In the midst of one of their worst offensive funks in more than a half century, the New York Yankees are hopeful Sean Casey can get the bats going.

The Yankees reportedly hired Casey to be their hitting coach on Monday, one day after firing Dillon Lawson from the position following a 7-4 loss to the Chicago Cubs to conclude the first half of the season.

This will be the first major league coaching job for Casey, who was a three-time All-Star and a lifetime .302 hitter over a 12-year career spent mostly with the Cincinnati Reds.

The 49-year-old Casey, who was a teammate of Yankees manager Aaron Boone with the Reds from 1998 to 2003, had been working as an analyst for MLB Network.

He'll help oversee a lineup that stumbled into the All-Star break with the majors' third-lowest batting average at .231 - beating out only the Detroit Tigers and Oakland Athletics.

New York, which enters the break in fourth place in the AL East with a 49-42 record, is also 19th in the majors in average runs per game at 4.40 after ranking second in baseball last year at 4.98 per game.

The offensive woes began shortly before Aaron Judge tore a ligament in his right big toe on June 3.

Since May 31, the Yankees are batting a major league-worst .212, while their 232 hits in that stretch are the franchise's fewest over a 34-game single-season span since late in the 1968 season when the team had 229.

The middle of the batting order has been one of the biggest reasons for the scuffling offence with No. 3 hitter Anthony Rizzo batting .168 with zero home runs and seven RBIs in 31 games since hurting his neck in a collision on May 28, while cleanup hitter Giancarlo Stanton is batting .203 on the season.

"Our offence has struggled mightily, more so than I can recall," general manager Brian Cashman said Sunday. "The team that we have, in fairness to Dillon, we have had some injuries without a doubt but collectively we really have struggled, and we’re best served kind of changing of things up a little bit as we move into the second half.”

This is the first time the Yankees have made a coaching change in the midst of a season since July 1995, when Nardi Contreras replaced Billy Connors as pitching coach.

Two weeks after winning the College World Series, LSU achieved a feat never accomplished before by any baseball program.

Tigers pitcher Paul Skenes was taken by the Pittsburgh Pirates with the first overall pick of Sunday's 2023 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft, one spot ahead of teammate Dylan Crews' selection by the Washington Nationals.

Skenes and Crews are the first set of teammates to be taken with the first two picks in the draft's history. Skenes also becomes the first college pitcher to go No. 1 overall since the Detroit Tigers took Auburn's Casey Mize in 2018.

The 21-year-old Skenes went 13-2 with a 1.69 ERA and 209 strikeouts in 122 innings this season as the ace of the LSU staff. The hard-throwing right-hander capped his tremendous junior campaign by being named the College World Series most outstanding player during the Tigers' run to the national title.

"He had an incredibly special season this year at LSU," Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said of Skenes. "I think we saw a really good pitcher at the end of the College World Series who has all the weapons to go on and succeed in pro ball but may still have more."

Crews, an outfielder, earned the Golden Spikes Award honouring the best amateur player in the United States in 2023. The Florida native hit .426 with 18 home runs and 70 RBIs in 71 games as a junior and concluded his college career having reached base safely in 75 straight games.

“He’s got a whole bag full of tools; he does everything well,” Nationals general manager and president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo said. “His baseball IQ is terrific. He’s a great baserunner -- he’s a fast runner, but he’s a great baserunner also. He plays both sides of the ball, defensively and offensively. He’s got a propensity to barrel up baseballs. He’s an on-base percentage machine."

Franklin, Indiana outfielder Max Clark, the national high school player of the year, was selected third overall by the Detroit Tigers. The Texas Rangers took University of Florida outfielder Wyatt Langford at No. 4, while North Carolina high school outfielder Walker Jenkins went fifth to the Minnesota Twins.

All-Star Yandy Diaz went 3 for 4 with a home run and four RBIs to help the Tampa Bay Rays end a season-high seven-game losing streak with a 10-4 win over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday.

Isaac Paredes added a two-run homer as the Rays roughed up Braves All-Star Bryce Elder to prevent a sweep of the three-game series between teams with the two best records in the major leagues. The loss was just Atlanta's third in 23 games since June 14.

Elder entered the contest leading the majors with a 2.45 ERA but lasted only 3 1/3 innings in his shortest start of the season. The young right-hander allowed a career-high seven runs on six hits and walked four without striking out a batter.

Rays starter Zach Eflin issued five walks in five innings, but limited the damage by holding Atlanta to two runs to earn his 10th win of the season, one shy of teammate Shane McClanahan for the American League lead.

Former Rays catcher Travis d'Arnaud had a solo homer to extend Atlanta's streak of consecutive games with at least one home run to a franchise-record 26 games.

Red-hot Orioles blast six home runs to finish sweep of Twins

Anthony Santander had two of six Baltimore home runs as the hot-hitting Orioles rolled to a 15-2 rout of the Minnesota Twins to complete a three-game series sweep.

All-Stars Adley Rutschman and Austin Hays also went deep while knocking in two runs each in Baltimore's fifth consecutive victory. The Orioles also got a three-run homer from Aaron Hicks and a two-run shot from Ramon Urias, who finished 2 for 5 with three RBIs.

Baltimore collected 17 hits for the afternoon and has averaged 8.8 runs per game during the winning streak while batting .309 as a team.

The Orioles also received a strong pitching effort from Kyle Gibson, who tied a season high with 11 strikeouts while holding the Twins to two runs and three hits over seven innings.

Joe Ryan fanned 10 in 4 1/3 innings for Minnesota, but served up Hays and Urias' homers and was tagged for five runs.

In search of their first winning season and playoff appearance since 2016, the Orioles enter the All-Star break with the AL's second-best record at 54-35 and are two games behind Tampa Bay for first place in the AL East.

The Twins dropped to 45-46 and missed out on a chance to regain the top spot in the AL Central after Cleveland lost to the Kansas City Royals on Sunday. The Guardians maintained a half-game edge on Minnesota.

Miley silences Reds' bats as Brewers gain ground in NL Central

Wade Miley allowed just four hits in six splendid innings as the Milwaukee Brewers closed the gap on the first-place Cincinnati Reds in the NL Central with a 1-0 win.

The Brewers took two of three games from their division rivals and will enter the All-Star break one game back of Cincinnati in the standings.

Milwaukee got the only run it needed in the first inning when Christian Yelich stroked a leadoff double off Ben Lively and scored on Jesse Winker's two-out single.

Miley made the lead stand by tying a season high with eight strikeouts and working around three walks. After Elvis Peguero and Joel Payamps each tossed a scoreless inning in relief, All-Star closer Devin Williams fanned two in a perfect ninth to register his 20th save.

Lively yielded four hits and two walks while striking out five over 5 2/3 innings in a hard-luck loss.

Matt Manning, Jason Foley and Alex Lange produced the first combined no-hitter in Detroit Tigers history, leading the way to a 2-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays Saturday.

Manning was pulled after allowing a seventh-inning walk to Cavan Biggio on his 91st pitch. He walked three and struck out five in his 6 2/3 innings of work.

Foley recorded four straight outs before handing the ball over to Lange, who pitched a perfect ninth and recorded his 13th save of the season.

The start of the game was delayed nearly an hour and a half due to rain, but fans who stayed were treated to history as the Tigers rushed Lange on the mound after Spencer Torkelson squeezed the final out at first base.

Torkelson and Kerry Carpenter had first-inning RBIs for the Tigers, providing all the offence the team would need.

Riley Greene reached base four times in his first game back from the injured list after recovering from a stress fracture in his lower left leg.

Strider, Braves beat slumping Rays to stay hot

Spencer Strider stuck out 11 to win his seventh straight decision and the red-hot Atlanta Braves sent the Tampa Bay Rays to their seventh consecutive loss, 6-1.

Strider limited the Rays to four hits over 6 1/3 scoreless innings with one walk to join Arizona’s Zac Gallen and Tampa Bay’s Shane McClanahan as the only 11-game winners in the majors.

Sean Murphy finished Atlanta’s four-run fourth inning with a three-run homer off rookie Taj Bradley, who gave up four runs and five hits in five innings.

The MLB-leading Braves homered in a franchise record-tying 25th straight game. They have won 20 of 22 to open a 9 ½-game lead in the NL East.

Dodgers hit five home runs, beat Angels again

Mookie Betts hit his 10th leadoff home run of the season for one of the Los Angeles’ Dodgers five homers in their ninth straight win against the reeling Los Angeles Angels, 10-5.

Betts’ home run set the MLB record for most in the first half, surpassing George Springer, who had nine with the Houston Astros in the first half of 2017.

Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy, J.D. Martinez and David Peralta also went deep to help the Dodgers make it 10 consecutive wins against the Angels since a loss on Aug. 6, 2021.

Shohei Ohtani hit his major league-leading 32nd homer and fell a double shy of the cycle as the Angels dropped their fifth in a row.

The surging Philadelphia Phillies tied a franchise record for consecutive road wins with a dramatic ninth-inning rally that resulted in a 4-3 victory over the Miami Marlins on Friday.

Philadelphia trailed 3-1 before scoring three times in the top of the ninth, with Cristian Pache putting the Phillies ahead with a two-run pinch-hit homer off A.J. Puk with two out.

Craig Kimbrel followed with a scoreless bottom of the ninth to seal Philadelphia's 13th straight win away from home, tying a club mark set from April 17-June 2, 1976.

The victory, the Phillies' fourth in a row overall, moved the defending National League champions within 1 1/2 games of the Marlins and Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL's top two wild card spots.

J.T. Realmuto started the comeback with a leadoff single off Puk in the ninth and later scored on Alec Bohm's one-out double. Two batters later, Pache sent Puk's pitch over the center-field wall with the Phillies down to their final out for a 4-3 lead.

The Phillies trailed 3-0 before Realmuto's solo homer in the sixth, the only run allowed in 6 2/3 innings by Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara.

Garrett Cooper went 2 for 4 with a solo home run for Miami.

Braves edge Rays in battle of MLB's best

Sean Murphy's two-run homer backed six-plus strong innings from Charlie Morton as the Atlanta Braves earned a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in the opener of a three-game series between teams with the top two records in the major leagues.

Murphy's shot off Rays starter Tyler Glasnow in the fourth inning erased a 1-0 deficit, and Morton and three Atlanta relievers made the lead stand up as the Braves continued their month-long hot streak.

Atlanta is now 19-2 since last losing consecutive games from June 11-12 and owns MLB's best record at 59-28.

Morton, who pitched for the Rays from 2019-20, held his former team to one run on four hits while striking out six over 6 1/3 sharp innings to win his fourth straight start.

Glasnow exited with two out in the sixth inning due to cramping in his hands and legs, and was saddled with the loss despite allowing one earned run and two hits while fanning eight.

Wander Franco accounted for Tampa Bay's lone run with a solo homer in the first inning, while Yandy Diaz collected three of the Rays' six hits.

Ex-Yankee Taillon beats former team to spoil Rodon's season debut

Jameson Taillon overshadowed Carlos Rodon in the latter's delayed New York Yankees debut as the Chicago Cubs earned their first-ever victory in Yankee Stadium with a 3-0 win.

Taillon, who spent the previous two seasons with the Yankees before signing with the Cubs over the winter, held his former team to just one hit and two walks in a dominant eight-inning performance that helped end the Cubs' run of futility in the Bronx.

Including the 1932 and 1938 World Series, Chicago entered Friday's series opener 0-12 all-time at the current and former Yankee Stadium.

Rodon, who signed a six-year, $162 million contract with New York during the offseason, allowed two runs and four hits over 5 1/3 innings in his first start since September. The 2021 and 2022 All-Star missed this season's first three months due to a strained left forearm and then a back injury.

Cody Bellinger put the Cubs up 1-0 with a solo homer off Rodon in the third inning, and Nico Hoerner extended the lead with an RBI single in the fifth. Both finished with two hits in Chicago's third win in four games.

Gunnar Henderson homered twice and drove in five runs as part of the Baltimore Orioles’ 20-hit attack in a 14-1 drubbing of the New York Yankees on Thursday.

Henderson had a career-high four hits – all in the first four innings - with his first multi-homer game and Ryan O’Hearn added three hits and four RBIs to help Baltimore rebound with wins in the final two games of the four-game series between AL East rivals.

Henderson led off the game with an opposite-field home run off Luis Severino and the Orioles broke open the game with seven runs and eight hits in the third inning.

O’Hearn ignited the outburst with an RBI double and capped it with a two-run single.

The Orioles extended to a 13-0 lead with five runs in the fourth highlighted by Henderson’s three-run homer.

Every Baltimore starter had at least one hit except Colton Cowser, who walked twice in his second major league game.

Kyle Bradish didn’t need much help from his offense, as he limited the Yankees to three hits over six innings with two walks and five strikeouts.

Severino was roughed up for the second consecutive start, yielding seven runs and 10 hits in 2 2/3 innings. His ERA ballooned to 7.38.

Phillies sweep Rays to push road streak to 12

Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner delivered RBI singles in the 11th inning as the Philadelphia Phillies won their 12th straight road game with a 3-1 win over the slumping Tampa Bay Rays.

Darick Hall homered to help the Phillies move to 12-0 on the road since a loss at Arizona on June 12. The streak is one shy of the franchise record set in 1976.

Christopher Sanchez logged a quality start for Philadelphia, allowing one run and four hits over six innings. The bullpen held the Rays hitless over the final five innings.

The Rays’ losing streak reached a season-high five as they dropped to 6-11 in their last 17 games.

Lindor has 5 hits in Mets’ rout of Diamondbacks

Francisco Lindor had a career-high five hits and fell a double shy of the cycle to back Carlos Carrasco’s strong start in the New York Mets’ 9-0 rout of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Lindor tripled in the first inning and scored on Pete Alonso’s 26th home run to give the Mets a 2-0 lead.

He tripled again in the third and came home on Alonso’s single, singled in the fourth and hit his 18th home run in the sixth. Needing a double for the cycle in the eighth, Lindor instead settled for another single.

Carrasco allowed three hits in eight innings as the Mets won their fifth straight.

Houston Astros star Jose Altuve will remain sidelined through at least the All-Star break after the team placed the veteran second baseman on the 10-day injured list Thursday.

Altuve has missed Houston's last two games after hurting his left oblique during batting practice on Tuesday. The move is retroactive to July 4, so the 2017 American League MVP will be eligible to return for the Astros' first game after the upcoming All-Star break on July 14.

"We're in no rush to try to rush him back prior to the break," Astros general manager Dana Brown told reporters Wednesday. 

Brown added that Altuve's injury is not as serious as the right oblique issue that caused the 33-year-ol to miss four games last month.

"Even if it's [an injured list], we thought about it, he would be back - maybe miss one day," he said.

Altuve is batting .264 with six home runs, 18 RBIs and five stolen bases this season. Three of those homers have come in his last six games.

Houston has also been without slugger Yordan Alvarez since June 9 due to an oblique strain. The 2023 All-Star is expected to return sometime in July.

Utlityman Mauricio Dubon will serve as the Astros' primary second baseman for their final series before the break, a four-game set against the Seattle Mariners that begins Thursday.

Dubon is batting .292 with four homers, 21 RBIs and five stolen bases in 68 games. 

Trea Turner and Nick Castellanos homered to back Taijuan Walker’s sixth straight win and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Tampa Bay Rays 8-4 for their 11th consecutive road win on Wednesday.

The road streak is the second-longest in franchise history, trailing a 13-game run in 1976.

The Phillies are 21-7 since losing five in a row from May 28-June 2 and have moved a season-high seven games over .500.

Walker allowed all four of his runs in the first three innings but kept the Rays scoreless over the final four frames to become the fourth 10-game winner in the National League. He walked five and struck out eight.

The Phillies took the lead for good in the fifth inning on Turner’s tying home run and Bryson’s Stott’s RBI single for one of his four hits.

Castellanos connected for a 437-foot homer in the sixth inning and Brandon Marsh’s two-run single in the seventh closed the scoring.

Kyle Schwarber went 0 for 6 and was the only Philadelphia position player without a hit.

Tampa Bay has lost a season-high four straight and 10 of 16 but still owns the AL’s best record.

De La Cruz has big game after bat check

Rookie Elly De Le Cruz homered and added two doubles after a bat mix-up to lead the surging Cincinnati Reds to a 9-2 win over the Washington Nationals.

Nationals manager Dave Martinez questioned the use of an empty sensor cover on the knob of De La Cruz’s bat in the second inning. After umpires reviewed the legality of the knob cover with the league office, De La Cruz was allowed to put it back on his bat for his second at-bat an inning later.

The Reds’ star hit a 455-foot shot for his fourth home run in the fifth inning, doubled, stole third and scored on Jake Fraley’s single in the eighth and doubled again in the ninth.

Cincinnati has won seven of eight and homered in 19 straight games for the second-longest streak in franchise history.

Mets stun Diamondbacks with rally in 9th inning

Rookie Francisco Alvarez homered with two outs in the ninth inning and Mark Canha had an RBI triple to lift the New York Mets to an improbable 2-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Trailing 1-0 and down to their last strike, Alvarez homered off Andrew Chafin to tie it. After Brett Baty singled, Canha followed with a drive to the 413-foot sign in centre to put New York on top.

Kodai Senga was in line for the tough-luck loss before the rally after he allowed Christian Walker’s home run over eight innings with 12 strikeouts.

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

An early August return would be the best case scenario.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cronenworth and Bogaerts each finished with three RBIs.

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

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

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

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

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

Atlanta had won 17 of 18 of 24 of 27.

Phillies win 10th straight on road

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

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

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

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

The Los Angeles Angels have lost superstar Mike Trout indefinitely after he sustained a hamate fracture in his left wrist while fouling off a pitch in Monday’s game against the San Diego Padres.

Trout was placed on the 10-day injured list Tuesday and will not play in next week’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Seattle after being selected as a starter for the 10th consecutive time.

“It doesn’t feel great. I mean, there’s no two ways to it,” the three-time AL Most Valuable Player and 11-time All-Star said after Monday’s game.

"I can’t describe the pain I felt. I never felt it before, ever, before this. I never had wrist problems or anything. Just freak things.”

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

He was limited to 36 games in 2021 and didn’t play after mid-May due to a strained right calf. Last season, Trout missed a month with left ribcage inflammation and appeared in 119 contests.

The Angels (45-42) entered play Tuesday six games behind the Texas Rangers in the AL West and three games out of a wild-card spot.

Michael Harris II hit two home runs, Bryce Elder made another quality start and the Atlanta Braves recorded a 4-2 victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Monday to extend their winning streak to a season-high nine games.

Harris homered in the third and fifth innings and Marcell Ozuna added a solo shot in the fourth as the Braves built a 4-0 lead en route to their 17th win in 18 games. Atlanta is 24-3 since June 3 and owns the best record in the majors at 57-27.

Elder (7-1), one of eight Atlanta players selected for next week's All-Star Game, began his fourth straight quality start with six scoreless innings before Ahmed Rosario plated two with a single in the seventh.

The 24-year-old has pitched at least five innings in each of his 17 starts this season, with Atlanta going 13-4 in those games.

Rosario finished with two hits and Steven Kwan went 3 for 5 with a run scored for Cleveland. Gavin Williams, the Guardians' No. 1 prospect according to MLB.com, allowed all three Atlanta homers and four runs across 6 1/3 innings in his third major league start.

Astros blow eight-run lead but rally by Rangers

The Houston Astros squandered an eight-run lead, then rallied with two runs in the ninth inning for a wild 12-11 win over the Texas Rangers in the finale of a key four-game series between the American League West's top two teams. 

After the division-leading Rangers battled back to take an 11-10 lead on Corey Seager's eighth-inning sacrifice fly, Houston responded in the top of the ninth with consecutive RBI doubles by Jose Abreu and Chas McCormick off Will Smith. 

Ryan Pressly then retired the Rangers in order in the bottom of the inning to notch his 18th save and help the Astros take three of four games from their in-state rivals. Houston moved within three games of first-place Texas in the AL West.

Kyle Tucker went 4 for 4 with a double and a grand slam that staked the Astros a 10-2 lead after the top of the fourth inning.

Texas cut the lead to 10-9 by the end of the fifth, however, thanks in part to homers by Travis Jankowski and Leody Tavaras. Adolis Garcia tied the game with a seventh-inning solo shot before the Rangers briefly went in front an inning later.

Jankowski went 3 for 5 with five RBIs and Tavares had three hits and three RBIs. Abreu homered and knocked in four runs for Houston, which also got homers from McCormick and Yainer Diaz.

Bader's three-run homer lifts Yankees over Orioles

Harrison Bader capped a New York Yankees' comeback with a tie-breaking three-run homer in the eighth inning that staked the Bronx Bombers to a 6-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

The Yankees overcame an early 3-0 deficit to take the opener of this four-game series and close within three games of the upstart Orioles for the AL's top wild card spot.

Anthony Volpe and Kyle Higashioka began the rally with back-to-back solo homers in the fifth inning, and Volpe recorded the tying run in the seventh when he scored from third on a wild pitch from All-Star reliever Yennier Cano.

After singles by Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo put two Yankees on in the eighth, Bader drilled a pitch from Danny Coulombe into the left-field seats for a 6-3 lead.

All-Star catcher Adley Rutschman went 3 for 5 with an RBI for the slumping Orioles, who have lost five of their last six games. 

Baltimore did manage three runs - two earned - off Domingo German in the Yankee starter's first outing since throwing the 24th perfect game in major league history last Wednesday at Oakland.

German allowed nine hits in his follow-up start while lasting only 4 1/3 innings. 

Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star pitcher Clayton Kershaw has been scratched from Monday's scheduled start against the Pittsburgh Pirates and placed on the 15-day injured list due to shoulder soreness he's experienced since his most recent outing.

Kershaw, who was named to his 10th career All-Star Game Sunday, complained of discomfort following his start against the Colorado Rockies last Tuesday.

The three-time National League Cy Young Award winner has since resumed light throwing after receiving a cortisone shot, though Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the team decided to give Kershaw some additional time with the All-Star break next week.

"If there is any time for us to do this, and give him a little reset, this would be it,” Roberts said. “Obviously, Clayton expects to make all of his starts, and that’s what makes him special.”

Kershaw has dealt with several injuries the past few years, most notably an elbow issue that sidelined him nearly two months in 2021. The 35-year-old hasn't pitched more than 126 innings in any of the last three seasons.

The 2014 NL MVP had been healthy up until this point while putting together another outstanding season in 2023. Kershaw's 10 wins are tied for the NL lead, while his 2.55 earned run average ranks third among qualified NL hurlers. 

Los Angeles recalled right-hander Michael Grove from Triple-A Oklahoma City to start Monday's game.

Ozzie Albies hit a tie-breaking two-run homer in the fifth inning to back 6 2/3 sharp innings from Spencer Strider as the Atlanta Braves earned a 6-3 victory over the Miami Marlins on Sunday to extend their winning streak to eight games.

Albies' 20th homer of the season gave Atlanta a 4-2 lead that Strider made hold up as the red-hot Braves completed a three-game series sweep over their closest National League East competitors. Atlanta has now won 16 of 17 to extend its lead over the second-place Marlins to nine games.

The Braves have also won 10 in a row at home and outscored Miami 29-7 for the series.

Strider, named to his first All-Star Game on Sunday, was touched for two runs in the second inning and an unearned run in the seventh, but got enough support via homers by Albies, Travis d'Arnaud and Orlando Arcia to win a fourth consecutive start. The hard-throwing right-hander recorded nine strikeouts to push his major league-leading total to 155.

Albies was also named an NL reserve for next week's All-Star Game, one of a league-high eight selections for Atlanta.

2022 NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara struggled again for Miami, allowing four runs in five innings to raise his season earned run average to 4.93.

Marlins All-Star Luis Arraez finished 2 for 4 with two RBIs to raise his MLB-leading batting average to .389.

Ohtani, Trout homers help Angels down Diamondbacks

American League All-Stars Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout had two of the Los Angeles Angels' three home runs in a 5-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks that prevented a sweep of the three-game series.

Mickey Moniak's three-run blast off Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen in the second inning put Los Angeles up 4-2 and helped the Angels snap a season-high four-game losing streak. Ohtani later launched a 454-foot drive into the right field seats in the eighth for his MLB-leading 31st homer of the season and sixth in seven games.

Angels starter Reid Detmers surrendered a two-run homer to Carson Kelly in the second, but held Arizona scoreless for the remainder of his six-inning stint and finished with nine strikeouts.

Gallen, named to his first All-Star Game for the NL squad earlier in the day, recorded 12 strikeouts in seven innings but was reached for four runs to fall to 10-3 on the season.

Astros hold off Rangers to close gap in AL West

Chas McCormick snapped a tie with a three-run triple in the top of the eighth inning, and the Houston Astros held on for a 5-3 win over the Texas Rangers in a matchup of the top two teams in the AL West.

McCormick's big hit off reliever Josh Sborz with the bases loaded staked Houston to a 4-1 lead, though the Rangers answered with Nathaniel Lowe's two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to pull back within one.

Jose Altuve homered in the top of the ninth to increase the lead to 5-3, however, and Ryan Pressly retired the Rangers in order in the bottom of the frame to notch his 17th save.

The win was Houston's fourth in five games and brought the reigning World Series champions within four games of first-place Texas in the division. The four-game Lone Star Series between the in-state rivals concludes Monday.

Texas lost for the sixth time in nine games and wasted a terrific start from Andrew Heaney, who struck out eight and allowed just three hits in five scoreless innings.

Jose Abreu finished 3 for 5 for the Astros, while McCormick and Altuve each collected two hits. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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