Shohei Ohtani became the first player in American League/National League history to record 10 wins on the mound and 30 home runs after his go-ahead blast in the Los Angeles Angels' 3-2 triumph over the New York Yankees.

The Angels two-way star homered at the bottom of the sixth inning off Gerrit Cole with two runners on and his side trailing 2-0.

Ohtani's three-run shot means he has three homers in his past four games and delivered the winning blast for the second time in the three-game series against the Yankees.

He also became the first Japanese-born player with multiple 30-homer seasons, after blasting 46 home runs last year.

Aaron Hicks had made a leaping catch on the wall in the first inning to deny Ohtani, who had four at-bats for his three RBI.

Left-hander Patrick Sandoval allowed two runs on three hits over seven innings for the Angels, while the Yankees move to 79-52.

Nimmo robs Turner with unbelievable catch

Brandon Nimmo plucked one of the catches of the season to rob Justin Turner a game-tying homer in the New York Mets' 2-1 triumph over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

At the top of the seventh inning, Turner blasted Jacob deGrom over his head to deep center field where a leaping Nimmo produced his moment of magic.

Starling Marte hit a two-run homer, while DeGrom was typically stingy with nine strikeouts across seven innings and only three hits, before Edwin Diaz closed it out.

Aaron Judge stole the show in the New York Yankees' 7-4 win against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday, blasting yet another home run as he pushes for Roger Maris' 61-year-old record.

Maris hit 61 home runs in the 1961 season, setting a new record for a Yankees player, and with 32 games remaining, Judge is now up to 51. It is the second straight day he has hit a home run, and he has five in his past eight games.

His long-ball proved to be the difference between the two teams, with his three-run shot in the fourth inning extending his side's lead from 4-2 to 7-2.

It was the third Yankees home run of the night after Andrew Benintendi connected as the second batter of the game, giving him his second home run since being traded to New York at the deadline.

Anthony Rizzo followed suit in the second inning with his own solo homer to make it 2-0, before Los Angeles' Max Stassi tied things up later in the frame with a two-run home run.

Judge now has 15 more home runs than second-placed Kyle Schwarber from the Philadelphia Phillies as he makes his case as the AL MVP, while his biggest competitor for the award – the Angels' Shohei Ohtani – finished two-for-four at the plate with a double. 

The Yankees are seven games clear of the Toronto Blue Jays for the AL East lead.

Valdez dishes up another quality start

Houston Astros pitcher Framber Valdez produced a terrific start on the mound to help his side to a 4-2 road win against the Texas Rangers, collecting his league-leading 23rd quality start of the season.

From Valdez's 25 starts this season, 23 have been considered quality starts, meaning at least six innings pitched with no more than three earned runs, and he did it in style.

Valdez ended up pitching eight full innings, striking out eight batters while only allowing two runs, while future Hall-of-Fame teammate Jose Altuve provided run support with his 22nd home run of the campaign.

No other starting pitcher has more than 19 quality starts, with five players on that number – including Valdez's Astros teammate Justin Verlander.

Vladdy stars for the Blue Jays

Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr went three-for-four at the plate with a home run in his side's 5-3 home win against the Chicago Cubs.

Guerrero batted in the Blue Jays' first run with an RBI single in the fifth inning, and after a three-run homer to Teoscar Hernandez in the sixth, Guerrero added a final insurance score with a solo blast in the seventh frame.

On the mound, Kevin Gausman was strong for Toronto, striking out nine batters in his six innings while giving up two runs.

Aaron Judge blasted his 50th home run of the season, but Shohei Ohtani had the decisive say as the Los Angeles Angels beat the New York Yankees 4-3 on Monday.

With scores locked at 2-2 at the bottom of the fifth inning, Ohtani delivered a two-run blast down right-center field from a Frankie Montas splitter in the zone.

The 398-foot home run was Ohtani's 29th of the season, boosting the two-way star's American League (AL) MVP case, with Judge likely to be his strongest opposition.

Judge produced his 434-foot solo shot over left-center field at the top of the eighth inning to halve the deficit and bring up his 50th home run for the season.

The slugger became just the seventh player to hit 50 home runs before September in AL or National League (NL) history.

Judge also became only the 10th player in MLB history to register multiple 50-home run seasons. Only three Yankees have achieved that feat; Judge, Babe Ruth (four) and Mickey Mantle (two).

"It's just another number," Judge said. "It's great, but I'm kind of upset about the loss."

The defeat leaves the Yankees with a 78-51 record having lost their last three games.

Pujols edges past Bonds all-time milestone

Albert Pujols moved a step closer to 700 career home runs and surpassed the record held by Barry Bonds in the St Louis Cardinals' 13-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds.

Pujols' two-run blast came in the third inning from Reds left-hander Ross Detwiler, bringing up his 694th-career home run.

The blast also tagged his major league record for the 450th different pitcher for a home run, breaking the all-time mark that had been tied with Bonds .

Padres overcome delays for key NL win

The San Diego Padres boosted their NL Wild Card aspirations with a hard-fought 6-5 win over the San Francisco Giants in a game full of delays, including an injury to home plate umpire Marvin Hudson as well as stadium lighting issues.

Brandon Drury's two-run first-inning home run set the Padres on their way before the delays, with three eighth-inning runs keeping the Giants alive, before Nick Martinez closed it out.

The Padres improved to 71-59 to firm up the third NL Wild Card spot, with the Giants back at 61-66. The Milwaukee Brewers, who beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-5 on Monday, split the pair at 68-59.

Both Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout hit home runs as their Los Angeles Angels defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 8-3 on Sunday night.

The duo, who have combined for four of the past eight AL MVP awards, both hit their 28th homer of the season, with Ohtani's coming in the seventh inning to make it a 6-1 game, before Trout finished things off in the ninth frame.

They were two of four Angels home runs on the night as Luis Rengifo opened the scoring with a two-run shot in the third inning, before Kurt Suzuki also connected on a solo home run an inning later.

Overall, Ohtani reached base four time just a day after striking out nine batters on the mound, finishing three-for-four at the plate with a walk, while Trout was two-for-five. 

They are both tied for ninth in the majors for home runs, although nobody in the top-20 has had fewer at-bats than Trout, who missed over a month of action after suffering an injury in July.

Mookie mashes another moonshot

Los Angeles Dodgers right-fielder Mookie Betts hit a home run against the Miami Marlins for the third consecutive day, helping his side to a convincing 8-1 victory.

Betts, who hit two home runs in the opening game of the series on Friday before hitting one more on Saturday, wasted no time on Sunday, smashing the third pitch of the game 416 feet over the center-field wall. His 31 home runs this season tie him for fourth-most in the league.

On the mound, Julio Urias was terrific for the Dodgers, giving up just one hit in six innings, although that hit did go for a home run, and he allowed four walks.

Ray shows his Cy Young credentials

Reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray was at his dominant best in the Seattle Mariners' 4-0 home win against the Cleveland Guardians.

Ray struck out seven batters in seven scoreless innings, conceding just three hits and no walks from 103 pitches.

With the bat, all of the Mariners' runs resulted from two swings, with a three-run home run to Dylan Moore, and a solo homer to Ty France.

Miami Marlins ace pitcher and heavy NL Cy Young Award favourite Sandy Alcantara shut down the best team in baseball single-handedly, pitching a complete game in his side's 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Alcantara needed 111 pitches to get all 27 outs, striking out 10 batters while giving up one run from six hits and two walks.

The one run he gave up was a solo home run to Mookie Betts in the third inning, continuing a hot series for Betts after hitting two home runs yesterday. It was Betts' 30th home run of the season – only six players have more.

Miami had to manufacture their runs the hard way, relying on small-ball. In the fourth inning, Jon Berti hit a single and then stole second base, allowing Brian Anderson to tie the game at 1-1 with an RBI base hit.

Two innings later, the Marlins took the lead when they capitalised on a fielding error as Edwin Encarnacion's single was bobbled by the left-fielder, letting Joey Wendle scamper home.

The Marlins showed incredible trust in their star in the ninth inning, as a pair of singles and a walk loaded the bases, but Joey Gallo could not be the hero for the Dodgers, grounding out to first base to end the game.

Alcantara has clearly been the best pitcher in the NL this season, and might have a case as the best starter in all of baseball.

He has tossed 19 more innings than any other player, and he is the only pitcher with more than 5.4 WAR (wins above replacement) – putting a gap on the field with 6.4. Of his 26 starts, 19 have been 'quality starts', meaning at least six innings pitched with no more than three earned runs.

Ohtani blanks the Blue Jays

The most unique player in baseball was the star of the show in the Los Angeles Angels' 2-0 win against the Toronto Blue Jays, with Shohei Ohtani striking out nine batters in seven shut-out innings.

Ohtani, who has hit the 11th-most home runs this season (27), has also struck out the seventh-most batters, with 176 in his 22 starts. Among starting pitchers, only Atlanta Braves rookie Spencer Strider (13.3) has a better strikeouts-per-nine-innings figure than Ohtani's 12.4.

He did not collect a hit in his four at-bats on Saturday, but was walked twice.

Yankees sputter in extra innings loss

The New York Yankees could only muster one hit in 11 innings against the Oakland Athletics, going down 3-2 in extras.

Athletics starting pitcher Adam Oller produced a career-best showing, giving up one hit and one walk in eight complete innings, while Yankees starter Domingo German also had his best stuff, carrying a perfect game into the sixth frame.

In extras, the Yankees scored their only two runs from a bases-loaded wild pitch, but that 2-0 lead was wiped out with one swing as pinch-hitter Stephen Vogt connected on a two-run home run. In the 11th, after the Yankees failed to score, the Athletics won with a walk-off error when New York second-baseman D.J. LeMahieu could not complete a double-play.

The Los Angeles Dodgers made sure to put Monday's sorry home defeat to the Milwaukee Brewers well and truly behind them with another emphatic victory.

Having been blanked for the first time at home in 2022 in the first game of the series, the Dodgers hit back on Tuesday with a 10-1 rout of the Brewers, and they followed that win up in style a day later.

There was more resistance from Milwaukee this time around, but the Dodgers - who have the best record in Major League Baseball (86-37) and hold a huge 19.5-game lead in the National League West - still cruised to a 12-6 victory.

Pitcher Andrew Heaney appeared in his first win since April and was key as he struck out 10, one off his season best, while he has back-to-back 10 strikeout outings for the first time in over three years.

"It seems like he's got 10 punchouts every game and you don't know it until you look up at the scoreboard," Trea Turner said of Heaney. "There's always one guy that gets no run support and one that gets runs on every team. I guess he's been the lucky one."

"Feeling better, trying to get deeper in games and get more pitch efficient and stay away from a couple of mistakes that have cost me big-time the last couple games," Heaney said.

The Dodgers' emphatic win, which sees them clinch their season series against the Brewers 4-3, came on the back of huge victories for the Atlanta Braves and the Texas Rangers.

World Series champions Atlanta made light work of the Pittsburgh Pirates, winning 16-2, with Kyle Wright recording 21 outs from 73 pitches as he tied with Justin Verlander and Tony Gonsolin for the most victories in the majors. The Rangers, meanwhile, hammered the Colorado Rockies 16-4.

Quantrill does the damage in San Diego

Cal Quantrill returned to haunt his old team as the Cleveland Guardians stormed to a 7-0 victory over the San Diego Padres.

Playing in San Diego for the first time since he was traded to Cleveland in 2020, Quantrill struck out six and walked one.

"Apparently I really did care a lot. It just felt important," Quantrill told reporters of facing his former side. "I wanted that game to be clean. I didn't want to trail off."

Cubs and Cardinals set for series decider

The Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals will face off on Thursday with everything on the line in their five-game series.

That is after Zach McKinstry homered and drove in three runs to help the Cubs to a 7-1 triumph that ties the series at 2-2.

Elsewhere, the Tampa Bay Rays claimed a fifth straight win by edging out the Los Angeles Angels 4-3, while the Philadelphia Phillies are in line for a four-game clean sweep of their series with the Cincinnati Reds after a 7-5 success.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yankees steady the ship

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

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

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

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

Ohtani struggles on the mound

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

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

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

Josh Donaldson produced a remarkable 10th-inning walk-off grand slam to snap the New York Yankees' slump with an 8-7 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday.

Trailing 7-4 in the 10th inning after losing 11 of their past 13 games, Donaldson had his signature moment with bases loaded, blasting Jalen Beeks with a high fly ball deep right over Randy Arozarena's head into the stands.

The victory from the jaws of defeat, was the 10th walk-off grand slam win in Yankees history and first since 2016.

The win also comes amid the Yankees recent offensive struggles, with the slam marking Donaldson's 12th home run of the season.

The Rays had appeared destined for victory after Francisco Mejia's three-run double at the top of the 10th inning, but the Yankees responded by filling the bases before Donaldson's blast.

The result snapped the Yankees' third-game losing streak and ensures they avoided their first sweep at home this season, improving their record to 73-45.

Shohei's one-man show not enough

Shohei Ohtani starred with a two-run homer among his feats but it was not enough to prevent the Los Angeles Angels from being swept by the Seattle Mariners, losing 11-7 on Wednesday.

Ohtani had four hits, four RBIs, with a run-scoring triple in the seventh inning and his two-run blast in the ninth inning, marking his 27th home run of the season.

But the Mariners moved into the top American League Wild Card slot led by two homers from Cal Raleigh, along with two-run shots from Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker each.

Baty's dream major league debut

Rookie Brett Baty homered in front of his family in a fairytale MLB debut as the New York Mets won 9-7 over the Atlanta Braves.

Baty struck a two-run homer out of the yard in his first major league at-bat from the second pitch he faced from Jake Odorizzi. He becomes the fifth Met to homer in their first at-bat.

The Mets withstood a late Braves push after Max Scherzer had eight strikeouts across six-and-one-third innings.

In one of the most anticipated pitching duels of the season, the top-two American League Cy Young Award favourites went head-to-head as Dylan Cease's Chicago White Sox beat Justin Verlander's Houston Astros 4-3 on Tuesday.

The White Sox struck first in the second inning as they were able to rattle off four hits, with Josh Harrison's infield single driving in the first run of the game.

Houston were quick in their response, jumping ahead 2-1 an inning later after back-to-back doubles from Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker, and after a couple of scoreless innings, Astros star Jose Altuve made it 3-1 with the game's only home run to lead off the fifth frame.

Cease departed after the fifth inning, finishing with three earned runs from six hits and three walks, striking out four in what was not his best showing.

Verlander was the sharper of the two stars early, conceding just one run through six complete innings, but the Astros were punished for sending him back out for the seventh as he gave up a two-run double to pinch-hitter Gavin Sheets, tying the game at 3-3.

In the eighth frame, after a walk to Eloy Jimenez and a single to Jose Abreu, Yoan Moncada came through with an RBI base hit to grab the decisive lead, with Australian closer Liam Hendriks shutting the door for his 27th save of the season.

Out of the entire league, Verlander owns the second-best ERA at 1.95, while Cease is third at 2.09. Both trail Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara (1.92).

Brewers beat the Dodgers in walk-off fashion

There were fireworks in the Milwaukee Brewers' 5-4 extra-innings win against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with all six runs scored in regulation coming via home runs before a walk-off hit from Victor Caratini.

Brewers Willy Adames and Christian Yelich went deep, while Joey Gallo, Mookie Betts and Chris Taylor all hit solo shots for the Dodgers to have things tied at 3-3 after nine innings.

After a scoreless 10th frame, Justin Turner was able to drive in a run to give the Dodgers a 4-3 lead, but closing pitcher Craig Kimbrel was not able to finish things off on the mound, giving up a hit and a walk to load the bases, setting up Caratini for the game-winning knock.

Ray strikes out 10 in Mariners win

Reigning AL MVP Shohei Ohtani and heavy favourite for AL Rookie of the Year Julio Rodriguez combined for six hits as the Seattle Mariners ran away late to beat the Los Angeles Angels 8-2.

Mariners starting pitcher and reigning Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray looked back to his best after an inconsistent start to the season, striking out 10 batters while giving up two runs in six innings.

Rodriguez, who made waves as he approached record-breaking numbers in last month's Home Run Derby, finished three-for-five at the plate with a home run, while Ohtani was three-for-four, including a triple, after striking out eight batters on the mound yesterday.

The New York Yankees slumped to their 10th loss from their past 12 games and were shut out for the second straight game as they lost 4-0 to the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday.

The Rays were fueled by Isaac Paredes' fourth-inning RBI, after Aaron Hicks' fielding error allowed a David Peralta triple, before piling on three ninth-inning runs with Yandy Diaz driving in two.

But it was another nightmare for the Yankees, who have been shut out four times in August, with a .372 slugging percentage and 3.5 runs per game this month.

Aaron Hicks had a chance to atone for his fielding error with bases loaded in the fourth inning but grounded into a double play.

MLB home-run leader Aaron Judge suffered a similar fate while trailing 1-0 in the eighth inning.

It is the first time the Yankees have been shut out in consecutive games since 2016.

The Yankees have now lost 11 of their past 14 games and hold a 72-44 record, falling behind the Houston Astros (75-42) to be the American League's top seed.

Freeman and Lux blast Dodgers to 80th win

The Los Angeles Dodgers became the first team to 80 wins in the majors this season with a 4-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Freddie Freeman blasted his first home run in 20 games in the first inning, while Gavin Lux landed a two-run homer at the top of the sixth.

Julio Urias dealt six strikeouts across five innings as the Dodgers moved to 80-34, clear of the next best in the National League, the New York Mets (75-41) after their 13-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves (71-46).

Ohtani impressive but Angels clipped

MVP candidate Shohei Ohtani tossed eight strikeouts across six innings but the Seattle Mariners pulled away with four ninth-inning runs to win 6-2 over the Los Angeles Angels.

Luis Rengifo tied it up at 1-1 in first inning when outfielders Julio Rodriguez and Mitch Haniger collided on the wall, spilling the ball above the home-run mark.

It was all square going into the ninth inning, but Sam Haggerty scored in a wild play, followed up by Dylan Moore as catcher Max Stassi could not hold a tag attempt, with runs to Julio Rodriguez and Ty France padding the win.

The Atlanta Braves received an MVP-level performance from Austin Riley as they went into Fenway Park and left with a 9-7 extra-innings win on the road against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday.

Riley – who is the second-favourite for National League MVP, trailing only Paul Goldschmidt from the St Louis Cardinals – got things going for the Braves in the opening inning, with an RBI triple scoring the first run of the game.

After Red Sox second-baseman Christian Arroyo connected on a two-run home run an inning later, travelling 403 feet, Riley answered back in the third frame with his own two-run shot, with his sailing 426 feet for the longest hit of the game.

The Red Sox rallied back in the middle stages, with home runs to Tommy Pham and Jarren Duran, as well as another RBI double from Arroyo, to jump ahead 5-4 in the fifth inning.

National League Rookie of the Year contender Michael Harris II tied the game with a double in the sixth frame, and Dansby Swanson gave the Braves a 6-5 lead as his double brought home Ronald Acuna Jr for his second run of the game.

That lead would be short-lived, with Boston tying things up at 6-6 in the bottom of the eighth through a J.D. Martinez base hit, and that score would hold through the end of regulation to force extra innings.

Both teams tallied a single run in the 10th, before Riley came through again in the 11th, driving in his fourth and fifth runs of the day with a single as Acuna crossed home plate for the third time to snatch a 9-7 lead.

Tyler Matzek made no mistakes on the mound, finishing things off and collecting his first save of the season, striking out two.

Riley finished three-for-five at the plate with five RBIs, and he now sits third in the league in home runs (30), eighth in RBIs (74) and second in total bases (255), trailing only New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge (273).

Ohtani delivers with bat and ball

It was another starring performance for baseball's most unique player as Shohei Ohtani pitched six scoreless innings and hit his 25th home run of the season to carry the Los Angeles Angels to a 5-1 victory away against the Oakland Athletics.

Only 11 players have hit more home runs this season than Ohtani, while only five pitchers have struck out more batters than his 157 in 19 starts. Everyone ahead of him on the strikeout list has started at least two more games, and he trails only Braves rookie Spencer Strider in strikeouts-per-nine-innings among starters.

He struck out five batters against the Athletics while giving up four hits and three walks in his six innings, and finished two-for-three at the plate, with two runs and one RBI.

Padres get mixed results from new recruits

The San Diego Padres needed some late heroics when newly acquired closer Josh Hader blew a three-run lead in the ninth inning, before Manny Machado came through in the clutch for a 7-4 win.

While Hader was the Padres' big pitching recruit, Juan Soto was the prize of their trade deadline dealings, and he was terrific as he finished with two hits and two walks from his five plate appearances, including his first home run since arriving in San Diego.

Leading 4-1 in the ninth inning, Hader failed to secure the save, giving up three runs to tie the game. But the Padres would get away with it, with a single to Jurickson Profar and a walk to Soto bringing Machado to the plate for the walk-off home run.

The Los Angeles Angels made the wrong kind of history on Thursday, becoming the sixth team in MLB history to hit seven home runs in a loss, going down 8-7 at home against the Oakland Athletics.

It was also the first time ever that a team has scored seven runs with every run coming courtesy of a solo long-ball.

As has been a recurring theme of superstar Shohei Ohtani's tenure with the Angels, he put on a dazzling display only for his team to fall short. The reigning AL MVP opened the scoring with a solo blast in the first inning, and added a second homer later in the contest.

Kurt Suzuki, Taylor Ward, Jo Adell, Jared Walsh and Mickey Moniak all sent a ball over the fence for the Angels, but it was not enough as starting pitcher Janson Junk struggled mightily.

Junk gave up six earned runs in just the third inning as Ramon Laureano and Sean Murphy hit back-to-back two-RBI doubles, followed by a two-run homer from Seth Brown. Laureano later added his own two-run shot, giving him four RBIs in the contest.

The loss relegates the Angels to a disappointing 44-61 record, while Ohtani is now top-five in the American League in home runs (24) as a batter, and strikeouts as a pitcher (152 in 18 starts).

All-Star Dodgers duo flex their power

Known primarily for their contact, speed and defense, Los Angeles Dodgers All-Stars Mookie Betts and Trea Turner both showed off their power in a 5-3 win against the San Francisco Giants.

In a game where starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw was forced to leave his start after four innings due to lower-back pain, the offense picked up the slack, with a three-run launch from Betts in the fourth inning turning a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead.

The Dodgers would never allow the Giants back into the game, and Turner got in on the action in the seventh inning with a 419-foot whack for the longest hit of the game.

Betts, Turner and Freddie Freeman – who also had a hit for the Dodgers – are all considered candidates for the National League MVP.

Verlander dominates for the Astros

Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander showed why he is the American League Cy Young Award favourite, keeping the Cleveland Guardians quiet in a 6-0 victory.

Verlander held the Guardians to just two hits and one walk in his six scoreless frames, striking out five batters in the process. He is expected to battle it out for the AL's best pitcher award with Tampa Bay Rays star Shane McClanahan.

With the bat, Fabio Maldonado and Chas McCormick collected three RBIs each, with key trio Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez and Jeremy Pena also combining for six hits and three walks.

Seeking to end the longest active postseason drought of any National League team, the Philadelphia Phillies acquired a pair of former All-Star pitchers in Noah Syndergaard and David Robertson at Tuesday’s MLB trade deadline.

Syndergaard’s acquisition was one of two separate trades the Phillies struck with the Los Angeles Angels, as the teams agreed to a swap earlier in the day that sent young outfielder Brandon Marsh to Philadelphia.

The Phillies were among the most aggressive teams at the deadline as they attempt to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2011. Only the Seattle Mariners, whose last postseason appearance came in 2001, have a longer active streak of missing the playoffs.

Philadelphia entered the day a game ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals for the NL’s third and final wild card spot, and are 33-18 since Rob Thomson replaced Joe Girardi as manager on June 3, the third-highest winning percentage in MLB over that period.

"I think we’re a lot better ballclub," Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told MLB.com. "We’ve got a tough division and tough people who are in the race, but I think we’re better.

"We tried to address certain areas, knowing that we’re getting [second baseman Jean] Segura back soon. And [2021 NL MVP Bryce] Harper is making progress, which is very encouraging."

Dombrowski sent outfielder Mickey Moniak – the number-one overall pick of the 2016 draft – and minor league outfielder Jadiel Sanchez to the Angels for Syndergaard, an All-Star with the New York Mets in 2016 who has had a bounce-back year after missing nearly the entire 2020 and 2021 seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery.

The hard-throwing right-hander has remained healthy this season and has posted a solid 3.83 ERA and 1.21 WHIP in 15 starts. Syndergaard signed a one-year, $21 million contract with the Angels in November.

Robertson, obtained from the Chicago Cubs for Double-A pitcher Ben Brown, has put together a strong comeback season of his own at age 37. The veteran reliever has held opposing hitters to a .162 average while going 3-0 with a 2.23 ERA and 14 saves in 36 appearances.

The 2011 AL All-Star previously pitched in seven games for the Phillies in 2019 before undergoing Tommy John surgery and missing all of the following season. Robertson began the 2021 campaign out of the majors before signing with the Tampa Bay Rays last August.

Philadelphia traded catcher Logan O’Hoppe – the organisation’s No. 3 overall prospect according to MLB.com – to the Angels in exchange for Marsh, who could take over as the Phillies’ center fielder.

The 24-year-old has hit just .226 with eight home runs and eight stolen bases in 93 games this season, but has received high marks for his defensive abilities.

"He is one of the best defenders in baseball in center field," Thomson said. "Obviously, that’s an upgrade. He can run. He’s just a grinder, gamer type of guy. He’s hit in the past. He hasn’t hit lately, but I think there’s some stuff that [hitting coach] Kevin [Long] can do to help him out."

Odubel Herrera, who has started a team-high 43 games in center field, was designated for assignment following Marsh’s addition. Herrera was hitting just .215 with a .550 OPS since June 1.

Aaron Judge became the second-fastest player to ever hit 200 career home runs as he connected on his 42nd of the season in the New York Yankees' 8-2 home victory against the Kansas City Royals.

Judge's moment came in the second inning, but it was not his side's first home run of the night after D.J. LeMahieu blasted a 410-footer to center-field as the Yankees' first batter of the game.

After All-Star catcher Jose Trevino got on base, Judge took one opposite-field to put the Yankees 4-0 up. He reached his 200th home run in his 671st career game – 13 games slower than former Philadelphia Phillies slugger Ryan Howard.

That was not all Judge would do in this contest, getting on base four times as he finished with a pair of hits and a pair of walks. He now has 10 more home runs than second-placed Kyle Schwarber (32).

On the mound, Nestor Cortes put in a strong showing to be credited with the win, giving up two runs in five innings, striking out five. 

After a clean Aroldis Chapman inning in relief, Clarke Schmidt then came in for a three-inning save, striking out five batters and throwing 52 pitches.

Twins stars go deep against Padres

Both Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa hit home runs in the Minnesota Twins' 7-4 win on the road against the San Diego Padres.

Stars on both sides were swinging a heavy bat, with Padres MVP candidate Manny Machado opening the scoring with his own solo shot in the third inning.

But the Twins had all the answers, as Buxton destroyed a baseball 434 feet over the left-field wall an inning later, before Correa kick-started his side's five-run eighth frame with his own two-run homer.

Shohei puts on a show

The Los Angeles Angels rallied back late to defeat the Texas Rangers 9-7, headlined by reigning AL MVP Shohei Ohtani's 22nd home run of the season.

The superstar designated hitter – who has also pitched the sixth most strikeouts in all of baseball this season (146 in 17 starts) – connected on a 424-foot, three-run home run to center-field in the third inning to give the Angels a 3-2 lead. Only 15 players have hit more home runs this campaign.

Texas fought back in the middle innings through home runs to Marcus Semien and Meibrys Viloria, but the Angels scored five in the eighth inning to steal the result.

Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani has begun fielding questions about his future as his club appears to be destined for another lost season.  

Speaking through translator Ippei Mizuhara after the Angels' 2-0 loss to the Texas Rangers on Thursday, Ohtani was asked if he wanted to stay in Los Angeles through next week's trade deadline.  

"Regardless of where I'm playing, I'm going to give it my all and try to win that ballgame in front of me," Ohtani said. "I'm with the Angels right now, and I'm very thankful for what they've done. I love my team and my team-mates.  

"Right now I'm an Angel, and that's all I can focus on."

Ohtani (9-6) took the loss on Thursday, scattering eight hits and punching out 11 hitters over six innings but allowing both Texas runs.  

Los Angeles fell to 42-57, 22.5 games back of the Houston Astros in the AL West and 11 games out of a Wild Card spot.  

The reigning AL MVP has spent each of his five MLB seasons with the Angels, never finishing above .500. 

The Angels last appeared in the postseason in 2014 and haven't won a playoff game since 2009.  

While Ohtani is not thought to be a serious candidate to be traded ahead of the August 2 deadline, the 28-year-old star is scheduled to become a free agent after next season.