New York Mets ace Max Scherzer will miss his next two scheduled starts after he was suspended 10 games by Major League Baseball on Thursday for having a foreign substance on his hand during Wednesday's start against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Scherzer was ejected in the fourth inning at Dodger Stadium after he had several interactions with umpires during the customary between-inning hand checks.

Umpire Phil Cuzzi determined after the second inning that Scherzer’s hand was stickier and darker than normal, and ordered the three-time Cy Young winner to wash his hand, which Scherzer said he did with alcohol while a Major League Baseball official watched.

After the third inning, Cuzzi then determined the pocket of Scherzer's glove was "sticky," likely with too much rosin, and he ordered Scherzer to change gloves. The umpires then checked the 38-year-old right-hander again before the fourth, and his hands were even worse than before.

Scherzer said he used only a combination of sweat and rosin to improve tactness. He could be spotted on the TV broadcast yelling that it was "just rosin" on his hands.

"When you use sweat and rosin your hand is sticky," Scherzer said after the game. "But I don’t know how I get ejected when I'm in front of MLB officials doing exactly, exactly what you want and being deemed that my hand's too sticky when I'm using a legal substance. I do not understand that."

Scherzer appealed the penalty imposed by Michael Hill, MLB's senior vice president for on-field operations, and can continue to play until the appeal is decided. The appeal would be heard by MLB special adviser John McHale Jr.

He becomes the third pitcher suspended by MLB since the crackdown on sticky substances started in June 2021. Seattle's Héctor Santiago was penalized June 28 that year, before Arizona’s Caleb Smith was pinged a month later on August 24, with both drawing 10-game penalties.

All three inspections that led to suspensions involved Cuzzi.

Scherzer is 2-1 with a 3.72 ERA in four starts this season with nine walks and 17 strikeouts.

The Oakland Athletics have secured land near the Las Vegas strip and intend to move to Nevada by 2027.

Team president Dave Kaval confirmed the development, bringing an end to a tense number of years for the Major League Baseball franchise and seemingly ending prospects of staying in Oakland at a new waterfront home.

Kaval told MLB.com: "We know this is a really difficult day for our fans in Oakland and the Oakland community. We put an incredible six-year effort into trying to get this waterfront vision for a stadium approved.

"At the end of the day, the progress has not been fast enough. We're still maybe seven or eight years away from being even able to open a stadium [in Oakland] with the lawsuits and referendums and timing challenges.

"We have a pact in Las Vegas that we think can work and has the support from the league, so we are really putting all our focus in Las Vegas and the efforts there."

The A's are set to become the first MLB franchise to relocate since the Montreal Expos became the Washington Nationals in 2004.

A move would also bring an end to professional sport in Oakland, who previously lost the NFL's Raiders, also to Las Vegas, in 2020 and saw the Golden State Warriors return to San Francisco three seasons ago.

The news sparked an angry reaction in Oakland, with mayor Sheng Thao saying the city would no longer negotiate with the team.

"The city has gone above and beyond in our attempts to arrive at mutually beneficial terms to keep the A's in Oakland. In the last three months, we've made significant strides to close the deal," she said in a statement.

"Yet, it is clear to me that the A's have no intention of staying in Oakland and have simply been using this process to try to extract a better deal out of Las Vegas.

"I am not interested in continuing to play that game – the fans and our residents deserve better."

The Athletics moved to Oakland in 1968, winning three consecutive World Series from 1972 to 1974, then earning fame in the 2002 season following Billy Beane's 'moneyball' approach that saw the franchise set a record for most consecutive wins.

Aaron Judge robbed Shohei Ohtani of a homer before delivering a blast of his own as the New York Yankees downed the Los Angeles Angels 3-2 on Wednesday.

Gleyber Torres hit a walk-off sacrifice fly in the 10th inning, after the Angels had squared the game up following Judge's first-inning two-run shot.

Judge was at the heart of everything early, robbing Ohtani of a first-inning homer with a leaping ricochet catch on the wall at center field after the ball hit the heel of his glove and bobbled into his throwing hand.

The reigning AL MVP then launched a two-run blast into the left-center bullpen at the bottom of the first to open up a 2-0 lead. It was Judge's sixth homer of the 2023 season.

Judge produced another moment of magic in the field in the eighth inning with a diving one-handed grab at right-center field to save a go-ahead run from Brandon Drury.

Ohtani had a frustrating game, going none-for-four and stranding three runners with inning-ending strikeouts in the fifth and seventh innings.

The Angels reeled in the Yankees' early lead with Taylor Ward's fifth-inning RBI, before Gio Urshela's two-out RBI single in the eighth.

In the 10th, Urshela lined out to right with Mike Trout stranded on third with two-out, before Torres' walk-off sac fly to center-right field with bases loaded, driving in Isiah Kiner-Falefa.

Soto shines as Braves' run ended

Juan Soto continued to emerge from his early-season slump with a 431-foot blast to right-center field in the San Diego Padres' 1-0 win over the Atlanta Braves.

The result snapped the Braves' eight-game winning streak, with the Padres improving to a 9-11 record with Fernando Tatis Jr set to return from a long-term suspension on Thursday. Joe Musgrove's return from injury is close too.

Soto, who was hitting .175 with three home runs from 19 games coming in, delivered the decisive blast the fourth inning while Nick Martinez threw six strikeouts across seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits.

More milestones for free-wheeling Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays' outstanding early season form continued with an 8-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds setting more records, having started the year with a 13-game winning streak.

The Rays blasted six first-inning runs with Yandy Diaz setting the tone with a lead-off homer, setting a modern era record for differential after 19 games (+83), having scored 133 runs and allowed 50, beating the previous mark held by the 1905 New York Giants (+79).

Tampa Bay also became the first team n the modern era to have four shutouts of eight-plus runs in their first 19 games of the season, as Drew Rasmussen had seven K's across five scoreless innings. It was the team's sixth shutout in 19 games.

Three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer could face a 10-game suspension after being ejected from the New York Mets' 5-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers after checks for a sticky substance.

The Mets right-hander pleaded his innocence with the umpires checking the pitcher's hand and glove for a sticky substance on three separate occasions, eventually tossing him from the game prior to the fourth inning.

Under MLB rules, if a player is deemed to have violated the rules on sticky substances, they will receive an automatic 10-game ban, which can be appealed.

Scherzer was left bewildered by the decision, yelling "it's rosin" upon umpire Phil Cuzzi's call to eject him from the game, before reluctantly exiting.

"I'd have to be an absolute idiot to try to do anything when I'm coming back out for the fourth," Scherzer told reporters. "He said my hand is too sticky, and I said, 'I swear on my kids' life that I'm not using anything else. This is sweat and rosin, sweat and rosin.'

"I don't get how I get ejected when I'm in front of MLB officials doing exactly - exactly - what you want and being deemed my hands too sticky when I'm using legal substances, I do not understand that."

In the umpires' pool report, plate umpire Dan Bellino said the stickiness of Scherzer's hand worsened from the initial second-inning inspection to the third inspection in the fourth inning when he was ejected.

"As far as stickiness, this was the stickiest it had been since I've been inspecting hands, which goes back three seasons," Bellino said.

Cuzzi added: "I said this to Buck and to Max, it really didn't matter to us what it is. All we know is that it was far stickier than anything that we've felt certainly today and anything this year, and so in that case, we felt as though he had two chances to clean it up, and he didn't."

Scherzer became only the third pitcher to be ejected for violating the updated foreign substance policy, after Seattle's Hector Santiago and Arizona's Caleb Smith, both in 2021. Both copped 10-game bans.

Clayton Kershaw brought up his 200th career win with a shutout as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Mets 5-0 on Tuesday.

The Dodgers left-hander moved to 22nd on the all-time major league strikeout list with nine K's across seven scoreless innings, allowing only three hits and no walks.

Kershaw joined Don Sutton and Don Drysdale as the only pitchers with 200 wins in a Dodgers uniform, while he becomes one of four active players to reach the mark, alongside Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Zack Greinke.

J.D. Martinez blasted home runs in the first and third innings, before adding an eighth-inning RBI single to finish with four RBIs.

Freddie Freeman went one-for-four, with one run and one RBI from a sacrifice fly.

The win was the Dodgers' first shutout of the season, led by Kershaw who produced a vintage performance to bring up his milestone.

The three-time Cy Young ward winner's career record improved to 200-88 in 405 games.

Ohtani laser sets up Angels win over Yankees

Shohei Ohtani blasted a two-run laser beam homer in the first inning as the Los Angeles Angels downed the New York Yankees 5-2 on the 100th anniversary of Yankee Stadium.

Ohtani's early blast sparked the Angels' triumph in a star-studded encounter featuring three AL MVPs where Aaron Judge went none-for-three, struck out twice while he drove in one with a fourth-inning sacrifice fly.

Mike Trout went two-for-four scoring in the fourth inning from Anthony Rendon's single. Rendon also drove in Ohtani in the fifth with a sacrifice fly, opening up the decisive 5-2 lead.

Verdugo delivers bizarre walk-off hit

Alex Verdugo produced a bizarre walk-off hit as the Boston Red Sox edged the Minnesota Twins 5-4 in a dramatic 10th inning thriller.

Verdugo's fly ball to right field barely stayed fair, catching outfielder Max Kepler unaware as it bounced off the wall just short of Pesky's Pole and back into play. The umpires reviewed the drive for several minutes, deeming it fair to clinch the walk-off win.

Red Sox starter Chris Sale had 11 strikeouts across six innings, while Verdugo went three-for-five with one run and the decisive RBI for Reese McGuire to score after the Twins had gone 4-2 up at the top of the 10th.

The Cincinnati Reds made a long-term commitment to second-year pitcher Hunter Greene on Tuesday, as the sides agreed to a six-year, $53million contract extension.

The contract begins this season and buys out two years of Greene’s free agency. The deal includes a $21m club option for a seventh season, with a $2m buyout.

The 23-year-old Greene is the hardest-throwing starter in baseball, featuring a fastball that sits around 99 mph and has topped out at 102 this season. He also throws a slider that may be his most effective pitch.

Greene struggled at times during his 2022 rookie season but also showed flashes of his potential.

He went 5-13 with a 4.44 ERA in 24 starts, striking out 164 in 125 2/3 innings with 48 walks. Greene became the only major league rookie since 1900 to have at least three appearances in which he threw six or more innings and had eight or more strikeouts.

The 6-foot-5, 240-pound right-hander has no decisions in four starts this season, compiling a 4.24 ERA with 24 strikeouts in 17 innings.

"The commitment we made to Hunter reflects his commitment to this organization and to our community," Reds CEO Bob Castellini said in a statement. "He is part of the foundation of young players who will continue to help us build a successful major league team."

Cincinnati is banking on Greene and 25-year-old pitchers Nick Lodolo and Graham Ashcraft to form the core of the team’s rotation for years to come.

Greene’s signing represents a change in philosophy for the Reds, who have one of baseball’s lowest payrolls. More than half of Cinncinnati’s $83m payroll is going to longtime star Joey Votto, who is currently on the injured list, and Mike Moustakas, who was released in January and now plays for the Colorado Rockies.

The Reds lost 100 games last season and haven’t won a playoff series since 1995.

Shohei Ohtani helped his Los Angeles Angels snap a three-game losing streak on Sunday, igniting a 5-4 road win against the Boston Red Sox.

Ohtani started on the mound at Fenway Park, giving up one run while striking out three batters across the opening two innings. 

He also collected a base hit in the first frame, and followed it with another single in the second, before rain arrived and forced a weather delay.

With his arm cooling down during the lengthy break, Ohtani was replaced by Tucker Davidson upon resumption, but the five runs the Angels put up in the first two innings proved to be enough.

The catalyst for their bright offensive start was Hunter Renfroe, connecting on a three-run homer with the game's fourth at-bat. Renfroe then added his fourth RBI of the contest an inning later with a ground-out.

Red Sox star Rafael Devers tried to ignite a late comeback in the bottom of the ninth, with his RBI single bridging the gap to 5-4 while runners remained on first and second base with one out, but Rob Refsnyder and Masataka Yoshida could not muster a hit from either of the final two at-bats.

After the win, Angels manager Phil Nevin said the team would discuss moving up Ohtani's next start due to his limited workload this time out.

Rangers pitch combined one-hitter 

There was an injury scare for Texas Rangers ace Jacob deGrom, but it could not sour their terrific 4-0 shutout of the Kansas City Royals.

DeGrom was withdrawn after four innings of work with what the team called a precaution due to wrist soreness, but he held the Royals hit-less during those four innings, and the bullpen only allowed one hit the rest of the way.

Dane Dunning came in and tossed four innings in relief, allowing one hit and one walk in a great showing, while the bulk of the offensive damage was done by a three-run homer from Josh Jung in the first inning.

It was Jung's third home run of the season, and team-mate Marcus Semien joined him with three for the campaign after a solo homer of his own.

Rays keep home run streak alive in loss

The Tampa Bay Rays suffered a disappointing 8-1 road defeat at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds, but not before keeping their historic home run streak alive.

The Rays were down 8-0 in the last inning when Josh Lowe hit a consolation home run, but with it, he marked the 17th consecutive game Tampa have hit a home run in to start the season.

Tampa Bay slipped to a still league-leading 14-3 record with the loss, but they are now just three games with a home run away from tying the 2019 Seattle Mariners for the longest streak to start a season in MLB history.

New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole delivered another terrific start as he shut out the Minnesota Twins in a 2-0 home victory on Sunday.

Cole, who came into the contest with a 3-0 record this season after giving up just three earned runs in his 19.1 innings pitched, banked another win with nine scoreless frames against the Twins.

He allowed two hits and one walk to go with 10 strikeouts, retiring the game's last 11 batters to finish the complete game in 109 pitches (73 strikes).

With the bat, it was veteran infielder D.J. LeMahieu who was the Yankees' hero. The 34-year-old three-time All-Star came through with a two-out RBI single to give New York a 1-0 lead in the third inning, before doubling their advantage with a solo home run in the sixth inning.

Exciting rookie shortstop Anthony Volpe continued to make an impact for the Yankees, showing off his speed by reaching on an infield single in the fifth inning, and then he made his way into scoring position with his seventh stolen base of the season. 

His seven steals lead all rookies and tie him for the second most in the majors, while only Volpe and Baltimore Orioles speedster Cedric Mullins (eight steals) have nabbed at least seven bases without being caught stealing.

With the win, the Yankees secured a series split with the Twins, with both teams now at 10-6.

Bellinger bombs one against his former side

Former NL MVP with the Los Angeles Dodgers Cody Bellinger got revenge on his former side as his home run was the difference in the Chicago Cubs' 3-2 win.

Bellinger, who won Rookie of the Year in 2017 and NL MVP in 2019 as a member of the Dodgers, connected on the biggest hit of the game in his first series back in Los Angeles following an offseason move to the Cubs.

The 27-year-old blasted a 422-foot solo home run in the sixth inning to extend the Cubs' lead to 3-1, after team-mate Patrick Wisdom broke the tie with his own solo homer just three pitches earlier.

The victory secured the second impressive series win in a row for the Cubs after also taking their three-game set against the Seattle Mariners 2-1, and improved Chicago's record to 8-6.

Castillo flirts with perfect game

Luis Castillo showed why he is the top arm in the Mariners' rotation, not allowing a baserunner until the seventh inning as his side defeated the Colorado Rockies 1-0.

Castillo dismissed the first 18 Rockies batters in order, allowing no hits or walks through six innings, before his bid for a perfect game was broken up by back-to-back singles in the seventh frame.

The Mariners' offense needed all the help they could get, collecting only four hits as a team, but Jarred Kelenic came through with the crucial two-out RBI single in the sixth inning to get his team over the line.

Mike Trout joined some elite company with his 300th career double but it was an unhappy return for the Los Angeles Angels who lost 9-7 to the Boston Red Sox on Saturday.

Trout, who went three-for-four, became just the fourth player in MLB history to reach 300 doubles, 300 homers and 200 stolen bases by his age-31 season, alongside  Willie Mays, Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez.

The Angels had skipped ahead to a 4-0 lead after Urshela's first-inning grand slam, with Trout having doubled to left to reach his milestone with a rocket off the Green Monster.

But Rafael Devers halved the deficit with his seventh blast of the season, a two-run shot, taking him up to the top of the majors' charts for home runs.

Yu Chang ended his none-for-29 drought with a go-ahead two-run homer in the fourth inning,

The Angels regained the lead in the sixth inning from Shohei Ohtani's RBI single. Ohtani also extended his on-base streak to 36 games, which is the best active streak in the majors.

But Chang delivered again with a two-run single in the eighth inning to finish with four RBIs. That came amid an eighth where Angels' Matt Thaiss was called twice for catcher interference, prolonging the inning.

Ryan Brasier got the win, with Kenley Jensen taking the final three outs for his fourth save.

Alonso blasts league-leading homer in Mets win

Pete Alonso crushed his league-leading seventh home run of the season as the New York Mets rallied past the Oakland Athletics 3-2.

Alonso's fourth-inning blast got the wheels in motion for the Mets, after the A's opened up a 2-0 lead at the bottom of the second inning.

The Mets rallied into the lead with two runs in the seventh inning, with Mark Canha's 414-foot homer followed by Brandon Nimmo's RBI double.

Alonso leads the majors for homers with seven alongside Red Sox's Rafael Devers, with Baltimore Orioles' Ryan Mountcastle and Los Angeles Dodgers' Max Muncy having six each.

Miggy records 16th career walk-off with single

Miguel Cabrera produced an 11th-inning walk-off single for the Detroit Tigers to edge the San Francisco Giants 7-6.

The Tigers had to rally from a five-run deficit, trailing 6-1 after J.D. Davis' two-run blast at the top of the third inning, pulling back two runs in the fifth, before Javier Baez's two-run double in the eighth followed by Spencer Torkelson's single.

Detroit's 39-year-old pinch-hitter, who recorded his 3,000th career hit last season, brought up his 16th career walk-off with his 3,095th career hit up the middle to score Torkelson.

The Minnesota Twins came back from the worst possible start to earn a 4-3 road win against the New York Yankees on Friday.

In a stunning first inning in front of their home fans, the Yankees led 2-0 after two at-bats. Rookie Anthony Volpe connected on a 394-foot shot to left-center field for his first career home run, and he was followed by reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge, who sent his solo home run 404 feet for his fifth dinger of the season.

Judge's five home runs this season trails only Baltimore Orioles slugger Ryan Mountcastle and New York Mets star Pete Alonso for the league's most, both with six.

But those two runs would be the only scores until the sixth inning, when Carlos Correa put the Twins on the board with a solo home run of his own, barely scraping over the short-porch at right-field with a distance of 331 feet.

Giancarlo Stanton answered for the Yankees in the bottom of the sixth, cancelling out Correa's blast with another solo home run, before Kyle Garlick smacked the game's fifth solo homer to cut the New York lead to 3-2.

But after Michael Taylor and Byron Buxton both got on base to lead off the eighth frame, Correa came through again with a two-run double to give the Twins their first lead, setting up Jhoan Duran to come in and pick up the save – his fourth of the season.

The win was the Twins' fourth in a row, improving their AL Central-leading record to 10-4, while the Yankees slipped to 8-6.

Jays end the Rays' historic start

The Tampa Bay Rays have had their perfect start to the season snapped at 13 wins after the Toronto Blue Jays defeated them 6-3 at home.

George Springer gave the Blue Jays an early lead when he sent the second pitch from Rays starter Drew Rasmussen 440 feet for a lead-off home run, before team-mate Bo Bichette doubled their lead with a ground-rule double in the second inning.

Bichette went on to collect five hits from his five at-bats – three singles and two doubles – but it was loose pitching from Tampa Bay that doomed them to defeat.

Trailing just 2-1 in the sixth inning, the Rays issued two bases-loaded walks, and then allowed two more runs to score on an error.

Tampa Bay tied the 1982 Atlanta Braves and the 1987 Milwaukee Brewers for the best start to a season (13-0) since the 1884 St Louis Maroons (20-0).

Ohtani and Trout both hit, walk in Angels loss

The Los Angeles Angels went down 5-3 on the road against the Boston Red Sox, despite their two former AL MVPs both finishing with a hit and a walk.

Shohei Ohtani went one-for-four with a walk, while Mike Trout also went one-for-four with a walk, although his hit went for a double down the left-field line.

The production from the Angels' stars was not enough to overcome three fielding errors as a team, including two costly errors from third-baseman Anthony Rendon to allow three runs, and a fourth run scored on a passed ball from catcher Logan O'Hoppe.

Boston's top bat Rafael Devers was the highlight for the home side, connecting on his equal league-leading sixth homer.

The San Francisco Giants locked up ace Logan Webb for the next five years, agreeing to a $90million extension with the right-hander on Friday that will keep him with the team through the 2028 season.

Webb struggled in his first two seasons with the Giants before he had a breakout campaign in 2021, going 11-3 with a 3.03 ERA in 27 appearances. He followed that up by compiling a 15-9 mark in 2022 with a 2.90 ERA and 163 strikeouts in 192 innings.

Webb, who grew up in nearby Rocklin, California, will earn $4.6m this season in his first year of arbitration eligibility, and would have been eligible for free agency after the 2025 season. He will receive an $8m salary next year, $12m in 2025, $23m each in 2026 and 2027 and $24m in 2028.

"It was just important for me to be able to say I can wear a Giants uniform for a long time," Webb said. "It's important for not only myself but my family and especially my community back home.

"I know they're very excited. There's a lot of diehard Giants fans in Rocklin, California. This is where I want to be – it's an honour."

Webb was the Giants' opening day starter this season, but has got off to a slow start with an 0-3 record and a 4.76 ERA in three starts.

"I've got to be a lot better, the team knows that, I know that and I'm excited to start showing that. I think I'm really close," Webb said. "It does show they have a lot of faith in me, and some of the stuff that's happened the first couple games is not going to happen hopefully very often.

"I don't think anybody, myself especially, thought I'd be 0-3 to start the season, but I'm excited to fix that, excited to get back to that winning baseball not only for myself but for our team."

Webb is 31-22 with a 3.59 ERA in five major league seasons.

Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux showered Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani in praise on Thursday, comparing him to legends Babe Ruth, Nolan Ryan and Barry Bonds.

Ohtani, 28, is the most unique talent in the sport today. A dominating starting pitcher who has also racked up 80 home runs over the past two seasons, he trails only New York Yankees star Aaron Judge for the MLB's most long-balls since the beginning of 2021.

As well as his terrific power hitting, Ohtani's six-foot-four frame also can produce fastballs eclipsing 101mp/h, and his 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings had him second in the majors among qualifying starters last season, only narrowly behind former San Francisco Giant Carlos Rodon (12.0).

Maddux himself has a remarkable resume, becoming the first player to ever win four Cy Young Awards in a row between 1992-95, and during an appearance on ESPN radio show 'Canty and Carlin' he shared his admiration for Ohtani.

"He's one of the top two or three pitchers in the game and he's one of the top two or three power hitters in the game," he said. "We've never seen a player like that before, and it's definitely fun to watch. 

"You can watch him throw a shutout one night and go deep the next night. It's kind of special to see a guy that good just dominate as much as he does.

"He kind of reminds you of Nolan Ryan, and then he reminds you of freaking Barry Bonds. He's both of those guys, I mean he's got great stuff and he can hit a home run with the best of anybody. 

"Nobody else has done it before, I mean the last guy was who, maybe Babe Ruth? Nobody's been able to do that."

Ohtani was named the 2021 AL MVP, and it took a historic season from Judge to deny him the award in 2022. After an MVP performance in March's World Baseball Classic, Ohtani is again the favourite to be crowned the AL's top talent.

Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash reflected on a "pretty amazing" achievement on Thursday after his side improved their perfect start to 13-0.

The Rays defeated the Boston Red Sox 9-3 to bring up their 13th consecutive win, tying the 1982 Atlanta Braves and the 1987 Milwaukee Brewers for the best start to a season in modern history.

Tampa Bay are seven games away from tying the overall record of 20-0, set 139 years ago by the St Louis Maroons back in 1884.

They did it with a fifth-inning surge, where they turned a 3-1 deficit into an 8-3 lead. A double and three singles brought in three Rays runs to jump ahead by one, and after Wander Franco was hit by a pitch, Manuel Margot surprised even his manager with his decision.

With bases loaded and two outs, Margot opted to drop a first-pitch bunt down the third-base line, safely reaching first, bringing another run in and keeping the inning alive.

Designated hitter Harold Ramirez took full advantage, following with a bases-clearing double to take the contest by the scruff of the neck.

Speaking after the win, Cash was asked what the most impressive aspect of their current run has been.

"Just the overall quality of our at-bats," he said. "I can't say that we foresaw that coming, but we've got a bunch of guys who are seeing the ball well right now.

"We've come up with some timely hitting – [tonight] might have been the mostly timely to-date. But we got momentum, and it just seemed like it was going to continue to roll.

"Manny's at-bat, the bases-loaded bunt – it certainly shocked me – and then Harold comes up and hits a double down the line to open up the game.

"I think we were all pretty shocked [by the bunt]... but it worked."

Touching on their 13-0 record after series sweeps against the Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals, Oakland Athletics and now the Red Sox, Cash said it is rare to have everything clicking like this.

"Pretty amazing," he said. "Congrats to all of our guys, and I'm glad that we did it at home, because we had tremendous fan support throughout this entire home stand. They really got loud when we needed them to, and it seemed like our guys were energised by that.

"When you do something like that you're playing really well. There's not one part of our game right now that we don't feel good about.

"We want to be really good with our roster from 14-15 throughout 40, and we feel like we are. We've got many guys who are going to contribute during the season, and many guys that have already contributed.

"To go on a run like this everything's got to be clicking, and you've got to get contributions from all parts of your roster."

Tampa Bay's 13-game winning streak also sets a new franchise record for longest winning streak at any point of a season, eclipsing their 12 wins in a row during the 2004 campaign.

The Tampa Bay Rays tied the record for the best start to an MLB season since 1884 after defeating the Boston Red Sox 9-3 on Thursday to improve to 13-0.

To reach 13-0, the Rays completed their fourth consecutive series sweep to begin the campaign. They began their season at home with a three-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers, before a three-game sweep at the Washington Nationals, followed by a three-game sweep of the visiting Oakland Athletics.

Thursday's victory polished off a four-game series against the Red Sox, and while the whole team is in great touch, nobody is swinging a hotter bat than second-baseman Brandon Lowe.

Lowe, 28, hit a solo home run in the seventh inning, marking his fifth game with a home run from his past six starts. He has made the most of his extra-base hits, with only one double and no triples, as five of his 11 total hits this season have cleared the wall.

Tampa Bay ended up scoring the last eight runs of the contest, as the Red Sox opened up a 3-1 lead in the fifth inning thanks to a home run from Rob Refsnyder and RBIs to Enrique Hernandez and Justin Turner.

But a seven-run explosion from the Rays at the bottom of the fifth turned the tide, highlighted by a bases-clearing double from designated hitter Harold Ramirez as one of his three hits on the day.

Tampa Bay starting pitcher Jeffrey Springs was forced to leave earlier than planned in the fourth innings due to inflammation in his elbow, but that only put a slight damper on the evening as they joined the 1982 Atlanta Braves and 1987 Milwaukee Brewers as the only teams since 1884 to reach 13-0.

One more win on the road against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday would give the Rays the best post-1900 start to a season, with 20-0 the overall record set by the 1884 St Louis Maroons.

Rutschman nails walk-off homer for Baltimore

Elite young catcher Adley Rutschman was the hero as he connected on a walk-off home run to give the Baltimore Orioles an 8-7 victory over the Oakland Athletics.

In a back-and-forth contest where the teams combined for 21 hits, Rutschman himself was hit-less from four at-bats when he stepped up for a fifth time to lead off the bottom of the ninth.

He saw two fastballs, and connected on the second, sending it 405 feet to right-center field and ending the game.

Orioles shortstop Jorge Mateo collected his league-leading seventh stolen base, while team-mate Cedric Mullins stole his sixth to sit in a tie for second.

Twins hammer Yankees rookie

It was a day to forget for New York Yankees rookie starting pitcher Jhony Brito as he was only able to secure two outs before being pulled in his side's 11-2 home loss to the Minnesota Twins.

Brito gave up six hits and a walk, punctuated by a two-run Michael Taylor homer to put the Twins up 7-0 in the first inning. Brito was pulled, but his replacement Colten Brewer gave up two more solo homers before the end of the first.

Taylor ended up hitting his second two-run homer of the game in the third inning, before Anthony Rizzo added a pair of consolation solo home runs to put the Yankees on the board.

The Tampa Bay Rays claimed a franchise record and moved a step closer to an MLB record with Wednesday's 9-7 win over the Boston Red Sox that extended their season-opening streak to 12 wins.

The Rays improved to 12-0 with the win that included only one home run this time, coming from Randy Arozarena's first-inning opposite field three-run blast.

Taj Bradley fanned eight batters across five innings on his majors debut, allowing five hits, one walk and three runs, before Rafael Devers tightened up the scoreline with a three-run homer in the seventh inning.

But Arozarena's eighth-inning sacrifice fly meant Tampa Bay had done enough to extend their winning streak, meaning they are one short of matching the 13-0 starts by the Milwaukee Brewers (1987) and the Atlanta Braves (1982) which are the longest ever in MLB history.

The Rays matched a franchise record for a winning streak, previously 12 in a row from June 2004.

Tampa Bay have outscored their opponents 92-27 through the first dozen games, blasting 30 homers, which is only bettered by the 2019 Seattle Mariners (32) and the 2000 St Louis Cardinals (31).

Arozarena was struck out twice had four RBIs while Wander Franco went three-for-five with two RBIs and two runs.

Franco's fourth-inning two-run double opened up a 6-1 lead but the Red Sox did well to rally after reliever Zack Kelly left in the fifth with right elbow pain, while Devers snapped a run of 10 hitless at-bats.

The Rays can match the MLB record 13-0 season-opening start when they face the Red Sox again on Thursday.

Yankees win after Boone tossed & ump hospitalised

Aaron Boone was ejected early and Franchy Cordero homered for the fourth time this season as the New York Yankees rallied from a three-run deficit to beat the Cleveland Guardians 4-3.

Yankees manager Boone was tossed in the first inning following a confusing play, while second base umpire Larry Vanover was taken to hospital during the fifth after being struck in the face by a relay throw.

Vanover was struck in a bizarre sequence from Kyle Higashiakoa's RBI single, with the incident allowing Isiah Kiner-Falefa to score after Oswaldo Cabrera had plated.

Cordero tied the game with a 439-feet seventh-inning blast, before Cabrera's ninth-inning go-ahead single. Closer Clay Holmes was nervy, loading the bases on a hit batter, but finished the job.

Bregman finds form as Astros triumph

Alex Bregman homered for the second straight game as the inconsistent Houston Astros thrashed the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-0.

Bregman's three-run blast in the seventh inning opened up a 5-0 lead, after rookie outfielder Corey Julks crushed his maiden homer into left field in the fourth inning.

The Astros rode the pitching of Jose Urquidy who allowed only two hits – both singles - and three walks across six scoreless innings, striking out two.