Bryce Harper belted a grand slam and Cristopher Sanchez pitched seven strong innings as the red-hot Philadelphia Phillies extended their winning streak to seven games with a 10-1 rout of the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday.

Kody Clemens homered, tripled and tied a career high with four RBIs as the Phillies won their 11th in a row at home and 18th in 21 games overall.

Philadelphia leads the majors with 26 victories and has had more wins through 37 games just twice before, in 1976 and 1993, when it started 27-10 in both seasons.

Sanchez limited the Blue Jays to one run on six hits with two walks and five strikeouts.

Jose Berrios entered play leading the majors with a 1.44 ERA but was tagged for eight runs and seven hits in 3 2/3 innings. He gave up more runs against the Phillies than the seven runs in seven starts over 43 2/3 innings before this game.

Harper chased Berrios with a drive to right with two outs in the fourth to put the Phillies ahead 8-0.

Harper is 6 for 11 with three home runs and 10 RBIs in his last three games.

 

Yamamoto, Muncy keep Dodgers surging

Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched a season-high eight innings and was backed by Max Muncy’s first-inning grand slam as the Los Angeles Dodgers won their sixth in a row, 8-2 over the Miami Marlins.

Yamamoto allowed two runs and five hits without a walk and struck out five to win his third straight start.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. homered on Yamamoto’s first pitch of the game, but the Dodgers answered with four runs in the bottom half against Edward Cabrera, who walked two and hit Freddie Freeman before Muncy went deep for the ninth time this season.

Gavin Lux hit a two-run homer to cap a four-run third for Los Angeles, which has won 13 of 15 and outscored opponents 42-11 during the six-game run.

 


Rangers score 10 in 2nd in win over Athletics

Marcus Semien had two hits and three RBIs during a 10-run second inning and the Texas Rangers rolled to a 15-8 rout of the Oakland Athletics.

Semien finished with four hits and five RBIs, Jonah Heim went 4 for 4 with two RBIs and three runs and Leody Taveras had three hits, two RBIs and three runs as the Rangers won their fourth straight.

Texas sent 16 batters to the plate in the second in its biggest inning since May 13, 2015, when it scored 10 in the third against the Yankees.

Ross Stripling allowed a career-high 11 runs – five earned – and 10 hits in 1 2/3 innings.

Kyle McCann and Seth Brown homered for Oakland, which lost its third in a row after six consecutive wins.

Shohei Ohtani's major league-leading 11th home run of the season helped make Walker Buehler's return to the mound a winning one for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who posted a 6-3 victory over the Miami Marlins on Monday.

The Dodgers homered four times in all to take the opener of this three-game series and extend their winning streak to five games. Ohtani and James Outman delivered two-run blasts, while Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernandez had solo shots for the reigning National League West champions.

Making his first MLB start since June 2022 after recovering from the second Tommy John surgery of his career, Buehler did not factor in the decision while allowing three runs on six hits with four strikeouts in four innings.

Buehler's return began in a rocky way, as Jazz Chisholm Jr. opened the game with a single before stealing second and scoring on Bryan De La Cruz's base hit. De La Cruz later scored on Jesus Sanchez's single for a 2-0 Miami lead.

The Dodgers quickly pulled even, as Ohtani followed a lead-off walk to Mookie Betts in the bottom of the first with his fourth homer in three games. Two pitches later, Freeman connected off Miami starter Roddery Munoz to put Los Angeles in front.

Nick Gordon's solo homer off Buehler in the second tied the score once again, but Outman sent Los Angeles back ahead in the bottom of the inning with his blast to center that followed a walk to Gavin Lux.

Hernandez's ninth homer of the season increased the lead to 6-3 in the third, and relievers Ryan Yarbrough, Blake Treinen and Alex Vesia combined for five scoreless innings to protect Los Angeles' advantage.

Chisholm and Sanchez each had two hits for the Marlins. Munoz allowed all six Los Angeles runs in 4 2/3 innings of work.

Wheeler, Harper help scorching Phillies finish sweep of Giants

Zack Wheeler struck out 11 over seven innings, Bryce Harper belted a three-run homer for a second consecutive game, and the torrid Philadelphia Phillies completed a four-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants with a 6-1 victory.

Wheeler allowed one unearned run and four hits in a dominant effort that gave Philadelphia its sixth straight win and 10th in a row at home. The Phillies have now won 10 of their last 11 overall and improved to 17-3 since April 15.

The Phillies did have one streak end, however, as Alec Bohm went 0 for 4 to end a run of 18 straight games with at least one hit.

Giants starter Mason Black, making his major league debut, kept the Phillies off the board until the rookie issued back-to-back walks in the fourth inning and gave up a run-scoring single to Whit Merrifield.

Black ran into greater trouble in the fifth, as Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto began Philadelphia's half of the inning with singles before Harper launched a pitch into the left field seats for a 4-0 lead.

The Giants got their only run in the sixth when Thairo Estrada reached on an error, moved to third on LaMonte Wade Jr.'s single and scored on Wilmer Flores's sacrifice fly.

Schwarber capped the scoring with a solo homer off reliever Tyler Rogers in the eighth.

Black lasted 4 1/3 innings and permitted five runs on eight hits while walking three. 

Twins bounce back, win series opener against Mariners

Simeon Woods Richardson allowed just one hit over six scoreless innings for the Minnesota Twins, who scored twice in the seventh inning to earn a 3-1 win over the Seattle Mariners to open a four-game series.

Carlos Correa went 2 for 4 with an RBI double to help Minnesota get back on track following Sunday's 9-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox, which ended the Twins' 12-game winning streak.

Seattle's Luis Castillo held the Twins to one run through six innings, but was touched for two in the seventh as Minnesota broke a 1-1 tie.

Castillo walked Max Kepler to start the Twins' half of the inning and Correa followed with his second double of the night to put two on. Correa advanced to third on a fielder's choice grounder as Kepler was thrown out at the plate, then scored the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly from Christian Vasquez.

Manuel Margot then greeted reliever Trent Thornton with a run-scoring single that extended the lead to 3-1.

Woods Richardson recorded a career-high eight strikeouts while yielding just a third-inning single to Mitch Garver and a walk to Cal Raleigh in the fifth. The right-hander exited with a 1-0 lead, but reliever Griffin Jax surrendered two hits and a walk in the seventh before Garver got Seattle on the board with a sac fly that plated former Twin Jorge Polanco.

The Twins had gone ahead in the fifth on back-to-back doubles from Kepler and Correa, the first hits Castillo surrendered during the game.

Castillo allowed just three hits overall in 6 2/3 innings, but did walk three and was charged with three runs - two earned - to take the loss.

 

 

 

Shohei Ohtani went 4 for 4 and delivered his first two-homer game as a Los Angeles Dodger to power his new team to a 5-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday.

Ohtani's big performance enabled the Dodgers to complete a sweep of this three-game series between National League clubs who each won their division last season.

Two other notable offseason additions also contributed to Los Angeles' fourth straight win. Teoscar Hernandez added a two-run homer, while James Paxton yielded just one run on five hits over 6 2/3 innings to improve to 4-0.

Ohtani staked the Dodgers to an early lead with a two-run homer off Max Fried in the first inning. The 2023 American League MVP later singled in the sixth before Hernandez launched Fried's curveball into the stands in left center field to extend the margin to 4-0.

Paxton kept Atlanta off the scoreboard until the seventh, when Marcell Ozuna connected for his 10th home run of the season to move into a tie with Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson and injured Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout for the major league lead.

Ohtani joined that group an inning later with a titanic 464-foot blast off A.J. Minter in the eighth.

Fried (2-1) struck out seven in seven innings, but was dealt his first loss of 2024 after allowing four runs on just four hits.

 

Red Sox end Twins' streak as bats break out

Sparked by two-run homers from Ceddane Rafaela and Rafael Devers, the Boston Red Sox broke out of an offensive funk to snap the Minnesota Twins' 12-game winning streak with Sunday's 9-2 victory.

Boston also received two-run doubles from Vaughn Grissom and Dominic Smith to halt a three-game skid in which it scored a combined four runs. The Red Sox had gone six consecutive games without a home run until Rafaela connected off Minnesota starter Joe Ryan in the fifth inning to break a 1-1 tie. 

The Twins' 12-game run was tied for the franchise's second-longest winning streak since relocating to Minnesota in 1961, surpassed only by a 15-game stretch in 1991.

Minnesota did own a 1-0 lead following Ryan Jeffers' solo homer off Cooper Criswell in the third inning, but Rob Refsnyder doubled home Jarren Duran in the fourth to pull Boston even.

Rafaela then followed Reese McGuire's single with his fifth homer of the season to give the Red Sox a 3-1 advantage in the fifth. The score remained that way until Boston broke the game open with four runs against the Twins' bullpen in the eighth.

After loading the bases with one out on a Devers single, a Tyler O'Neill double and a walk, Grissom drove in two with an opposite-field double that preceded Smith's two-run double that increased the lead to 7-1.

The Twins got a run back in their half of the eighth when Max Kepler doubled and scored on Trevor Larnach's single, but Devers followed a triple by Duran with his blast off reliever Jay Jackson in the ninth.

Brennan Bernardino received the win after retiring both batters he faced in relief of Criswell, who allowed one run in 4 1/3 innings.

Ryan (1-2) surrendered three runs while striking out five in six innings.

 

Harper's three-run homer helps Phillies stay hot

Bryce Harper's three-run homer in the third inning provided the biggest blow as the scorching Philadelphia Phillies won their fifth straight game by holding on for a 5-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants. 

J.T. Realmuto had three hits and Alec Bohm extended his hitting streak to 18 games to help Philadelphia win for the ninth time in 10 outings. The Phillies, owners of MLB's best record at 24-11, are 16-3 since April 15.

The Phillies also got a strong effort from Taijuan Walker in his second start back from the injured list. The right-hander worked 6 1/3 innings and allowed three runs while striking out seven to move to 2-0.

Walker was touched for a run in the first inning after permitting a single to Lamonte Wade Jr. and a run-scoring double to Michael Conforto. The veteran hurler settled down from there, though, and the Phillies pulled even in the second when Bohm reached second on an error and later crossed the plate on Edmundo Sosa's infield single.

Harper then put Philadelphia ahead in the third when he followed a walk to Kyle Schwarber and a Realmuto single with a drive into the home bullpen off San Francisco starter Logan Webb.

Webb (3-3) struck out six but was removed after throwing 98 pitches in four innings. The Giants' ace was tagged for five runs - four earned - on six hits and two walks.

Walker protected the 5-1 lead until serving up a two-run homer to Thairo Estrada in the seventh. The Giants inched closer on Jakson Reetz's solo homer off Jose Alvarado with one out in the ninth, but the Philadelphia closer retired the next two hitters to record his seventh save of the season.

Reetz's homer was his first in the majors. The catcher had his contract purchased from Triple-A prior to the game.

Bohm kept his hitting streak alive in his final plate appearance when he doubled in the seventh. 

 

Brent Rooker homered twice in a 10-run third inning and Brett Harris hit the first two home runs of his major league career as the surprising Oakland Athletics reached .500 with a 20-4 pounding of the Miami Marlins on Saturday.

Rooker became the first Athletics player in 30 years to go deep twice in an inning and became the 60th in major league history. Trea Turner of Philadelphia was the last to do it on Aug. 19. The most recent A’s player to do it was Mark McGwire against Seattle in 1996.

Shea Langeliers and JJ Bleday also homered for the Athletics, who have won six straight and eight of nine to get to .500 for the first time since they were 1-1 after a win on April 1, 2023.

Rooker finished with three hits and tied a career high with five RBIs, Bleday had three hits and drove in four, while Langeliers and Darrell Hernaiz added three hits apiece.

Oakland collected 21 hits, its most since it had 25 at Houston on Sept. 10, 2019.

The A’s are the biggest surprise in baseball after losing 112 games last season. Oakland didn’t win its 17th game last season until June 12.

 

Twins beat Red Sox for 12th straight victory

Max Kepler’s home run backed a strong outing by Pablo Lopez and the Minnesota Twins won their 12th straight game, 3-1 over the Boston Red Sox.

The Twins’ streak matches their run from the 1980 season, tied for the second-longest in team history. The club record for consecutive wins is 15, set in June 1991, the last season Minnesota won the World Series.

Lopez allowed one run on five hits over six innings with one walk and eight strikeouts. Three relievers worked two scoreless innings before Cole Sands pitched the ninth for his second save.

Kepler homered off Cam Booser in the fourth inning to snap a 1-1 tie and Carlos Correa’s sacrifice fly in the sixth closed the scoring.

The Red Sox lost their third in a row and have gone six consecutive games without a home run, their longest streak since six straight in 2022.

 

Muncy hits three home runs in Dodgers’ win

Max Muncy had the first three-home run game of his career among his four hits and Shohei Ohtani added three hits with a home run to lift the surging Los Angeles Dodgers to an 11-2 rout of the Atlanta Braves.

Freddie Freeman also had three hits for the Dodgers, who have won three straight and 10 of 12.

Muncy hit a two-run shot in the second inning off Bryce Elder and added solo shots in the seventh and eighth innings to become the first Dodger with a three-homer game since Trayce Thompson on April 1, 2023.

Ohtani led off the third with his eighth home run and surpassed manager Dave Roberts for most homers by a Japanese-born player with the Dodgers.

Tyler Glasnow struck out 10 and became the second pitcher in the majors to reach six wins. He allowed two runs on five hits over seven innings.

 

Chris Paddack pitched two-hit ball over six scoreless innings and Edouard Julien and Ryan Jeffers each drove in two runs to lead the Minnesota Twins to their 11th straight win, 5-2 over the Boston Red Sox on Friday.

The Twins matched win streaks in 2003 and 2006 for their third-longest ever, trailing the club record of 15 straight during their last World Series championship season in 1991. They also won 12 in a row in 1980.

Paddack walked one and struck out six to win his third consecutive start. Jhoan Duran fanned two in the ninth for his second save.

The Red Sox struck out 13 times and lost their second straight following a four-game win streak.

The Twins opened the scoring in the third on Julien’s RBI single and extended to a 5-0 lead with four runs in the seventh.

A throwing error by catcher Reese McGuire scored a run, Julien walked with the bases loaded and Jeffers followed with a two-run double.

Bohm, Marsh lead surging Phillies

Alec Bohm had an RBI single to extend his hitting streak to 16 games and Brandon Marsh drove in two runs as the Philadelphia Phillies remained hot with a 4-3 win over the San Francisco Giants.

Trea Turner added a pair of hits and scored from second on a passed ball for the Phillies, who have won 14 of 17 and lead the majors with 22 victories.

Turner injured his left hamstring running the bases between third and home. He will have further tests on Saturday but said he expects to miss at least a couple of days.

Philadelphia took the lead for good with three runs in the third against Jordan Hicks on Bohm’s RBI single and Marsh’s two-run hit.

Bohm is 30 for 60 with three home runs, 10 doubles and 21 RBIs during his hitting streak.

Sears pitches Athletics to fifth straight victory

JP Sears pitched into the seventh inning and Brent Rooker hit a two-run homer to propel the surprising Oakland Athletics to their fifth consecutive win, 3-1 over the Miami Marlins.

Sears allowed four hits over 6 1/3 scoreless innings with one walk and six strikeouts. Austin Adams and Michael Kelly each got two outs before Lucas Erceg gave up one run over the final 1 1/3 innings for the save.

Oakland improved to 16-17 after it didn’t pick up its 16th win last season until June 10 in the 66th game.

After Rooker’s two-run shot in the fourth inning opened the scoring, Max Schuemann led off the fifth with a double and scored on Esteury Ruiz’s single.

The Marlins, who dropped to 9-25, are working to trade second baseman and reigning NL batting champion Luis Arrez to the San Diego Padres.

Francisco Lindor overcame illness to deliver a walk-off, two-run double in the 11th inning in the New York Mets’ 7-6 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Thursday.

After Nick Madrigal gave the Cubs a 6-5 lead in the top of the 11th with a run-scoring double, Daniel Palencia began the bottom half by hitting Harrison Bader to put two runners on.

Lindor, who didn’t start after leaving Wednesday night’s game with flu-like symptoms, ripped a sharp grounder inside third base and down the left-field line to score automatic runner Brett Baty and Bader.

Lindor also had a two-run double in the sixth inning to forge a 5-5 tie and right fielder Starling Marte made two rocket throws in extra innings to cut down Cubs runners at the plate to end the 10th and 11th.

Brandon Nimo drove in two runs for the Mets, who overcame a 4-0 deficit to salvage a split of the four-game series.

Christopher Morel hit a three-run homer and had one of Chicago’s six stolen bases.

 

Orioles hit three home runs to beat Yankees

Ryan Mountcastle, Jorge Mateo and Ryan McKenna homered and Kyle Bradish pitched well in his season debut to lead the Baltimore Orioles to a 7-2 win over the New York Yankees.

Bradish allowed one run over 4 2/3 innings with two walks and five strikeouts after he began the season on the injured list with a UCL strain. Four relievers combined to limit the Yankees to one run and two hits over the final 4 1/3 innings.

Mountcastle, Mateo and Jordan Westburg each knocked in two runs as the Orioles took three of four in the series between the top teams in the AL East.

Baltimore’s pitchers allowed just six runs in the four games for a 1.50 ERA.

Carlos Rodon had his worst start of the season, yielding seven runs on eight hits in four-plus innings.

Gleyber Torres hit his first home run of the season for the Yankees but also made the team’s third error of the series to help extend Baltimore’s four-run fifth.

 

Singleton leads Astros past Guardians

Jon Singleton homered and drove in three runs as the Houston Astros rallied for their fourth win in five games, 8-2 over the Cleveland Guardians.

Singleton’s two-run homer in the sixth gave Houston a 3-2 lead and the Astros broke open the game with five runs in the seventh.

Jose Altuve singled home a run and scored when Jeremy Pena was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Yainer Diaz delivered a two-run single and Singleton’s sacrifice fly capped the outburst.

Spencer Arrighetti had the best of his four major league starts, allowing two runs and four hits over 5 2/3 innings with three walks and six strikeouts.

Will Brennan had three of Cleveland’s seven hits as the Guardians completed a six-game road trip with four losses.

Max Kepler and Jose Miranda delivered run-scoring singles in the seventh inning and the Twins added four runs in the ninth to win their 10th straight game, 10-5 over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday.

Alex Kiriloff had a solo home run, Will Castro and Miranda each finished with three hits and Ryan Jeffers contributed a two-run double for the Twins, whose winning streak is their longest since June 2008.

Minnesota has beaten the major league-worst White Sox seven times during the streak, with the other three wins coming against the 11–20 Angels.

Tommy Pham and Kory Lee homered for Chicago, which lost its third straight to fall to 6-25.

Twins center fielder Byron Buxton left in the second inning with right knee soreness after an unsuccessful attempt to steal second base.

 

Imanaga sharp again as Cubs hold off Mets

Shota Imanaga continued his historic start with seven scoreless innings and the Chicago Cubs completed a perfect relay for the game’s final out to hold off the New York Mets, 1-0.

Imanaga limited the Mets to three singles with one walk and seven strikeouts to improve to 5-0 with a 0.78 ERA in his first six major league starts.  

He is the first pitcher since 1901 to go 4-0 with a sub-1.00 ERA and at least 28 strikeouts in his first five starts.

The Mets put runners at second and third with one out in the bottom of the ninth against Hector Neris before Jeff McNeil hit a flyball to medium left field. Ian Happ made the catch and relayed to third baseman Nick Madrigal, who threw home to get Pete Alonso for the final out.

Chicago scored the game’s only run in the fifth, when Matt Mervis led off with a double, moved up on a wild pitch and scored on rookie Pete Crow-Armstrong’s sacrifice fly.

 

Red-hot Lugo wins again

Seth Lugo pitched seven strong innings for his fifth win and Michael Massey hit a three-run homer to lift the Kansas City Royals to a 6-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Lugo allowed just one hit until giving up Danny Jansen’s home run with two outs in the seventh. The right-hander walked two and struck out eight to improve to 5-1 and lower his ERA to 1.60.

Bobby Witt Jr. had two hits, scored once and had an RBI to help the Royals take two of three in the series.

Salvador Perez had an RBI single and extended his career-best streak of reaching base safely to 21 games. He leads the AL with a .355 batting average and 27 RBIs.

Kansas City gave Lugo all the support he needed with a three-run sixth. Kyle Isbel led off with a double, moved up on a sacrifice and scored on Witt’s single. Vinnie Pasquantino then doubled, and Perez’s hit plated Witt before Massey’s groundout made it 3-0.

Jack Flaherty tied an American League record with seven straight strikeouts to open the game and finished with a career-high 14 before the St. Louis Cardinals rallied for a 2-1 win over the Detroit Tigers in a doubleheader opener on Tuesday.

Flaherty’s game-opening seven strikeouts matched the AL record shared by Joe Cowley of the 1986 Chicago White Sox, Carlos Rodon of the 2016 White Sox, Tampa Bay’s Blake Snell in 2018 and Seattle’s Luis Castillo two years ago.

Miami’s Pablo Lopez holds the major league record by striking out the first nine batters of a game in 2021.

Flaherty’s 14 strikeouts were the most by a Tigers pitcher since Max Scherzer had 14 against Pittsburgh on Aug. 14, 2014.

Detroit took a 1-0 lead into the ninth, but Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt and Alec Burleson had one-out singles before Pedro Pages followed with a go-ahead sacrifice fly for his first career RBI.

In the second game, Wenceel Perez homered from both sides of the plate, including a tiebreaking shot in the fifth inning, to lift the Tigers to an 11-6 win.

 

Streaking Twins beat White Sox

Max Kepler had a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the ninth inning to lead the Minnesota Twins to their ninth straight victory, 6-5 over the Chicago White Sox.

Minnesota’s win streak is its longest since a 10-game run in June 2008. The Twins also have won seven consecutive games against the White Sox.

After Andrew Benintendi homered in the eighth to tie it at 5, Bryon Buxton led off the ninth with a walk and took third on Manuel Margot’s single. Kepler’s fly to center gave the Twins a 6-5 lead and Jhoan Duran pitched around a leadoff single by Tommy Pham in the bottom of the ninth for the save in his season debut.

Danny Mendick added his first home run of the season for Chicago, which dropped to a major league-worst 6-24.

 

Caratini, Hader lift Astros to wild win

Victor Caratini hit a pinch-hit, two-run homer with two outs in the 10th inning after Josh Hader pitched two innings for the first time since 2019 in the Houston Astros’ 10-9 win over the Cleveland Guardians.

David Fry’s RBI double in the top of the 10th put the Guardians ahead by one, but Caratini took Hunter Gaddis deep to give the Astros their third straight win.

Hader pitched a scoreless ninth before returning for the 10th. He got more than three outs in a regular-season game for the first time since getting four on Aug. 14, 2020, and had his first two-inning appearance in five years.

Josh Naylor and Estevan Florial hit three-run homers and Andres Gimenez also went deep for Cleveland, which rallied from an 8-3 deficit with a five-run sixth.

Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout will undergo surgery to repair the torn meniscus in his left knee, the team announced Tuesday.

Trout will be out indefinitely, but the injury is not thought to be season-ending, ESPN reported.

The news is a devastating blow to the Angels, who will be without the three-time AL MVP for at least a couple of months.

Trout underwent an MRI after playing in the Angels’ win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday but was initially unaware that he had suffered a significant injury.

“It's crazy, because I look back and I don't even know when I did it,” Trout told reporters on Monday. “I was kind of telling myself, ‘Maybe I just banged it on something and I didn’t realise it.’ And then after the game, getting treatment on it, it was really sore.

“The plan was just to see how I felt in the morning. If I woke up and it was sore, just get it looked at. That was the plan. Last night was tough for me to sleep. It was just aching all night.”

Trout is batting .220 this season and leads the majors with 10 home runs.

This will be the third season in the last four that Trout has missed significant time due to injury. The 11-time All-Star missed the last half of last season with a broken bone in his hand, and a calf injury limited him to 36 games in 2021.

The Angels are reeling as a franchise after losing Shohei Ohtani in free agency to the cross-town rival Dodgers, a major blow to a team that has missed the playoffs in each of the last nine seasons.

Los Angeles entered play Tuesday at 11-18.

Christopher Morel hit a go-ahead home run off Edwin Diaz with two outs in the ninth inning, and the Chicago Cubs rallied to a 3-1 win over the New York Mets on Monday.

Morel’s heroics came an inning after Michael Busch scored the tying run on a fielder’s choice.

Mets starter Luis Severino carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning, when Dansby Swanson singled to left center with no outs.

Making his sixth start for the Mets, Severino threw eight innings and allowed one run with five strikeouts.

Jameson Taillon was nearly as good for the Cubs. After giving up a lead-off home run to Brandon Nimmo to open the game, Taillon allowed four hits in 7 1/3 innings.

Cubs closer Hector Neris walked two batters in the bottom of the ninth but finished the game with back-to-back strikeouts for his fourth save of the year.

Twins extend winning streak to 8 games

Max Kepler hit an RBI single in the ninth inning, lifting the Minnesota Twins to a 3-2 win over the White Sox as their winning streak reached eight games.

After the White Sox scored two runs in the first inning, Minnesota’s Carlos Santana tied the game with a home run in the second off of Chicago starter Garrett Crochet.

The teams played six scoreless innings before Byron Buxton scored from second on Kepler’s single off John Brebbia.

The White Sox got the tying run to third base in the bottom of the ninth, but Caleb Thielbar punched out Korey Lee to seal the Minnesota win.

After a rough start to the season, the Twins’ current win streak has them at 15-13, one game back of the surprising Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers.

Garver’s walk-off lifts M’s over Braves

Mitch Garver hit a two-run, walk-off home run in the ninth inning to lift the Seattle Mariners over the Atlanta Braves 2-1.

The Mariners had only four hits in a game dominated by excellent pitching, but two of those hits came in the ninth against A.J. Minter, including Garver’s game-winning blast.

The Braves carried a combined no-hitter into the eighth inning that was broken up by a Josh Rojas single. Atlanta starter Max Fried went six innings, walking two and striking out seven.

Seattle starter Bryce Miller pitched seven strong innings, allowing two hits and one run with 10 strikeouts.

For the second straight day, the Minnesota Twins roughed up the Los Angeles Angles.

The latest rout helped the defending AL Central champions move over .500 for the first time since the first week of the season.

The Twins again racked up 17 hits in an 11-5 victory over the Angels on Sunday to extend their winning streak to seven games.

Minnesota is now 14-13, moving back over .500 for the first time since it was 3-2 on April 3.

The Twins have notched at least 10 hits in each game of the win streak, the first time they've won at least seven consecutive games while tallying 10 or more hits in each since an eight-game run from July 14-21, 2006.

Minnesota completed the weekend sweep as Ryan Jeffers, Jose Miranda, Christian Vázquez and Willi Castro each had three hits, while Austin Martin and Alex Kiriloff drove in two runs apiece.

The Twins pounded out a season-high six doubles one day after recording four doubles as part of a 17-hit attack in a 16-5 rout.

This is the first time Minnesota has totaled 17 or more hits in consecutive games since July 2010, when it did it in three games in a row.

While the Twins are on a roll, the Angels (10-18) have lost four straight games and nine of 10.

 

 

Blue Jays end Dodgers' six-game win streak

Kevin Gausman earned his first victory of the season, throwing seven innings of one-run ball in the Toronto Blue Jays' 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Gausman, who won 12 games for the Blue Jays last year, struck out five and allowed five hits without a walk to help the Blue Jays (14-15) end a five-game losing streak.

The NL West-leading Dodgers (18-12) had won six straight games before going 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position in the series finale.

Los Angeles' lone run came on a Freddie Freeman home run - just his second of the season and first since March 28.

Freeman is batting .444 with 11 RBIs during an eight-game hitting streak.

Toronto's Alejandro Kirk hit his first homer of the season and finished with three hits after entering the day mired in an 0-for-11 slump.

 

 

Yankees break out bats in rout of Brewers

Aaron Judge, Anthony Rizzo and Anthony Volpe all homered in the New York Yankees' 15-5 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Rizzo went 4 for 4 and his homer was the 300th of his career, while Judge had three hits and three RBIs.

The AL East-leading Yankees (19-10) tallied 18 hits one day after registering 19 hits in a 15-3 win over the NL Central-leading Brewers (17-10).

This is the first time New York has scored 15 runs in consecutive games since July 21 and 22, 2007.

 

The game was tied at 4 before New York scored seven runs in the sixth inning. All the runs came with two outs and came after a controversial play at second base.

With no outs and Judge on first base, Alex Verdugo hit a ball to second baseman Brice Turang, who fielded it and threw to shortstop Willy Adames at second base to force out Judge.

Adames then threw to first to try to turn the double play, but his throw bounced off Judge's hand as the slugger raised his left arm while sliding into second base.

The Brewers argued that Judge should have been called out for interference but the umpires allowed Verdugo to remain safe at first.

After the game, umpire crew chief Andy Fletcher admitted the runner should've been ruled out for interference.

Shohei Ohtani had a career-high three doubles and the Los Angeles Dodgers collected 20 hits in an 11-2 rout of the Washington Nationals on Wednesday.

Ohtani went 3 for 6 with RBI doubles in the eighth and ninth innings. He leads the majors in batting average (.371), slugging (.695), OPS (1.128), extra-base hits (21) and doubles (14).

Mookie Betts and Will Smith each had four hits and rookie Andy Pages homered as the Dodgers won their third straight following a three-game skid.

Landon Knack earned his first win in his second career start, allowing two runs and three hits in six innings. He retired his last 13 batters and struck out five.

Nick Senzel homered for the Nationals, who didn’t have a baserunner after the second inning.

Trout hits MLB-leading 10th home run in loss

Mike Trout became the first player in the majors to reach 10 home runs this season, but Gunnar Henderson had three hits and three RBIs as the Baltimore Orioles held off the Los Angeles Angels, 6-5.

Trout got the Angels on the board with a solo shot off starter Dean Kremer in the sixth inning. This is the third time in the past seven seasons that Trout has been the first in MLB to reach double digits in homers.

Los Angeles rallied back from a 6-0 deficit and had the tying run on first in the ninth, but Jo Adell was caught stealing to end the game.

Henderson homered for the second straight game and added a two-run single in Baltimore’s four-run sixth. He is 9 for 20 in the past five games and 18 for 40 with five home runs and 11 RBIs in his last 10 games, helping the Orioles win eight.

Kremer struck out 10 over 5 2/3 innings and allowed two runs and three hits for his first win of the season.

Surging Braves win in 10 innings

Michael Harris II doubled home Ronald Acuna Jr. in the 10th inning and the red-hot Atlanta Braves topped the Miami Marlins, 4-3, after blowing a two-run lead in the ninth.

The Marlins scored twice in the ninth off Braves closer Raisel Iglesias to tie it but failed to score in the top of the 10th.

Harris led off the bottom half with a single to center to score the winning run and send Atlanta to its ninth win in 10 games.

Harris went 3 for 5 and Marcell Ozuna had three hits and two RBIs, giving him an MLB-best 29.

The Marlins were swept for the third time this season and dropped to an NL-worst 6-20.

Tyler Freeman and Bryan Rocchio delivered RBIs in the seventh inning and Jose Ramirez homered to lift the Cleveland Guardians to their fifth straight victory, 4-1 over the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday.

The Guardians improved the majors’ best record to 17-6, matching their best start through 23 games. Cleveland also was 17-6 in 1999 and 1966.

Ben Lively allowed one run and five hits over 6 1/3 innings in his Progressive Field debut. He walked one and struck out seven.

Scott Barlow and Hunter Gaddis got the next five outs before Emmanuel Clase struck out the side in the ninth for his seventh save.

Tanner Houck, who threw a three-hit shutout against Cleveland last week, held the Guardians scoreless through six innings before Freeman singled home Will Brennan and Rocchio’s sacrifice fly in the seventh put Cleveland ahead.

Rob Refsnyder had three hits as Boston had a three-game winning streak snapped.

Fried dominates Marlins

Max Fried pitched a three-hitter for Atlanta’s first complete game since 2022 and Adam Duvall belted a two-run homer as the surging Braves blanked the Miami Marlins for the second straight night, 5-0.

Fried didn’t walk anyone and struck out six, needing just 92 pitches to become the first Braves pitcher to complete nine innings since Bryce Elder in an 8-0 win over Washington on Sept. 26, 2022.

Fried notched his fourth career shutout and fifth career complete game as Atlanta won its eighth in nine games.

The Marlins have gone 20 innings without scoring a run and dropped to 6-19.

Duvall’s second home run of the season capped a three-run sixth and extended the lead to 5-0.

Cubs keep Astros reeling

Mike Tauchman hit his first two home runs of the season and the Chicago Cubs scored five first-inning runs in a 7-2 win over the Houston Astros, who dropped 10 games under .500 for the first time since 2016.

Cody Bellinger had a two-run blast in the first inning off J.P. France and Tauchman capped the fast start with a three-run shot. He added a solo home run in the eighth.

Houston has lost three straight and six of seven and, at 7-17, is 10 games under .500 for the first time since an 18-28 start in 2016.

Jordan Wicks limited the Astros to two runs and five hits over a season-best six innings with no walks and four strikeouts.

Ranger Suarez and the Philadelphia Phillies each extended impressive streaks in the team's 7-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in Monday's opener of a four-game series.

Suarez increased his run of consecutive scoreless innings to 22 by limiting the Reds to two hits and a walk over seven dominant frames in Philadelphia's seventh straight win. The left-hander struck out five and improved to 4-0 in five starts this season.

Kody Clemens supplied the offence for the Phillies by going 2 for 4 with a three-run homer after being called up from the minors to replace slugger Bryce Harper, who is away from the team to attend the birth of his child.

Hunter Greene threw a season-high seven innings for Cincinnati but was handed the loss after allowing four runs on seven hits.

The Phillies opened the scoring in the second when Alec Bohm and Nick Castellanos reached on back-to-back singles before Bryson Stott plated Bohm with a sacrifice fly.

Johan Rojas tripled off Greene to start the third and came home on Kyle Schwarber's sac fly for a 2-0 edge, and the Phillies tacked on another run in the fourth when Bohm doubled and scored on Stott's fielder's choice grounder.

J.T. Realmuto's run-scoring double in the fifth put Philadelphia up 4-0, and Clemens' blast with Castellanos and Stott aboard in the ninth closed out the scoring.

Gelof's homer in ninth lifts Athletics over Yankees

Zack Gelof broke a scoreless tie with a two-run homer in the top of the ninth inning that gave the Oakland Athletics a 2-0 win over the New York Yankees in the opener of a four-game series.

Abraham Toro greeted reliever Victor Gonzalez with an infield single to start the ninth before Gelof lined a pitch from the Yankees' left-hander into the right field seats to end the scoreless stalemate.

Mason Miller then struck out Anthony Volpe, Juan Soto and Aaron Judge in order in the bottom of the ninth to record his fifth save and put an end to Oakland's three-game losing streak.

The Yankees were dealt a second loss in three games despite a dominant start from Carlos Rodon, who yielded only a fifth-inning single and two walks over seven innings.

A's starter JP Sears was equally good, however, as the former Yankee permitted just three hits and a walk while striking out seven in six innings.

The Yankees played nearly the entire game without manager Aaron Boone, who was ejected by home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt in the top of the first inning after questioning whether Oakland lead-off hitter Esteury Ruiz swung a pitch that hit the outfielder.

Boone said after the game Wendelstedt was angered by a remark directed at the umpire by a fan sitting behind New York's dugout. 

Orioles stay hot by extending Angels' struggles

James McCann and Colton Cowser homered to back 5 2/3 scoreless innings from Albert Suarez as the Baltimore Orioles continued their surge with a 4-2 victory over the slumping Los Angeles Angels.

Adley Rutschman added two hits and two RBIs to help Baltimore to its seventh win in eight games, a run that has moved the Orioles a half-game ahead of the New York Yankees for first place in the American League East.

The Angels, meanwhile, have now lost five straight after dropping the opener of this three-game series.

Suarez scattered four hits and two walks while striking out five before departing with a 3-0 lead. McCann's solo homer in the second inning put Baltimore on the board before Jorge Mateo stole two bases in the third to precede Rutschman's run-scoring single.

Rutschman made it 3-0 when he followed Gunnar Henderson's single with a double off Los Angeles starter Reid Detmers in the fifth, and Cowser increased the margin in the seventh with his sixth home run of the season.

All four Baltimore runs came off Detmers, who lasted seven innings and was dealt his first loss of the season after going 3-0 over his first four starts.

The Angels did close the gap in the bottom of the seventh, as Jo Adell homered and Logan O'Hoppe followed with a single before later scoring on Nolan Schanuel's base hit that cut the lead to 4-2.

Los Angeles threatened in the ninth by loading the bases with one out, but Baltimore closer Craig Kimbrel got Schanuel to pop out before fanning Mike Trout to end the game and record his sixth save.

O'Hoppe recorded three of the Angels' eight hits for the game. 

 

 

 

Shohei Ohtani became Major League Baseball's career home leader among Japanese-born players with a two-run shot that highlighted the Los Angeles Dodgers' 10-0 rout of the New York Mets on Sunday.

Ohtani's third-inning blast off Adrian Houser helped support a stellar start from Tyler Glasnow as two of the Dodgers' marquee offseason additions took center stage.

Glasnow scattered seven hits while striking out 10 over eight innings to improve to 4-1 since being acquired by Los Angeles from the Tampa Bay Rays in December.

Ohtani's home run was his 176th in the major leagues, breaking a tie the reigning American League MVP shared with former New York Yankees star Hideki Matsui for the most by a Japanese native. 

Andy Pages contributed his first major league homer, a three-run shot during a fifth inning in which the Dodgers scored eight times en route to ending a three-game losing streak and preventing the Mets from sweeping the three-game series.

After Ohtani's historic home run broke a scoreless tie in the third inning, Los Angeles put the contest out of reach against Houser and reliever Grant Hartwig in the fifth. 

Pages started the outburst with a lead-off double and later scored on Mookie Betts' single, and an infield hit by Ohtani loaded the bases before Freddie Freeman drove in two more runs with a double for a 5-0 lead.

Will Smith followed with a two-run double of his own to extend the margin. Four batters later, Pages took Hartwig's pitch over the center field wall to cap the big inning and give Los Angeles a 10-0 advantage.

Houser was charged with eight runs allowed after being lifted with none out in the fifth. 

 

Rangers halt Braves' win streak behind three homers

Andrew Knizner hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the fourth inning and the Texas Rangers went deep two more times to stop the Atlanta Braves' six-game winning streak with a 6-4 victory.

Adolis Garcia added a two-run homer and Evan Carter had a solo shot as the defending World Champion Rangers overcame an early 3-0 deficit and avoided being swept in the three-game weekend series.

Atlanta had gone ahead quickly on Marcell Ozuna's MLB-leading ninth home run of the season, a three-run blast off Texas starter Michael Lorenzen in the first inning.

Lorenzen (2-0) kept the Braves off the scoreboard for the remainder of his six-inning stint, however, to help the Rangers rally in the fourth.

Carter started the comeback with a lead-off homer off Darius Vines, who later surrendered singles to Nathaniel Lowe and Josh Smith before Knizner launched the first pitch he saw into the left field seats to give Texas a 4-3 lead.

Garcia followed Carter's infield single in the eighth with a two-run shot off Tyler Matzek to extend the margin to 6-3.

The Braves got a run back in their half of the eighth when Ronald Acuna Jr. singled and later came home on Austin Riley's base hit with none out. Relievers David Robertson and Tyler Yates retired the next three hitters, however, to end the threat with two runners on base.

Yates then worked a scoreless ninth to earn his third save of the season.

Acuna finished 2 for 4 with two runs scored, while Vines was handed the loss after permitting four runs in five innings.

 

Phillies finish sweep of White Sox to extend win streak to six games

Aaron Nola struck out seven over eight strong innings to help the Philadelphia Phillies extend their winning streak to six games with an 8-2 rout of the lowly Chicago White Sox.

Nola yielded just two runs on four hits to improve to 3-1 on the season, and the right-hander received plenty of offensive support as Philadelphia finished off a sweep of the three-game series.

Kyle Schwarber homered and drove in two runs, Bryce Harper also knocked in two runs and Alec Bohm went 3 for 5 with an RBI double as the Phillies completed a successful 10-game home-stand in which they won eight times.

Chicago, meanwhile, continued its worst start in franchise history as it dropped to 3-18, the lowest winning percentage in the majors this season.

The White Sox did take a 2-0 lead, however, when Eloy Jimenez followed Robbie Grossman's one-out single in the top of the first inning with his first home run of 2024.

Philadelphia quickly answered, as Chicago starter Nick Nastrini walked Schwarber and Trea Turner to start the bottom of the first before Harper delivered a single that scored Schwarber and sent Trea Turner to third.

The Phillies then attempted a double steal in which Turner stole home and Harper advanced to second on a throwing error, and Harper later came home on Brandon Marsh's single for a 3-2 advantage.

Nola surrendered just two more hits the rest of the way, and the Phillies increased their lead with three runs in the fourth on an RBI single from Turner, Harper's sacrifice fly and a run-scoring double from Bohm.

Schwarber's lead-off homer in the sixth extended the margin to 7-2, and the slugger had a sacrifice fly in the seventh to bring home Philadelphia's final run.

Nastrini was tagged for six runs - five earned - and walked five in just three-plus innings in his second major league start.

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