The New York Yankees will be without slugger Aaron Judge for at least the next 10 days, with the superstar going back on the injured list with a contusion and sprained ligament in his right big toe.

An MRI on Tuesday showed Judge has no break or fracture in his toe, but a sprain will keep him sidelined until at least mid-June.

The 2022 AL MVP sustained the injury while making a highlight-reel catch against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday. He knocked open the door of the visiting bullpen while making the catch and slammed his toe against the concrete at the bottom of the wall.

This is the second time this season that Judge will spend time on the injured list after a right hip strain forced him to miss two weeks in late April/early May.

 Judge is putting together another stellar season, batting .291 with an AL-best 19 home runs and 40 RBIs in 49 games.

The 2022 season could not have gone much better for Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Alek Manoah.

The 2023 season, meanwhile, could not have started much worse for the struggling right-hander.

The Blue Jays sent Manoah to the rookie-level Florida Complex League on Tuesday, one day after he managed to get just one out in an 11-4 loss to the Houston Astros.

The 25-year-old has been a major disappointment this season after finishing third in AL Cy Young Award balloting in 2022 and earning a selection to the All-Star Game.

Through 58 innings and 13 starts this year, Manoah has surrendered 45 runs - 10 fewer runs than he permitted all of 2022 in 196 2/3 innings.

He's 1-7 with a 6.36 ERA this year after going 16-7 with a 2.24 ERA in 31 starts last season. As a rookie in 2021, he was 9-2 with a 3.22 ERA in 20 starts.

Among the 96 players in the majors with at least 50 innings pitched this season, Manoah's ERA is the ninth highest while his 1.90 WHIP is second worst.

This is after he compiled the fourth-lowest ERA and 10th-lowest WHIP (0.99), among all qualifying MLB pitchers in 2022.

His latest outing was the shortest out of 64 career starts.

Manoah faced nine Astros and got just one out, allowing six runs and seven hits - including a grand slam - while walking one.

He'll now be working at one of the lowest minor league levels.

The future is now for the Cincinnati Reds.

Elly De La Cruz will make his highly anticipated major league debut after the Reds called up the touted prospect ahead of Tuesday's series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

With the lethal combination of power and speed, the 21-year-old shortstop is ranked as Baseball America's third-best prospect, and has been crushing the ball in the minors.

In 38 games this season for Triple-A Louisville, Cruz slashed .297/.398/.633 with 12 home runs, 11 doubles and 11 stolen bases. He's also driven in 36 runs and scored 38.

This came after he hit .304 with 28 homers and stole 47 bases in 120 games last year for Class A Dayton and Double-A Chattanooga.

Signed as a teenager by Cincinnati out of the Dominican Republic, the tall middle infielder has drawn comparisons to Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz.

De La Cruz joins a Reds team that has won three in a row to improve to 27-33, and is surprisingly in the mix in the pedestrian NL Central, sitting 5 /1/2 games behind the first-place Pirates.

The first-place Arizona Diamondbacks have given manager Torey Lovullo a contract extension through the 2024 season.

The deal, which was announced Sunday, is the third straight one-year extension for Lovullo.

A year after finishing in fourth place in the NL West and two years removed from a 110-loss season, the Diamondbacks enter play Sunday with a 35-24 mark to tie the Los Angeles Dodgers for the best record in the league.

It’s the first time Arizona has 35 wins through 59 games since 2007, when the team won the NL West with a 90-72 record and reached the National League championship series.

With their 5-4 walkoff win over the Rockies today, the Diamondbacks ended a streak of 69 consecutive home series of four or more games without a sweep.

That was the longest such streak by an NL team since the Boston Braves (also 69, 1937-1946). pic.twitter.com/nOi9XpTlul

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) June 1, 2023

The New York Yankees have decided to cut ties with struggling outfielder Aaron Hicks.

The Yankees designated Hicks for assignment on Saturday before their game against the Cincinnati Reds.

Through 28 games this season, Hicks is slashing just .188/.263/.261 with one home run, two doubles and five RBIS.

Among the 315 major league hitters with at least 75 plate appearances, Hicks' .524 OPS ranks 299th.

It is a costly decision for the Yankees, as Hicks' contract runs through 2025 and the team will be forced to eat nearly $30million remaining on the seven-year, $70m contract he signed in 2019.

The sides agreed to that deal after Hicks enjoyed a career year in 2018, when he hit 27 homers and drove in 79.

In almost four-and-a-half seasons since then, however, the 33-year-old Hicks has managed just 31 home runs while batting .218.

In a corresponding move Saturday, the Yankees selected the contract of outfielder Greg Allen from the minors.

The 30-year-old Allen was acquired in a trade from the Boston Red Sox on Friday and is beginning his second stint with the Yankees after appearing in 15 games for them in 2021.

Jose Altuve will return to the Houston Astros’ lineup for Friday’s game against the Oakland Athletics after the team activated the 2017 American League Most Valuable Player from the injured list.

Altuve has yet to play this season due to a fractured right thumb he sustained while playing for his native Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic on March 19. He underwent surgery on March 22 and was given an eight-week timeline to return.

The eight-time All-Star prepped for his 2023 debut by playing five minor league rehab games over the past week, though he went just 2 for 22 at the plate.

Altuve finished fifth in voting for last season’s AL MVP after finishing with a .300 average, 28 home runs, 103 runs scored and 18 stolen bases in 141 games for the World Series champion Astros.

The 33-year-old’s career .307 batting average ranks third among active players with at least 1,000 plate appearances, trailing only 2022 AL batting champ Luis Arraez and fellow Venezuelan Miguel Cabrera.

Altuve will be counted on to provide a spark to a Houston offense that’s averaging just 4.44 runs per game, 15th in the majors. The Astros currently stand two games behind division-leading Texas in the AL West with a 24-19 record.

The Tampa Bay Rays re-discovered their free-scoring ways as Isaac Paredes managed a career-high five RBIs in a 14-5 victory over the slumping Chicago White Sox on Thursday.

The Sox fall to their eighth straight loss, even with Dylan Cease on the mound, pounded for seven runs from nine hits across four innings, with only three strikeouts.

Paredes started it off with a second-inning RBI single, grounded out to third to score Randy Arozarena in the fifth, before a three-run double in the sixth opened up an 11-2 lead.

Brandon Lowe maintained his excellent early season hitting with a 358-foot third inning homer along with a two-run single in the fifth. Lowe's solo shot took his season tally to seven homers.

Shane McClanahan (5-0) allowed two runs and struck out five across five innings, while Luke Raley went three-for-five with three RBIs including a ninth-inning homer, and moved from the outfield to the mound in the ninth.

The Rays, who started the season 13-0, had been beaten and shut out in consecutive games by the Houston Astros, 1-0 and 5-0 on Wednesday and Tuesday respectively.

Tampa Bay delivered 16 hits for the game and ended their scoreless run at 20 innings.

Ohtani's mixed game as Angels edge home

Shohei Ohtani responded after a shaky start on the mound to lead the Los Angeles Angels past the Oakland Athletics 8-7.

Ohtani (4-0) earned the win, although he gave up five runs in a rough fourth inning, with three-run blasts to Brent Rooker and a two-run homer to Shea Langeliers. He had thrown three perfect innings to that point and finished with eight strikeouts, allowing three hits across six innings.

The Japanese two-way star went three-for-five with the bat, including a triple, double and single, scoring two runs, with an eighth-inning shot caught by Esteury Ruiz on the warning track in center field.

Brandon Drury delivered a 409-foot three-run home run over left-center field in the first inning, with Ohtani scoring after his prior double.

Keller fans 10 as Pirates continue fine form

Mitch Keller matched his career-high 10 strikeouts as the Pittsburgh Pirates downed the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2.

Keller improved to 3-0, giving up two runs on five hits across six innings, as the Pirates continued their excellent run having won nine of their past 10, moving to an 18-8 record.

Pittsburgh rallied from an early 2-0 deficit, with three runs at the bottom of the first inning, before Connor Joe's two-run blast followed by Rodolfo Castro's 414-foot homer in the sixth.

Aaron Judge overcame injury as he drove in three runs to lead the New York Yankees past the Minnesota Twins 12-6 on Wednesday.

Judge had an injury scare with an awkward slide into third base on a failed steal attempt in the second inning, immediately walking off the field and into the Yankees tunnel.

The Yankees outfielder got himself stuck in the ground on the head-first slide, with his shoulders lurching forward while his body stayed almost still.

Judge, on his 31st birthday, appeared to be favouring his right arm as he left the field and seemed to have some wrist discomfort when he returned to the bench. He would return to play, with a walk, single and strikeout, having hit a three-run double in the second inning before his injury scare.

Gleyber Torres capped a six-run fourth-inning by crushing a 429-foot two-run blast to left field to open up an 11-1 lead.

Jose Miranda homered twice for the Twins, while Joey Gallo drove in Miranda with a sixth-inning blast to make it 11-5, but the Yankees were always in control after racing to an early 5-0 lead.

Anthony Volpe and Anthony Rizzo both had two-run doubles, with the former going two-for-three with three RBIs. Dominic German had eight strikeouts across six innings but allowed five runs.

Rays shut down again

The record-breaking Tampa Bay Rays were shut down for the second straight time as they fell to a 1-0 defeat against the reigning world champion Houston Astros.

Hunter Brown had a career-high eight strikeouts as he combined with two relievers on a two-hitter, with Ryan Pressly working a 1-2-3 ninth for his second save.

The Astros scored on a Wander Franco error for misplaying a potential inning-ending double play, with Alex Bregman credited with the RBI, as Jeremy Pena scored.

Houston ended the Rays' 14-game home winning run to start the new season on Tuesday and backed that up.

Maggi's magic moment after long wait

Drew Maggi had a moment to remember, making his MLB debut after 13 seasons and more than 1000 games in the minor leagues, as the Pittsburgh Pirates downed the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-1.

The 33-year-old journeyman came in to pinch hit in the eighth inning and struck out on four pitches, having cranked a foul shot into the stands down the left-field line off his first pitch. It was Maggi's only at-bat and the end result was slightly underwhelming but it stirred up loud applause from the PNC Park crowd.

Jason Delay went three-for-three with three RBIs, while Roansy Contreras took a no-hitter into the sixth inning. Contreras finished with five strikeouts and two walks, allowing only two runs.

Boston Red Sox center-fielder Jarren Duran continued his terrific start to the season in Tuesday's 8-6 road win against the Baltimore Orioles.

Duran, 26, collected three hits from his four at-bats, highlighted by a 409-foot grand slam to center-field in the third inning to bust the game wide open.

Through nine games and 31 at-bats this season, Duran is slashing sizzling figures of .387/.417/.645, and he is not the only Red Sox hitter with a hot bat.

AL Rookie of the Year hopeful Masataka Yoshida finished two-for-four with a walk, marking his fourth multi-hit game in a row. After a cold start to his debut season in the majors, the 29-year-old is 12-for-24 in his past six outings.

The Orioles tried to mount a late comeback as Cedric Mullins hit a ninth-inning grand slam, making it the first time in MLB history that the center-fielder on each team finished with a grand slam.

With the win, the Red Sox improved their record to above .500 at 13-12, while the Orioles are still in a strong position at 15-8 in the ultra-competitive AL East.

Kelenic does it again

Seattle Mariners outfielder Jarred Kelenic hit a home run for the third game in a row to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-3 on the road.

Kelenic had his eye in, hitting a double in the second inning, a solo home run in the fifth, and a single in the ninth, with his only out in the contest coming on a hard-hit line out to left-field.

He was the only Mariners player with more than one hit, although Teoscar Hernandez's two-run home run ended up being the difference.

Berrios and Jansen take down the White Sox

The Toronto Blue Jays battery of Jose Berrios and Danny Jansen combined to dominate the Chicago White Sox in a 7-0 shutout.

Berrios pitched seven scoreless innings in 103 pitches, allowing four hits and one walk to go with nine strikeouts, and as well as calling a great game behind the plate, Jansen punished the White Sox with his bat.

Jansen went three-for-four at the plate including two home runs, driving in four of his team's runs, while team-mate George Springer also collected three hits.

The Tampa Bay Rays have officially made the best home start to a season in over 140 years after defeating the Houston Astros 8-3 on Monday.

With the win, the Rays extended their unbeaten home record to 14-0, breaking their tie with the 2009 Los Angeles Angels for the best start in modern history, while they are seven wins away from tying the 21-0 mark set by the 1880 Chicago White Stockings.

While one modern day record was born, another ended, as it was the first game this season that the Rays have not hit a home run. They had broken the record with a home run in each of their first 22 fixtures to start the campaign.

With no long-ball to lean on, the Rays piled up 14 hits, including a four-for-five day at the plate from 22-year-old franchise player Wander Franco.

Franco collected two singles and two doubles, and he also stole the show in the field, coming down with a remarkable over-the-shoulder, bare-handed catch in foul territory.

Rays left-fielder Randy Arozarena currently owns the sixth-best batting average in the majors (.353), and he improved on that figure by going two-for-three with a sacrifice-fly and a hit-by-pitch. 

He was one of five Rays with multiple hits, joining Franco, Yandy Diaz, Isaac Paredes and Cristian Bethancourt.

At 20-3, Tampa Bay are four games clear in the race for the best record in the majors.

Strider flirts with perfection

Atlanta Braves young ace Spencer Strider took a perfect game into the eighth inning of his side's 11-0 shutout against the visiting Miami Marlins.

Strider, 24, retired the first 22 batters he faced, before Jean Segura finally broke up the perfect game bid in the eighth frame. He ended up finishing eight innings in 101 pitches, striking out 13 batters while only allowing two hits and no walks.

Strider's 13.8 strikeouts per nine innings as a rookie would have led the majors had he pitched enough innings to qualify, and he does lead the MLB this year with a figure of 14.7.

Gray pitches a gem for the Twins

Veteran starting pitcher Sonny Gray was at his best as his Minnesota Twins defeated the visiting New York Yankees 6-1.

Gray, 33, came into the contest having not allowed more than one earned run in any of his four previous starts this season, and he pitched another seven scoreless frames, allowing three hits and two walks with eight strikeouts.

The performance lowered his ERA to a league-leading 0.62 – joining Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani (0.64) and Yankees ace Gerrit Cole (0.79) as the only players allowing fewer than one run per nine innings.

Superstar duo Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout made their presence felt on Sunday as they hit back-to-back home runs in the Los Angeles Angels' 4-3 home win against the Kansas City Royals.

Despite coming into the contest with the second-worst record in the majors (4-16), the Royals struck first through an opening-inning home run from young outfielder M.J. Melendez.

The Angels tied things up before the end of the first inning after Trout's double put Taylor Ward on third base, setting up Ohtani for the sacrifice fly.

Neither team scored in the next four frames as Angels starter Reid Detmers and Royals pitcher Jordan Lyles kept things tight, but the runs started to flow again in the sixth.

Vinnie Pasquantino gave Kansas City a 2-1 lead with his solo home run, signalling the end of Detmers' day, before Lyles had a rotten finish to his six innings.

Lyles threw a total of nine pitches in the sixth. The very first was hit 376 feet to left-field by lead-off batter Ward, before Trout followed with a 389-foot blast to center field three pitches later. Ohtani made it three in a row five pitches after that, launching a curveball 415 feet to center for the biggest of the bunch.

Top Royals youngster Bobby Witt Jr tried to drag his side back into it with his own solo homer an inning later, but Carlos Estevez was able to secure his third save of the season to pull the Angels' record even at 11-11.

It was the fifth home run of the season for both Ohtani and Trout, leaving them tied for 17th on the major league leaderboard.

Gausman guts the Yankees

Toronto Blue Jays ace Kevin Gausman pitched his best start of the young season in a 5-1 road victory over the New York Yankees.

Gausman made it through seven complete innings in 103 pitches, allowing only three hits and no walks to go with 11 strikeouts. The Yankees' only run would come from a consolation solo shot from Anthony Rizzo in the ninth inning.

For the Blue Jays, 24-year-old franchise star Vladimir Guerrero Jr connected on his fifth home run of the season, opening the scoring with a two-run bomb in the sixth inning. His batting average of .341 is eighth-highest in the majors, and his 29 total hits is tied for the sixth-most.

Yoshida stars for the Red Sox

AL Rookie of the Year contender and top international signing from the offseason Masataka Yoshida was the star of the show in the Boston Red Sox's 12-5 come-from-behind victory against the Milwaukee Brewers.

After signing a five-year, $90million free agent deal to come over from Japan's Orix Buffaloes, the 29-year-old Yoshida had his first game-changing performance for his new team, becoming the first Red Sox player since David Ortiz in 2008 to hit two home runs in the same inning.

The left-fielder, who starred for Japan in March's World Baseball Classic, hit a solo home run early in the eighth inning to give the Red Sox a 5-4 lead, and eight batters later he stepped up again and hit a 407-foot grand slam to make it 12-4. Brewers third baseman Brian Anderson also hit two home runs of his own.

Randy Arozarena was the hero as the Tampa Bay Rays set a major league record for scoring homers in each of their first 21 games in a 4-3 win over the Chicago White Sox on Saturday.

Arozarena brought up the milestone with a two-run blast over left-center field in the first inning, before hitting a walkoff RBI single in the 10th.

The Rays, who started the season with 13 straight wins, improved their record to 18-3, marking the best start by any side in the majors since the New York Yankees in 2003.

Tampa Bay also broke the Seattle Mariners' 2019 record of homering in 20 straight games to start that season.

The game was in the balance after homers from Eloy Jimenez and Yasmani Grandal for the White Sox, before Arozarena singled to left for Diaz to score at the bottom of the fifth.

Gavin Sheets squared the game up with a homer to right field at the top of the eighth, before Arozarena settled the game.

Jimmy Lambert intentionally walked Wander Franco with two out and a runner on second, before Arozarena's first-pitch single to right field, driving in Vidal Brujan. Arozarena finished with four RBIs.

Shane McClanahan sent down 10 strikeouts across six innings, while White Sox starter Dylan Cease had five K's.

Garcia crushed three HRs in Rangers rout

Adolis Garcia blasted three home runs and eight RBIs in five innings as the Texas Rangers smoked the Oakland Athletics 18-3.

Garcia blasted a two-run 432-foot homer at the bottom of the first, repeating the dose in the third inning with a 419-foot bomb over center.

The Rangers outfielder made it 13-2 at the bottom of the fifth with 401-feet blast, before a two-run double in the seventh capped a remarkable showing, taking his season tally to seven homers and 28 RBIs.

Garcia went five-for-four, becoming the third player since 1901 with at least 16 total bases, three homers, eight RBIs and five runs in a single game.

Tatis homers for first time since 2021

Fernando Tatis Jr blasted his first home run since returning from an 80-game drug suspension as the San Diego Padres won 5-3 over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Tatis, in his third game back since the suspension elapsed, crushed a 374-foot homer over left field for his first blast since 2021. The Padres outfielder led the majors for homers in 2021, with 42.

Right-hander Joe Musgrove earned his first win of the season, following a toe injury sustained in the weight room during spring training, striking out six, giving up three runs on seven hits.

The Tampa Bay Rays tied the record for the most consecutive games with a home run to start a season as they went deep three times in Friday's 8-7 home win against the Chicago White Sox.

With the win, the Rays improved their MLB-leading record to 17-3, having hit at least one homer in each game to tie the 2019 Seattle Mariners for the record.

Home fans did not have to wait long for the action to heat up, as Josh Lowe connected on a two-run double in the first inning, before Harold Ramirez followed him with a two-run homer as the very next batter to take a 4-0 lead.

The White Sox came storming back with three runs in the second inning – from three RBI singles – and another three runs in the third, courtesy of two bases-loaded walks and a wild pitch.

An Eloy Jimenez solo home run put Chicago up 7-4 in the fourth inning, and while the Rays got one run back in the bottom of the fourth, they left their comeback until the very end.

Christian Bethancourt's lead-off home run in the bottom of the ninth cut the margin to 7-6, and after a Yandy Diaz single, Brandon Lowe stepped up and hit a walk-off home run.

It was the second blown save of the season for Reynaldo Lopez, failing to get a single out in the ninth, while Diaz, Lowe, Ramirez and Bethancourt all finished with two hits each for the Rays.

Smyly finishes six outs from perfection

Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Drew Smyly pitched seven perfect innings before allowing his first baserunner in a 13-0 domination of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Smyly dismissed the first 21 Dodgers batters in order, before his bid for a perfect game was broken up in the eighth inning when Smyly tried to field a ball dribbling down the third-base line, but his catcher Yan Gomes crashed into him in his own effort to field it.

He ended up striking out 10 in his seven-and-two-thirds innings, allowing one run and no walks, while Nico Hoerner starred at the plate with four RBIs to go with his four-for-five day. 

Patrick Wisdom was one of five Cubs with multiple hits, including his ninth home run of the season to draw level with New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso for the league's most.

Ohtani dominates the Royals

Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani put together his best pitching performance of the season as he struck out 11 batters in a 2-0 win over the visiting Kansas City Royals.

With three-time AL MVP Mike Trout not suiting up, the Angels knew they had to keep the Royals' scoring down, and the combination of Ohtani (seven innings, two hits, two walks), Carlos Estevez (one inning) and closer Jose Quijada (one inning) restricted Kansas City to three hits for the game.

The only runs of the contest were produced by veteran catcher Chad Wallach in his first game of the season, connecting on a two-run homer with his first at-bat of 2023.

The win pulls the Angels' record even at 10-10, while Ohtani lowered his ERA to 0.64 from his 28 innings, and the Royals fell to an equal MLB-worst 4-16.

Fernando Tatis Jr. was grateful to be on the field as helped the San Diego Padres to victory in his first game back after being banned for a drugs violation.

Tatis was hit with an 80-game suspension in August 2022 after testing positive for Clostebol, a performance-enhancing substance.

The star shortstop claimed he had taken a medicine containing Clostebol to treat ringworm, subsequently apologising for letting his team-mates down with the positive test.

Having undergone surgery on a wrist injury earlier in the year, Tatis sat out the entirety of the 2022 MLB season, which saw the Padres beaten by the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Championship Series.

Tatis went 0-for-5 when making his first MLB appearance since October 2021 against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday, though he did make a highlight-reel catch as the Padres clinched a 7-5 win.

Speaking after his return, Tatis said: "It felt amazing, just to be back out there with my boys in the jungle. [I'm] just happy. Happy to get that 'W' and just to be back out there.

"Being away for a period of time – it gave me time to realise how really blessed I am to be able to play this game at the level that I play it.

"All the kids that are watching, the vibes they give me, that love they give me, it just feeds me every single time.

"There were more Padres fans here than Arizona fans. It's amazing how they show up. They were loud. I felt like we were at home."

Tatis received a predictably mixed reception when entering the batter's box for the first time, and he expects more of the same at opposing ballparks, given the nature of his ban.

"That's going to come," Tatis said. "Everybody has freedom of expression in this country, and there's nothing I can do about it. I'm just going to keep playing this game and enjoy every part of it."

Anthony Rizzo's hot start to the season continued on Thursday as he reached base safely five times in the New York Yankees' 9-3 home victory against the star-studded Los Angeles Angels.

Rizzo hit a single in the first inning, another single in the second inning, before drawing walks in both the fourth and seventh frames, and he capped off his great on-base percentage outing with an RBI single in the eighth.

The stat-boosting performance from the Yankees first-baseman improved his batting average to .344 from his 18 starts this season, while also boasting an on-base percentage of .449 and a slugging figure of .578.

Rizzo's sole RBI was the only RBI produced by the top four bats in the Yankees' line-up, with the bottom of their order picking up the slack.

Catcher Jose Trevino did the damage with a bases-clearing double in the first inning to open up a 5-0 lead, while Oswald Peraza and Isiah Kiner-Falefa also finished with two RBIs each.

It was a solid start on the mound for Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes, making it through six full innings in 94 pitches, allowing three runs from four hits and two walks, and striking out seven.

For the Angels, their superstar duo of Mike Trout (one-for-four) and Shohei Ohtani (zero-for-three with a walk) combined to go one-for-seven at the plate with a walk, but rookie catcher Logan O'Hoppe continued to show promise with a three-for-four day, driving in two runs.

The win improves the Yankees' record to 12-7 – the third-best record in the American League – while the Angels fell below .500 at 9-10.

Outman sends two balls out, man

Los Angeles Dodgers rookie outfielder James Outman had the first multi-home run game of his career in a 6-2 win away from home against the Chicago Cubs.

Outman, who was bumped up to the lead-off spot, connected on a 420-foot bomb in the third inning for his fourth homer of the season. He added number five in emphatic fashion, blasting a grand slam in the top of the ninth to turn a 2-2 tie into a 6-2 triumph.

The 25-year-old is slashing .290/.397/.645 as he looks to insert his name into NL Rookie of the Year conversations early.

Alonso hits MLB-leading ninth homer

New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso now sits alone atop the home run leaderboard after hitting his ninth in a 9-4 road win against the San Francisco Giants.

One of the best power-hitters in the sport, Alonso is coming off a 40-homer campaign, and he broke a three-way tie atop this season's standings in the fourth inning with a 366-foot, two-run shot to left-field.

Alonso went on to finish with four RBIs after a two-run single in the seventh frame, with 30-year-old Japanese rookie Kodai Senga collecting the win on the mound to improve his record to 3-0 from four starts.