Jimenez creamed a decisive three-run homer which travelled 459 feet to lift the Chicago White Sox to a 5-3 triumph over the Kansas City Royals.

Bryce Harper hit a rare inside-the-park home run as the Philadelphia Phillies lost 6-4 to the Washington Nationals.

Joey Votto was feeling it as he hit two home runs as the Cincinnati Reds won 7-4 over the Chicago Cubs.

 

Diamondbacks downed by struggling Rangers

The Texas Rangers ended their 10-game losing streak with a 5-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks, who continue to struggle. The Diamondbacks allowed all five runs in the fourth inning and slump to a 31-71 record, having only won 12 games on the road from 53, which is the best worst away record in the majors.

 

Riley's six-RBI game

Austin Riley hit a grand slam and a two-run home run as the Atlanta Braves won 12-5 over the New York Mets. The third baseman moved up to 19 homers for the season, recording his second-ever career grand slam, totalling six RBI for the game.

Tuesday's results

Washington Nationals 6-4 Philadelphia Phillies
Milwaukee Brewers 9-0 Pittsburgh Pirates
Miami Marlins 7-3 Baltimore Orioles
Atlanta Braves 12-5 New York Mets
New York Yankees 4-3 Tampa Bay Rays
St Louis Cardinals 4-2 Cleveland Indians
Texas Rangers 5-4 Arizona Diamondbacks
Cincinnati Reds 7-4 Chicago Cubs
Chicago White Sox 5-3 Kansas City Royals
Detroit Tigers 6-5 Minnesota Twins
Colorado Rockies 12-3 Los Angeles Angels
San Francisco Giants 2-1 Los Angeles Dodgers
San Diego Padres 7-4 Oakland Athletics
Houston Astros 8-6 Seattle Mariners

 

Dodgers at Giants

Two of the best meet on Wednesday when the San Francisco Giants (63-37), leaders in the National League, host reigning world champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers (61-41).

Shohei Ohtani once again starred for the Los Angeles Angels on Monday, leading Joe Maddon to declare nobody else is even in the running for this season's MVP award in the American League.

The two-way superstar produced another inspired performance during the Angels' 6-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies.

Ohtani gave up just one run during a dominant seven innings at Angel Stadium, lowering his ERA for the season to 3.04.

The 27-year-old, who became the first player to start as a pitcher and a hitter in an All-Star game earlier this year, also recorded his 100th strikeout of 2021 after pitching at well over 100mph.

Then there is his tally of 35 home runs before the end of July - the best in the MLB. He is the first pitcher to hit more than nine while recording triple-digit strikeouts in the same season.

Not only that, but Ohtani became only the fourth pitcher in the past 30 seasons to have a hit, run, RBI and stolen base in a single inning.

Angels manager Maddon thinks the numbers make a strong case as to why the Japanese player is a clear favourite to be named MVP.

"To me, it's not even close," he said. "When people talk about it being close, it's not.

"What he's doing is so unique. It's just so different compared to anybody else right now.

"Nobody's doing what he's doing, and nobody's done what he's doing, if that makes any sense. He is so motivated."

Shohei Ohtani continues to amaze after doing it all again as the Los Angeles Angels won 6-2 over the Colorado Rockies in the MLS on Monday.

In the first inning, Ohtani drove in an RBI single as David Fletcher scored, before stealing a base to second.

Ohtani stepped up on the mound throughout too, tossing down five strikeouts, including a handful of outstanding sliders across seven innings, allowing five hits.

Jack Mayfield came up with a two-run shot down the line in the seventh inning to put the Angels 4-1 up.

The Angels added another two in the eighth inning to round out the win which lifts them to 50-49.

 

Walkoffs and a go-ahead grand slam

Andrew McCutchen launched a massive three-run home run to earn the Philadelphia Phillies an exhilarating 6-5 walk-off win over the Washington Nationals.

With two runners on base down 5-3 in the ninth inning, McCutchen hit Brad Hand high over Juan Soto's head in right-field for a homer.

Javier Baez also walked it off with an RBI single to lead the Chicago Cubs past the Cincinnati Reds 6-5.

Alex Verdugo hit a two-run go-ahead homer as the Boston Red Sox continued their recent dominance over the Toronto Blue Jays with a 5-4 win. Boston now have 33 comeback wins this season.

Kyle Tucker hit a three-run home run as the Houston Astros raced to a 6-0 first inning lead which they surrendered, eventually losing 11-8 to the Seattle Mariners.

The Mariners trailed 8-7 at the bottom of the eighth inning when Dylan Moore hit a decisive go-ahead grand slam to left field from Brooks Raley.

 

Rockies rocky road

Ohtani claimed the win against the Rockies, but Colorado's road record is a major concern, suffering their third straight away defeat. The Rockies have the worst road record in the majors, going at 10-37, compared to 33-20 at home.

 

Cabrera closes in on 500

The Detroit Tigers may have lost 6-5 to the Minnesota Twins but veteran slugger Miguel Cabrera moved a step closer to his 500th home run, with a two-run homer. Cabrera, 38, now has 495 career home runs.

Monday's results

Atlanta Braves 2-0 New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies 6-5 Washington Nationals
Boston Red Sox 5-4 Toronto Blue Jays
Chicago Cubs 6-5 Cincinnati Reds
Kansas City Royals 4-3 Chicago White Sox
Minnesota Twins 6-5 Detroit Tigers
New York Mets 1-0 Atlanta Braves
Los Angeles Angels 6-2 Colorado Rockies
Seattle Mariners 11-8 Houston Astros

 

Yankees at Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays (60-40) take on American League East contenders, the New York Yankees (51-47), in the opening game of their series.

The Boston Red Sox looked like they might get no-hit Sunday, but they ended up tormenting their biggest rivals once again. 

Boston erased a dominant showing by New York Yankees starter Domingo German, collecting their first hit of the game to open the eighth and scoring five times in the inning for a 5-4 win at Fenway Park.

The MLB-leading 32nd come-from-behind win for Boston was a mirror image of Saturday's game, which saw the Yankees rally for four in the eighth to win 4-3. 

Better yet, this one gave the Red Sox the series win and put them back in first place in the American League (AL) East division.

It was an outcome few would have anticipated after German struck out four Boston batters in the seventh inning (Xander Bogaerts reached first base on a passed ball on his strike three) to give him 10 for the game. 

But Alex Verdugo led off the eighth with a double that opened the floodgates for the Red Sox, chasing German from the game and beginning a string of  five straight hits that brought Boston within one. 

New York summoned their third pitcher of the inning, former All-Star closer Zack Britton, but Boston pushed the tying and go-ahead runs across the plate on a groundout and a sacrifice fly. 

Giancarlo Stanton made things interesting in the ninth with a two-out single, but Matt Barnes retired Rougned Odor to end the game. 

 

Lynn does it all for White Sox

Lance Lynn helped himself with a two-run single and shut down the Milwaukee Brewers for six innings as the Chicago White Sox avoided a sweep in the series matching the AL and NL Central division leaders with a 3-1 win. 

The Cleveland Indians got an RBI single from Harold Ramirez and a sacrifice fly from Bobby Bradley in the eighth to rally past the Tampa Bay Rays for a 3-2 victory. 

The Baltimore Orioles scored twice in the bottom of the ninth to pull out a 5-4 win over the Washington Nationals, completing a three-game sweep. The Orioles had been 0-51 when trailing after eight innings. 

Pete Alonso's two-run homer in the sixth tied the game and Jeff McNeil provided the go-ahead runs with a two-run double as the New York Mets downed the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4. 

Aaron Nola prevailed in a pitchers' duel with Touki Toussaint as the Philadelphia Phillies edged the Atlanta Braves 2-1.

Solo homers from Chris Taylor in the fifth and Will Smith in the eighth rallied the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 3-2 triumph over the Colorado Rockies. 

A seven-run fourth inning featuring homers by Harrison Bader and Dylan Carlson propelled the St Louis Cardinals to a 10-6 win over the Cincinnati Reds. 

 

Rangers drop 12th straight

Held to one run or fewer for the sixth time in 10 games since the All-Star break, the Texas Rangers fell 3-1 to the Houston Astros for their 12th consecutive defeat. 

 

Shohei smashes another one

With the game tied 2-2 in the sixth inning, Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani took an 85.3 mph pitch from Minnesota Twins reliever Danny Coulombe out of the park at 112.6 mph for his MLB-leading 35th home run this season on the way to a 6-2 win. 

 

Sunday's results

Chicago Cubs 5-1 Arizona Diamondbacks
Boston Red Sox 5-4 New York Yankees
Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 Atlanta Braves
Miami Marlins 9-3 San Diego Padres
Baltimore Orioles 5-4 Washington Nationals
St Louis Cardinals 10-6 Cincinnati Reds
New York Mets 5-4 Toronto Blue Jays
Los Angeles Angels 6-2 Minnesota Twins
Cleveland Indians 3-2 Tampa Bay Rays
Kansas City Royals 6-1 Detroit Tigers
Houston Astros 3-1 Texas Rangers
San Francisco Giants 6-1 Pittsburgh Pirates
Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 Colorado Rockies
Seattle Mariners 4-3 Oakland Athletics
Chicago White Sox 3-1 Milwaukee Brewers

 

Rockies at Angels

A pair of All-Stars will take the mound as German Marquez starts for the Colorado Rockies (43-56) against Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Angels (49-49) in Anaheim. 

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