The Los Angeles Dodgers landed the prize of the free-agent market Thursday night, reportedly agreeing with Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto on a record 12-year, $325 million deal.

The deal comes after Yamamoto was posted and made available to MLB teams in November. The Dodgers paid a $50.6 million posting fee to sign Yamamoto, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

Yamamoto, 25, is considered a frontline starter and leaves Japan as the most decorated pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball history.

He made his debut with Orix Buffaloes at age 18 and went on to record a 1.82 ERA in a seven-year career.

Yamamoto won the pitching Triple Crown last season, leading the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts. He went 49-16 with a 1.44 ERA and 580 strikeouts over the last three seasons, winning Japan’s equivalent of the Cy Young each year.

He is the first player since Ichiro Suzuki to win three straight MVPs in the NPB and only the second pitcher ever to win three, after Hisashi Yamada.

His contract is the largest for a pitcher in MLB history, topping the nine-year, $324 million deal Gerrit Cole signed with the Yankees in 2019.

Yamamoto’s record deal comes after the Dodgers signed Shohei Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million deal, but unlike that contract, Yamamoto’s reportedly does not contain any deferrals. It does have a reported $50 million signing bonus.

On the same day they introduced Shohei Ohtani, the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired frontline starter Tyler Glasnow from the Tampa Bay Rays, according to multiple reports.

There is an agreement in place for the Dodgers to get Glasnow and outfielder Manuel Margot from Tampa Bay for right-hander Ryan Pepiot and outfield prospect Jonny Deluca.

The teams have not confirmed the deal because it is contingent on Glasnow signing a contract extension with the Dodgers, which could happen as early as Friday, according to sources.

Glasnow, 30, was among the top pitchers available in the trade market and gives the Dodgers ace potential. He went 10-7 with a 3.53 ERA and 162 strikeouts in 21 starts last season and posted a 3.20 ERA in six seasons with Tampa Bay.

Glasnow, though, has had trouble staying healthy and his 120 innings last season were a career high. In his five years as a full-time starting pitcher, the right-hander has undergone Tommy John surgery and spent separate time on the injured list due to a forearm strain, an elbow sprain and an oblique strain.

Margot is a highly regarded defender and joins a Dodgers' outfield that already includes James Outman, Chris Taylor and Jason Heyward.

Margot batted .264 with four home runs and 38 RBIs in 99 games last season and is a career .255 hitter in 788 games.

Pepiot is the key to the deal for the Rays after he entered the 2023 season ranked No. 70 on MLB’s top-100 prospect list. The 26-year-old was expected to be part of the Dodgers’ rotation after he was called up in August and had a 2.14 ERA in 42 innings with 38 strikeouts and five walks.

Pepiot enters the season with just one year of service time, giving Tampa Bay five years of control before he reaches free agency.

Deluca, 25, broke into the majors last season and hit .262 with two homers and six RBIs in 45 plate appearances. He can play anywhere in the outfield.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have confirmed the signing of Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani on a mammoth 10-year contract.

The reigning American League MVP’s agent Nez Balelo revealed the record-breaking 700million dollar (£558m) deal on Saturday before Ohtani posted on his Instagram account about his short move from the Los Angeles Angels.

“We congratulate him on his historic contract with our storied franchise,” said Mark Walter, chairman of the Dodgers and their owners Guggenheim Baseball, in a statement confirming the move on Monday.

“Shohei is a once-in-a-generation talent and one of the most exciting professional athletes in the world.”

He continued: “Our players, staff, management and ownership look forward to working together with Shohei to help the Dodgers continue to add, improve and strive for excellence on the field.

“Together with Shohei, we will work to help grown the number and breadth of people around the world who enjoy the excitement of Major League Baseball.”

Ohtani, 29, thanked Dodgers fans for welcoming him to the team.

“I can say, 100 %, that you, the Dodger organisation and I share the same goal – to bring World Series parades to the streets of Los Angeles.”

Reports in US media say Ohtani will receive around two million dollars (£1.6m) a year throughout his contract with the balance in instalments of 68m dollars a year (£54.1m) for the following 10 years to provide the club with greater flexibility in payroll restrictions.

Former MVPs Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman have similar deferred deals with the Dodgers.

Ohtani is unusual in that he plays as a pitcher and a hitter, becoming regarded as one of the best in the game on both sides of the ball since his Angels debut in 2018.

He won his second American League MVP award in 2023, despite an elbow injury which curtailed his season and will prevent him from pitching in 2024.

Pitcher Joe Kelly, who re-signed with the Dodgers on Monday, is switching to number 99 to allow Ohtani to retain his 17 jersey.

The previous record contract in MLB was the 426.5m (£340m) the Angels paid to outfielder Mike Trout as part of a 12-year deal in 2019.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ 10-year 450m (£359m) extension, agreed in September, was the previous highest in US sports.

Free agent Shohei Ohtani is signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the two-way star announced Saturday on Instagram.

His contract will be worth $700million over 10 seasons, multiple media outlets reported.

Ohtani’s post was simply a large image of the Dodgers’ logo with a caption posted in English.

“To all the fans and everyone involved in the baseball world, I apologize for taking so long to come to a decision,” the caption began. “I have decided to choose the Dodgers as my next team.”

The announcement came a day after erroneous reports that Ohtani flew to Toronto on Friday. The private jet that was incorrectly reported to have Ohtani onboard actually belonged to “Shark Tank” star Robert Herjavec.

After spending six seasons in Anaheim with the Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani will now call Dodger Stadium home after signing the most lucrative contract in North American sports history.

Patrick Mahomes, of the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, previously held the record with a contract totalling $450million, but parts of that deal were not guaranteed.

The Arizona Diamondbacks became the first team to hit four home runs in a postseason inning and held on for a 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers to finish a stunning sweep and reach the NL Championship Series on Wednesday.

Geraldo Perdomo, Ketel Marte, Christian Walker and Gabriel Moreno went deep off Dodgers starter Lance Lynn in the third inning for a 4-0 lead.

That would be all the offense Arizona would need to eliminate the NL West champion and 100-win Dodgers and move into the NLCS for the first time since losing to Colorado in 2007.

The sixth-seeded Diamondbacks improved to 5-0 in these playoffs.

Rookie Brandon Pfaadt worked the first 4 1/3 innings without allowing a run before Joe Mantiply got the next four outs.

Ryan Thompson gave up a pair of runs in the seventh, but Andrew Saalfrank quelled the rally and Kevin Ginkel fanned two in the eighth.

Paul Sewald pitched the ninth for his fourth postseason save in as many opportunities.

Los Angeles scored two runs in every game of the series and hit one home run to Arizona’s nine.

Former MVPs Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman combined to go 1 for 21 without an RBI in the series.

Astros oust Twins for another trip to ALCS

Jose Abreu and Michael Brantley homered, and the Houston Astros topped the Minnesota Twins 3-2 to reach the AL Championship Series for a seventh consecutive season.

Abreu’s two-run blast in the fourth off reliever Caleb Thielbar scored Yordan Alvarez and gave the Astros a 3-1 lead they would not relinquish.

Abreu had three homers and eight RBIs in the four-game series, while Alvarez had four home runs and six RBIs.

Houston will host in-state rival Texas in Game 1 of the ALCS on Sunday, with three-time Cy Young winner Justin Verlander likely on the mound for the Astros.

Jose Urquidy limited the Twins to two runs – both on homers - and three hits over 5 2/3 innings with one walk and six strikeouts.

Hector Neris and Bryan Abreu combined for five strikeouts over 2 1/3 hitless innings and former Twin Ryan Pressly struck out the side in the ninth.

Royce Lewis hit his fourth home run of this postseason and Edouard Julien also went deep for the Twins, who managed just three runs and six hits in two home games in this series.

Harper hits 2 of Phillies’ 6 home runs in win

Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos each homered twice, and the Philadelphia Phillies rolled to a 10-2 rout of the Atlanta Braves for a 2-1 lead in their NL Division Series.

Brandon Marsh and Trea Turner also went deep for the Phillies, who can advance to the NL Championship Series for the second consecutive season with a win at home Thursday.

Aaron Nola allowed two runs and six hits over 5 2/3 innings and four relievers held Atlanta scoreless the rest of the way.

The Phillies scored six runs in the third to knock out Bryce Elder, with Castellanos leading off with a home run.

After Marsh and Turner singled, Harper launched a 2-1 pitch deep into the seats in right for a 4-1 lead.

J.T. Realmuto capped the uprising with a two-run double against Michael Tonkin.

Harper added a solo homer off Brad Hand in the fifth and Turner’s blast an inning later made it 8-1.

Harper has nine playoff home runs in 22 games over the past two seasons, with five coming against Atlanta.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. homered and knocked in two runs to back a solid start from Zac Gallen, and the Arizona Diamondbacks continued their surprising postseason run with Monday's 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Arizona, the sixth and lowest playoff seed in the National League, took a 2-0 lead in this best-of-five Division Series against a Dodgers team it finished 16 games behind of in the NL West standings. The Diamondbacks are now 4-0 in these playoffs after sweeping the NL Central champion Milwaukee Brewers on the road in the Wild Card round.

The Diamondbacks now return home with a chance to close out this series Wednesday. 

After battering Los Angeles ace Clayton Kershaw in an 11-2 rout in Saturday's Game 1, the Diamondbacks started fast again with three first-inning runs off rookie Bobby Miller.

The first three Arizona hitters reached base in front of Christian Walker's sacrifice fly and Gabriel Moreno's run-scoring groundout, and Gurriel later produced an RBI single to extend the lead to 3-0.

Los Angeles got on the board in the fourth on J.D. Martinez's solo homer off Gallen, but Arizona countered with Gurriel's homer in the sixth to increase the margin to 4-1.

Max Muncy and Martinez singled to chase Gallen in the bottom of the sixth and got a run back on Enrique Hernandez's RBI single, but reliever Ryan Thompson prevented further damage by getting the final out and stranding the bases loaded.

Thompson, Kevin Ginkel and Paul Sewald then held the Dodgers without a hit over the final three innings to seal the win.

Gallen was charged with two runs over 5 1/3 innings, while Miller was pulled after permitting three runs and four hits in just 1 2/3 innings.

Riley's homer caps rally as Braves even series with Phillies

Austin Riley's dramatic two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning capped a crucial comeback for the Atlanta Braves, who rallied from a four-run deficit to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-4, in Monday's Game 2 of the National League Division Series.

Atlanta, which won a major league-best 104 games during the regular season, was facing a 2-0 deficit in this best-of-five series before scoring five unanswered runs to avoid a potential elimination game in Philadephia on Wednesday.

Travis d'Arnaud aided the improbable rally with a two-run homer in the seventh inning off Phillies starter Zack Wheeler, who didn't allow a hit until the sixth as Philadelphia built a 4-0 lead.

The Braves also got a sensational defensive play in the ninth from center fielder Michael Harris II, who made a leaping catch to rob Nick Castellanos of extra bases to start a game-ending double play that caught Phillies star Bryce Harper attempting to score from first base.

Riley stepped up with two outs in the eighth and Ronald Acuna Jr. aboard with the Braves down 4-3. The All-Star third baseman worked the count full against Jeff Hoffman before taking a slider over the left-field wall to put the NL East champs ahead for the first time in the series.

The Phillies put the tying run aboard in the ninth, however, when Harper drew a leadoff walk. Two batters later, Castellanos sent a deep drive off Braves closer Raisel Iglesias that Harris snared just before hitting the outfield wall before quickly throwing the ball to the infield, where Riley grabbed it and fired to first base to double off Harper after the two-time NL MVP was frantically trying to get back to the bag after rounding second base.

Wheeler allowed just one baserunner, who reached on an error by shortstop Trea Turner, before walking Acuna with two outs in the sixth. Ozzie Albies then broke up the no-hit bid with a single to right that led to Atlanta's first run when Acuna raced home as Turner misplayed the relay throw. 

D'Arnaud cut the lead to 4-3 by homering off Wheeler's final pitch with Matt Olson on base in the seventh.

Wheeler struck out 10 over 6 1/3 innings and was charged with three runs - two earned - while yielding only three hits.

The Phillies built their 4-0 lead on J.T. Realmuto's two-run homer off Max Fried in the third inning, Alec Bohm's RBI single in the first and Bryson Stott's sac fly in the fith. 

Fried lasted just four innings and allowed three runs while walking four. 

The Los Angeles Dodgers are kings of the NL West once again.

Max Muncy, Chris Taylor and Kike Hernandez all delivered 11th-inning RBIs and the Dodgers outlasted the Seattle Mariners for a 6-2 win Saturday, clinching their 10th division title in the last 11 seasons.

Neither team scored in the game’s first nine innings, but Los Angeles took a 1-0 lead in the top of the 10th on a Kolten Wong sacrifice fly, but Seattle pulled even again on Mike Ford’s RBI single in the bottom half.

Muncy’s single with one out in the 11th plated Mookie Betts and put the Dodgers (90-57) ahead for good. Taylor and Hernandez followed with two-run singles in the inning for extra insurance.

Jason Heyward had three doubles and finished the game 4 of 5 for the Dodgers.

Seven Dodgers pitches combined to hold the M’s to just seven hits, and neither of Seattle’s runs were earned.

The loss dropped the Mariners (81-67) to 1 ½ games back of the Houston Astros in the AL West.

O’s regain AL East lead with win over Rays

Grayson Rodriguez was nearly unhittable for eight innings, Gunnar Henderson hit a three-run home run and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Rays 8-0 to take a one-game lead in the AL East.

Rodriguez’s start was the longest and perhaps best of his rookie season. It was certainly the most important as the Orioles (92-56) ended a four-game losing streak.

Fellow Baltimore rookie Henderson went 3 of 5 with two runs scored and delivered the game’s only homer in the second inning off Tyler Glasnow.

Aaron Hicks reached base three times and scored twice, and Ramon Urias had two hits and an RBI as the Orioles seek their first division title since 2014.

D-backs win key matchup with Cubs in 13-inning marathon

Gabriel Moreno plated Evan Longoria with a 13th-inning single and the Arizona Diamondbacks rallied for a 7-6 walk-off win over the Chicago Cubs to tighten the NL wild card race.

After Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s single tied the game in the sixth, Arizona fell behind in the 10th, 11th and 13th innings but battled back each time.

The win lifted the Diamondbacks (78-72) into a tie with the Cincinnati Reds for the final wild card spot in the NL and moved them to within a half-game of the Cubs for the second NL wild card slot.

The Cubs (78-71) dropped their fourth straight game and fell to 2-7 in their last nine.

Saturday’s game was the longest in the majors this season, lasting 4 hours, 24 minutes.

Orlando Arcia drilled a three-run homer in the 10th inning and the Atlanta Braves won their sixth straight game, 4-1 over the Los Angeles Dodgers in a matchup of the National League’s best teams.

With the initial runner at second, Alex Vesia got the first two outs of the 10th but walked Sean Murphy before Arcia sent a first-pitch fastball over the left-centre field wall for his 17th home run and a 4-1 lead.

Max Muncy had a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th, but Raisel Iglesias struck out Amed Rosario with a runner on for his 28th save.

Major league-leading Atlanta has won the first three games of this much-anticipated series, becoming the first team to reach 90 victories.

The Braves are cruising to their sixth straight NL East title with a 16-game lead over Philadelphia.

Ronald Acuna Jr. opened the scoring in the third inning with his third home run of this series and 32nd of the season.

The Dodgers got the run back in the bottom half when Austin Barnes doubled, moved to third on two walks and scored on a double-play grounder.

Bryce Elder pitched six innings for the Braves and allowed one run and five hits.

Joe Jimenez, A.J. Minter and Michael Tonkin each pitched one hitless inning before Iglesias took over in the 10th.

Reds rally to walk-off Cubs again

Elly De La Cruz delivered a tying single and newcomer Hunter Renfroe beat out a double-play ball as the Cincinnati Reds rallied for their second straight walk-off win, 2-1 over the Chicago Cubs.

Chicago took a 1-0 lead to the ninth after a brilliant eight-inning performance from Javier Assad but Cincinnati scored twice in the ninth to win.

Jake Fraley opened the inning with a double off Mark Leiter Jr. and pinch-runner Harrison Bader stole third. After TJ Friedl walked and Spencer Steer was hit by a pitch, De Le Cruz’s hit tied it.

Nick Martini flied out to keep the bases loaded and Renfroe – claimed off waivers from the Angels earlier this week – hit a grounder to short and barely beat the throw to first, allowing the winning run to score.

Guardians score 2 in 11th to rally past Rays

Steven Kwan had a sacrifice fly and after a key hit by rookie Jose Tena and the Cleveland Guardians rallied for their fourth straight win, 7-6 over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Brandon Lowe gave the Rays a one-run lead in the top of the 11th with a sacrifice fly, but Chris Devenski was unable to protect it in his first appearance with the team.

With one out, Myles Straw stole third and Bo Naylor walked to put runners at the corners. Tena’s single to right tied the game and moved Naylor to third before Kwan’s fly ball to shallow right-centre scored the winning run.

The loss dropped the Rays 2 ½ games behind AL East-leading Baltimore, while the Guardians remained five games in back of Minnesota in the Central.

Ronald Acuna Jr. hit a grand slam to become the first player in major league history with 30 home runs and 60 stolen bases in a season and the Atlanta Braves held on to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-7 in a matchup of baseball’s two top teams on Thursday.

Acuna connected off Lance Lynn as part of Atlanta’s six-run second inning for his 30th home run and third career grand slam.

Rickey Henderson was the closest to being the first 30-60 player before Acuna. He had 28 homers and 87 steals in 1986 and 28 home runs and 65 steals in 1990.

Spencer Strider became the first pitcher to reach 16 wins this season, allowing four runs and four hits in six innings with two walks and nine strikeouts.

Joe Jimenez surrendered two solo home runs in the seventh, one to Michael Busch and Mookie Betts’ second of the game.

Max Muncy took A.J. Minter deep to lead off the eighth to make it 8-7 but Pierce Johnson got the final out of the eighth.

Raisel Iglesias put two runners on in the ninth before getting Muncy to fly out and striking out Kike Hernandez for his 27th save.

Michael Harris also homered for the major league-best Braves, who have won four straight and eight of nine.

They finished August with a 21-8 record, tying the Atlanta-era record for wins in a month set by the 1999 team that went 21-7.

Betts, among the leading candidates for NL MVP along with Acuna, hit a three-run homer off Strider in the fifth to cut the Dodgers’ deficit to 7-4.

Betts finished August with 11 home runs and has 38 on the season, extending his career high.

Yastrzemski leads Giants past listless Padres

Mike Yastrzemski homered and drove in two runs as the San Francisco Giants rolled to a 7-2 victory over the sloppy San Diego Padres.

Yastrzemski had an RBI single during San Francisco’s six-run third inning, with five of those runs unearned due to two errors by first baseman Matthew Batten.

Yastrzemski homered in the fifth to extend the lead to 7-0.

Jakob Junis pitched four hitless innings and three relievers combined on a seven-hitter.

The Giants moved one game ahead of idle Arizona in the race for the NL’s third wild-card spot.

Austin Barnes provided the game’s only run with an eighth-inning home run and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Milwaukee Brewers 1-0 for their 11th straight win on Thursday.

After Corbin Burnes and counterpart Lance Lynn each put up zeroes for seven innings, Barnes lined an 0-1 pitch from Joel Payamps into the lower seats in left for his first home run of the season with one out in the eighth.

The Dodgers improved to 15-1 in August, outscoring opponents 93-38.

Lynn allowed four hits with one walk and three strikeouts in his fourth start since joining the Dodgers in a trade with the White Sox.

Caleb Ferguson worked the eighth and Evan Phillips pitched the ninth for his 18th save in 20 opportunities.

Burnes limited the red-hot Dodgers to two hits while walking two and striking out nine but remained winless in his last five starts.

Milwaukee totalled just three runs in the series and had its NL Central lead trimmed to two games over the Cubs and Cincinnati.

Rodriguez leads Mariners past Royals

Julio Rodriguez capped his first career five-hit game with a two-run homer and the Seattle Mariners continued their playoff push with a 6-4 win over the Kansas City Royals.

Rodriguez went 5 for 5 with a career high-tying five RBIs and finished the four-game series with 12 hits, setting a franchise record for any series.

He is the fourth Mariners player with at least four hits in consecutive games, the fifth player in team history with a five-hit, five-RBI game, and the first Seattle player with at least 20 homers in each of his first two seasons.

Cal Raleigh also homered as the Mariners pulled within one-half game of idle Toronto for the third and final AL wild-card spot.

Gallen shuts down Padres as Diamondbacks win

Zach Gallen pitched six strong innings and was backed by home runs from Tommy Pham and Gabriel Moreno in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ 3-1 win over the San Diego Padres in the opener of a four-game series.

Gallen limited the Padres to one run and three hits with one walk and three strikeouts to beat the Padres for the second straight start. He became the fourth 13-game winner in the majors.

Kyle Nelson fanned three in 1 1/3 scoreless innings and rookie Justin Martinez got the final four outs for his first career save.

Pham followed Corbin Carroll’s one-out walk in the fourth inning with his 12th home run and Moreno added his fourth of the season an inning later.

Arizona has won five of six following a nine-game losing streak to get within one game of the third and final NL wild-card spot.

Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith each had three hits and the Los Angeles Dodgers rolled to their 10th straight victory, 7-1 over the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday.

Betts had three singles and scored four times, Freeman added a pair of doubles and a single and Smith went 3 for 4 with two RBIs.

Chris Taylor and Miguel Rojas homered as Los Angeles improved to 14-1 in August to open a 10-game lead over San Francisco in the NL West.

The Dodgers have outscored opponents 61-22 during the win streak.

Clayton Kershaw limited NL Central-leading Milwaukee to three hits and one run – Mark Canha’s homer – over five innings with two walks and two strikeouts in his second start back from the injured list.

Rojas’ second-inning home run put the Dodgers up 2-1 and Betts scored later in the frame when J.D. Martinez reached on interference by catcher William Contreras with the bases loaded.

Smith followed singles by Betts and Freeman in the fourth with a sacrifice fly and Freeman doubled home Betts in the sixth before he scored on Smith’s single.

Cubs win on Morel’s walk-off homer

Christopher Morel drilled a dramatic three-run home run in the ninth inning to lift the Chicago Cubs to a 4-3 win over the rival Chicago White Sox.

The Cubs entered the ninth trailing 3-1 but got a leadoff double from Cody Bellinger against Gregory Santos. After Dansby Swanson walked, Morel drove a 1-2 pitch into the bleacher sets in right-centre field for his 19th home run.

Morel’s blast was the Cubs’ first hit with runners in scoring position all night after they were 0 for 6.

Nick Madrigal hit a pinch-hit home run in the eighth to set the stage for Morel’s heroics.

Gavin Sheets had a two-run homer for the White Sox, who had won six straight at Wrigley Field.

Detmers flirts with no-hitter in Angels’ win

Reid Detmers took a no-hitter into the eighth inning and Shohei Ohtani homered in the Los Angeles Angels’ 2-0 win over the Texas Rangers.

Detmers held Texas hitless until Marcus Semien lined a double into the left-centre field gap with one out in the eighth on his 108th and final pitch.

Detmers, who threw a no-hitter last season as a rookie, finished with five strikeouts and four walks.

Ohtani took Jon Gray deep in the first inning for AL-best 42nd home run.  

The Rangers were shut out for the ninth time this season and had a nine-game home winning streak snapped.

Rookie Bobby Miller pitched one-hit ball over six innings to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to their ninth straight win, 6-2 over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday.

Miller allowed his only hit to the first batter he faced and earned his first win since July 22. He struck out four and walked one before Ryan Yarbrough pitched three innings for his first career save.

The Dodgers sent 10 batters to the plate and scored five runs in the sixth to knock out starter Adrian Houser.

J.D. Martinez doubled off the wall in left to score Will Smith, who reached on a throwing error by third baseman Andruw Monasterio.

Pinch-hitter Kike Hernandez singled home a pair of runs off reliever Hoby Milner and scored on Miguel Rojas’ single before Mookie Betts’ RBI single made it 6-1.

Los Angeles has outscored opponents 54-21 during the nine-game streak to open a nine-game lead over San Francisco in the NL West.

Carlos Santana homered for NL Central-leading Milwaukee, which had a four-game winning streak snapped but remained 3 ½ games of the Cubs and Reds.

Elder goes 7 as Braves 1-hit sliding Yankees

Bryce Elder was nearly unhittable for seven innings, Ronald Acuna Jr. and Marcell Ozuna went deep and the Atlanta Braves beat the struggling New York Yankees 5-0.

The Yankees’ only hit of the night was a second-inning DJ LeMahieu single off Elder, who bounced back from losses in his previous two starts to pitch his best game of the year.

A.J. Minter and Kirby Yates pitched an inning each to complete the one-hitter for the MLB-best Braves, who have won seven of their last nine.

Acuna stayed on his MVP-caliber pace by hitting his 26th home run and scoring two runs. He is hitting .368 this month with a 1.040 OPS.

The last-place Yankees continued their slide, falling to 11-18 since the All-Star break and dropping to .500 for the first time since May 1.

Mariners recover to beat Royals

Ty France singled home a pair in the 10th inning and the Seattle Mariners topped the Kansas City Royals 10-8 after blowing a seven-run lead.

Seattle took an 8-5 lead into the bottom of the ninth but were unable to hold a late lead for the second straight night.

An error and two walks loaded the bases with two outs before Michael Massey delivered a two-run single. Salvador Perez followed with another hit to make it 8-8.

Seattle scored seven runs in the fourth inning off Jordan Lyles, starting with back-to-back home runs by Eugenio Suarez and France before Teoscar Hernandez followed Cal Raleigh’s walk with a longball of his own.

Jose Caballero doubled home a run later in the inning and scored on Josh Rojas’ first home run of the season.

Hernandez tied a career high with five hits and had three RBIs, while France went 4 for 6 with three RBIs.

Kansas City cut the deficit to 7-5 in the fifth, highlighted by Bobby Witt Jr.’s second grand slam in 18 days.

Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw will make his first start since June 27 on Thursday after the team activated the veteran pitcher from the injured list prior to their game against the Colorado Rockies.

Kershaw missed the past six weeks with a sore left shoulder that prevented the three-time National League Cy Young Award winner from appearing in last month's MLB All-Star Game.

The 35-year-old prepared for Thursday's assignment by throwing a pair of simulated games, including a four-inning outing last week.

Kershaw was in the midst of another excellent season prior to being sidelined. In 16 starts in 2023, the left-hander has compiled a 10-4 record and a 2.55 earned run average that would lead the majors if he had enough innings to qualify.

The 10-time All-Star is 4-0 with a sensational 1.09 ERA over his past five starts and did not allow a run in three of those appearances. In his most recent start on June 27, Kershaw held the Rockies to one hit over six scoreless frames in a 5-0 Dodgers' victory at Coors Field.

Kershaw's return should help stabilise a Los Angeles rotation that has largely struggled in his absence. Dodgers starters recorded a combined 6.18 ERA in July, the second highest in the majors for the month.

“For the team, I know that we all get excited when he takes the baseball,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Tuesday. “You just feel more comfortable and confident when Kersh is active.

Despite their starting pitching issues, the Dodgers have opened up a six-game lead on the second-place San Francisco Giants in the NL West and have won eight of nine games to begin August. 

Freddie Freeman homered and drove in three runs and J.D. Martinez added three RBIs to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to an 11-5 win, ending the Texas Rangers’ six-game winning streak in a matchup of division leaders on Friday night.

Freeman, Will Smith and Martinez each had two hits and the NL West-leading Dodgers won for the ninth time in 11 games.

Los Angeles erased a 5-4 deficit by scoring seven runs over the final three innings, using three walks – one intentional to Freeman - a single and a wild pitch to push across two in the seventh.

Smith delivered a two-run double and Martinez singled home another run in the eighth, and Mookie Betts doubled home a pair in the ninth.

Rangers All-Star shortstop Corey Seager hit his 15th home run in the sixth inning against his former team to give Texas a 5-4 lead but left in the eighth after spraining his right thumb on a headfirst slide on a double.

Nathaniel Lowe also went deep for West-leading Texas, which had been the only team without a loss since the All-Star break.

Ohtani allows four home runs in win

Shohei Ohtani allowed four home runs for the first time in his career, but the Los Angeles Angels hit four homers of their own in their fourth straight win, 8-5 over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Pirates rookie Henry Davis became the first player to take Ohtani deep twice and Jack Suwinski and Ji Man Choi also homered, but the Japanese superstar struck out nine and pitched into the seventh inning to rebound from losses in consecutive starts.

The Angles scored five times in the fourth and tacked on two more in the fifth.   

After Ohtani led off the fourth with a walk, Mikey Moniak doubled and Taylor Ward walked in front of Mike Moustakas’ three-run homer. Two outs later, rookie Trey Cabbage connected for his first career home run.

Zach Neto and Ward homered in the fifth to extend the Angels’ lead to 8-4.

Tucker hits three home runs in Astros’ win

Kyle Tucker hit three home runs for the first time in his career and Alex Bregman also went deep to lead the Houston Astros to a 6-4 win over the Oakland Athletics.

Tucker homered off starter JP Sears in the first inning, hit a two-run shot off Sears in the fifth and had a solo blast off Tayler Scott in the seventh for his 17th of the season.

Framber Valdez allowed four runs and six hits over five innings to beat lowly Oakland for the third time this season.

The Astros have won nine straight meetings with the A’s.

Chris Taylor's go-ahead grand slam in the sixth inning provided the big blow as the Los Angeles Dodgers snapped the Baltimore Orioles' eight-game winning streak with a 6-4 comeback victory in Monday's opener of a three-game series between playoff hopefuls.

The Dodgers managed just one run off Orioles prospect Grayson Rodriguez through five innings before breaking through with a five-run sixth. Freddie Freeman began the rally with a leadoff triple and scored on Will Smith's single to trim Baltimore's lead to 4-2, and Rodriguez then walked Max Muncy before giving way to Bryan Baker.

After Baker walked Jayson Heyward to load the bases, Taylor sent an 0-2 fastball over the center-field wall for his sixth career grand slam and a 6-4 Los Angeles lead.

Four Dodger relievers aided the comeback by keeping the Orioles off the scoreboard over the final four innings, with Ryan Brasier working a scoreless ninth to close out the National League West leaders' seventh win in eight games.

Freeman finished 3 for 5 with two runs scored.

Adley Rutschman had a solo homer in the fifth to stake Baltimore to a 4-1 advantage, while Ryan Mountcastle had an RBI double among his two hits.

Ohtani's 35th homer helps rally Angels past Yankees

Shohei Ohtani launched a majestic game-tying two-run homer in the seventh inning, and Michael Stefanic delivered a pinch-hit RBI single in the 10th to send the Los Angeles Angels to a 4-3 victory over the still-slumping New York Yankees.

The Angels trailed 3-1 when Ohtani took reliever Michael King deep for his major league-leading 35th homer. The two-way superstar has now homered in three consecutive games and finished 3 for 4.

After Aaron Loup held the Yankees scoreless in the top of the 10th, Stefanic ripped a two-out base hit off Nick Ramirez to score automatic runner Chad Wallach from second.

Matt Thaiss had a solo homer earlier in the game for Los Angeles, the only run allowed by Yankees starter Luis Severino in six innings.

Severino scattered six hits and three walks before exiting with a two-run lead New York's bullpen failed to hold as the Yankees lost for the seventh time in nine games to drop into sole possession of last place in the American League East.

Oswaldo Cabrera put the Yankees ahead 2-0 with a two-run double in the sixth, shortly after Angels starter Griffin Canning was removed after 120 pitches.

Canning struck out a career-high 12 before departing and was charged with two runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings. 

Rangers edge Rays in clash of AL division leaders

Pinch-runner Josh Smith scored on Pete Fairbanks' wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Texas Rangers a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in the opener of a three-game series between American League division leaders.

Josh Jung greeted Fairbanks with a double to begin the bottom of the ninth before being replaced by Smith, who took third on a groundout before racing home with the winning run when the Tampa Bay closer's fastball skidded past catcher Christian Betancourt.

Aroldis Chapman kept the game at 2-2 with a scoreless top of the ninth and recorded his first win in a Texas uniform since the Rangers acquired the seven-time All-Star reliever from the Kansas City Royals on June 30.

The Rangers moved to 4-0 since the All-Star break and increased their lead on the second-place Houston Astros to 3 1/2 games in the AL West.

Rays ace Shane McClanahan, making his first start since missing over two weeks with back tightness, allowed two runs on three hits with six strikeouts in six innings. The All-Star pitcher shut Texas out until surrendering a game-tying two-run homer to Ezequiel Duran in the sixth. 

Dane Dunning matched McClanahan by yielding two runs on five hits over seven innings for Texas.

Josh Lowe went 2 for 3 with a solo home run for the slumping Rays, who fell to 3-9 in July but maintained a one-game lead on Baltimore in the AL East with the Orioles' loss to the Dodgers.