Francisco Alvarez's solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted the New York Mets to a dramatic 4-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles in Monday's opener of an important three-game series for both teams.

With one out and the game tied at 3-3, Alvarez crushed a 3-0 fastball from Seranthony Dominguez well clear of the wall in left center field to allow the Mets to close the gap in the National League wild card race and knock the Orioles out of first place in the American League East.

J.D. Martinez had a two-run homer in the first inning for New York, which moved within 1 1/2 games of the Atlanta Braves for the NL's final wild card spot with its third win in four games.

The Orioles have now lost three of four and dropped a half-game back of the idle New York Yankees for the AL's top spot.

Baltimore made it interesting, however, by scoring twice in the seventh inning to erase a 3-1 deficit.

Ryan Mountcastle began the rally with a lead-off double and took third on a groundout before being forced home when Mets starter David Peterson was called for a balk. Ramon Urias then followed with a solo home run to knot the score at 3-3.

Peterson had been cruising up until that point and departed after allowing three runs - two earned - while striking out eight through seven innings.

Martinez followed a first-inning single by Mark Vientos with his 13th homer of the season to give the Mets an early advantage. They increased the margin to 3-0 in the fourth when Pete Alonso doubled and later crossed the plate on Tyrone Taylor's two-out single.

The Orioles answered in the fifth with the help of an error by Peterson, who threw errantly on a pickoff attempt to send Urias to third after the infielder reached on a double. Urias would then score on a groundout by Jackson Holliday.

Urias and Mountcastle each finished with two hits for the Orioles, while Baltimore starter Trevor Rogers struck out five while permitting three runs in 4 2/3 innings.

Diaz's homer in ninth caps rally, keeps Astros hot

The Houston Astros also earned a key win via a walk-off home run, as Yainer Diaz's ninth-inning blast gave the AL West leaders a 5-4 comeback victory over the Boston Red Sox.

Houston scored once in each of the final two innings to rally for its 11th win in 12 games, with Diaz delivering the final blow by launching Kenley Jansen's pitch well over the left field wall with one out in the bottom of the ninth.

The Astros tied the game at 4-4 with a two-out rally an inning earlier, as Chas McCormick singled off reliever Lucas Sims and stole second before racing home on Mauricio Dubon's clutch single.

Yordan Alvarez and Victor Caratini each collected three hits to help Houston increase its lead over the second-place Seattle Mariners to five games in the division.

The slumping Red Sox lost for the eighth time in 12 games despite taking a 4-2 lead on Masataka Yoshida's pinch-hit two-run homer off reliever Tayler Scott in the top of the sixth inning. Romy Gonzalez was aboard for the blast after reaching on an error by Houston second baseman Jose Altuve, one of a season-high four miscues for the Astros.

Houston got closer in its half of the sixth, however. Back-to-back singles by Jeremy Pena and Caratini put runners on first and third for Jon Singleton, who drove in Pena with a sacrifice fly to trim the lead to 4-3. 

Astros starter Yusei Kikuchi struck out seven over 5 2/3 innings while allowing three runs, one earned, though his night began ominously when Boston's Jarren Duran connected on his 16th homer of the season on the game's first pitch.

Rob Refsnyder and Rafael Devers each singled later in the first inning before another Houston error - a misplay by rookie third baseman Shay Whitcomb - enabled another run to score.

The Astros were held scoreless by Tanner Houck through the first three innings before breaking through in the bottom of the fourth, which Alvarez began with a double and Diaz followed with a single. Alvarez was later thrown out at home on a fielder's choice grounder, but Caratini singled in Diaz and Pena also scored on the play on an errant throw by Boston catcher Danny Jansen.

Houck worked six innings and struck out eight while surrendering three runs - two earned.

Stone, Muncy propel Dodgers over Mariners in Turner's Los Angeles return

Gavin Stone racked up a career-high 10 strikeouts in seven innings, Max Muncy homered in his first game back from the injured list, and the Los Angeles Dodgers spoiled Justin Tuner's return to Dodger Stadium with a 3-0 win over the Seattle Mariners.

Muncy, sidelined since May 16 by a right oblique strain, came through with a two-run homer in the seventh inning to back Stone's superb start and help the Dodgers win the opener of this three-game series between playoff hopefuls.

Gavin Lux homered earlier in the seventh to break a scoreless deadlock and a terrific pitching duel between Stone and Bryan Woo, who had allowed just one hit until Lux drove a pitch over the wall in center field.

Woo (5-2) then hit Will Smith with a pitch and was removed in favour of Yimi Garcia, who was greeted by Muncy's towering drive to right that quickly made the lead 3-0.

Stone (11-5) yielded just two hits and two walks before departing, with Joe Kelly pitching a scoreless eighth before Evan Phillips retired the side in order in the ninth to notch his 16th save.

Woo was charged with two runs in 6 1/3 innings in slumping Seattle's sixth loss in seven games. The defeat dropped the Mariners five games back of first-place Houston in the AL West.

Turner went 1 for 3 in his first appearance at Dodger Stadium in nearly two years. The 39-year-old infielder made two NL All-Star teams during a successful nine-year tenure with the Dodgers from 2014-22. 

Collin Rea and two Milwaukee relievers teamed up on a two-hit shutout as the Brewers completed a three-game sweep of the Cleveland Guardians with Sunday's 2-0 win.

Rea (11-4) did not allow a hit until the sixth inning and surrendered just two over seven dominant frames while also hitting a pair of batters. Bryan Hudson and Jared Koenig followed with one perfect inning each to finish off the National League Central-leading Brewers' fifth consecutive win, tying a season high.

Despite Sunday's outcome, the Guardians maintained a two-game advantage over second-place Minnesota in the American Central race after the Twins lost in 10 innings to the Texas Rangers later in the day. 

Milwaukee scored all of its runs in the first and second innings to give Rea all the support he would need. Brice Turang delivered an early spark with a lead-off triple in the bottom of the first before crossing the plate on Willy Adames' two-out single off Ben Lively to quickly put the Brewers ahead.

The Brewers threatened again an inning later when back-to-back singles by Sal Frelick and Joey Ortiz put runners at first and third with one out. Eric Haase then brought in Frelick with a groundout to increase the lead to 2-0.

Lively (10-8) kept Milwaukee scoreless over the remainder of his six-inning stint and yielded five hits while striking out five.

Rays cap sweep of Diamondbacks with 12-inning win

Dylan Carlson's run-scoring single in the 12th inning lifted the Tampa Bay Rays to a wild 8-7 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks and a three-game sweep of one of baseball's hottest teams coming into the series.

The defending NL champion Diamondbacks entered St. Petersburg with wins in 18 of their previous 21 games, but left with a third straight loss despite erasing a 6-0 deficit after six innings.

Arizona may also have lost one of its top players for a period of time after All-Star Ketel Marte had to be helped off the field in the ninth inning after aggravating a left ankle sprain. The second baseman missed three games with the injury before returning to the lineup Saturday.

Shortly after Marte's exit, the Diamondbacks forced extra innings when rookie Adrian Del Castillo belted a three-run homer off Tampa Bay closer Pete Fairbanks with one out in the top of the ninth to tie the game at 6-6.

Joc Pederson's two-out run-scoring single in the top of the 10th gave Arizona its lone lead of the day, which was short-lived as Taylor Walls delivered an RBI single in the Rays' half of the inning to extend the contest.

It remained a 7-7 tie until the bottom of the 12th. After Tampa's Jonny Deluca sacrificed the designated runner to third and Walls drew a walk, Carlson ended the game with a single off Justin Martinez (5-4) that gave Rays reliever Edwin Uceta his first major league win.

Uceta (1-0) held the Diamondbacks scoreless in the top of the 12th despite Arizona bringing the go-ahead run to third with none out.

Brandon Lowe and Christopher Morel each went 2 for 4 for Tampa Bay and were responsible for the game's first runs, as Morel doubled in the third and Lowe followed by homering in his second straight game.

The Rays then tagged Arizona starter Merrill Kelly for three more runs in the fifth.

Morel and Lowe each singled in front of Jose Caballero's two-run double that extended the lead to 4-0, and Caballero later scored on Junior Caminero's infield single.

Tampa Bay turned three walks and a wild pitch into another run in the sixth before the Diamondbacks began their rally an inning later.

Jake McCarthy's bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the seventh finally got Arizona on the board, and Corbin Carroll got the Diamondbacks within 6-3 with a two-run homer off Tyler Alexander in the eighth.

McCarthy later opened the ninth with a single before Pederson, who entered following Marte's injury, drew a walk off Fairbanks. Two batters later, Del Castillo sent a pitch into the right field seats to erase Tampa Bay's lead.

Ohtani's 39th homer backs Kershaw's gem as Dodgers edge Cardinals

Shohei Ohtani increased his NL home run lead with his 39th of the season, while Clayton Kershaw delivered his best start since returning from injury to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 2-1 win over the struggling St. Louis Cardinals.

In his fifth start back from off-season shoulder surgery, Kershaw (2-2) scattered four hits and one walk over six shutout innings to help the Dodgers to a seventh win in 10 games. The victory also gave Los Angeles some breathing room atop the NL West, as second-place San Diego fell to three games behind the Dodgers after losing 3-2 to the Colorado Rockies on Sunday.

The Cardinals, meanwhile, have now lost six of seven and fell further behind in the NL wild card race. St. Louis now trails the Atlanta Braves by five games for the final playoff spot.

Kershaw left with a 2-0 lead after the Dodgers scored twice off St. Louis ace Sonny Gray in the fifth inning. Ohtani broke a scoreless tie when he launched the first pitch he saw in the fifth over the right field wall to move one short of his third career 40-homer season as an MLB player.

Mookie Betts followed Ohtani's blast with a walk before moving to third on Gavin Lux's single. Two batters later, Miguel Rojas singled in Betts to increase the margin.

Both Lux and Rojas finished with three hits.

The Cardinals cut into their deficit on Lars Nootbaar's pinch-hit homer off Daniel Hudson in the eighth inning. Michael Kopech protected Los Angeles' lead with a scoreless ninth, however, to record his second save of the series.

Gray (11-8) struck out six over five innings while allowing two runs and seven hits.

Dairon Blanco homered twice and drove in a career-high seven runs to power the Kansas City Royals to a 13-1 rout of the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday night.

Blanco, who wielded a bat painted to look like a yellow crayon, hit a two-run homer deep to center field on the first pitch he saw from Reds starter Nick Lodolo in the second inning.

Then the 31-year-old Cuban cleared the loaded bases with a shot deep into the left-field seats in the third and drove in another run with a single in the fourth. He came into the game with just one homer and five RBIs this season.

Vinnie Pasquantino and Hunter Renfroe each added three hits for the Royals, who finished with 16 and won their third straight.

Michael Wacha benefited from the big offensive night. He limited the Reds to four hits over six scoreless innings with one walk and a season-high nine strikeouts.

Lodolo was roughed up for eight runs and eight hits in 2 1/3 innings.

Jeimer Candelario hit his 20th home run for the Reds, who had a four-game winning streak snapped.

Sale beats Angels for 14th win

Chris Sale struck out 10 over six innings to tie for the major league wins lead and Marcell Ozuna went 3 for 3 with an early three-run homer as the Atlanta Braves rolled to a 11-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels.

Sale allowed two runs and six hits with two walks to end a four-start winless streak. He leads the National League with 14 wins and tied Detroit’s Tarik Skubal for most in the majors.

Sale improved to 8-0 in 11 appearances against the Angels with a 1.24 ERA – his lowest versus any team he’s faced at least 10 times.

Michael Harris led off the game against Griffin Canning with a double and Austin Riley singled before Ozuna connected for his 36th home run and a 3-0 lead.

Atlanta broke the game open with a five-run fifth and knocked out Canning.

Whit Merrifield opened the inning with a homer and Travis d’Arnaud had a two-run double before Ramon Laureano’s two-run shot made it 9-0.

Severino goes distance for Mets

Luis Severino pitched his first complete game in over six years and was backed by home runs from Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso as the New York Mets defeated the last-place Miami Marlins, 4-0.

Severino allowed four hits with one walk and struck out eight to end a personal three-game losing streak. He threw a season-high 113 pitches and recorded his second career complete game and first since May 2, 2018, at Houston for the Yankees.

The shutout was the first by a Mets starter since Jacob deGrom blanked Washington on April 23, 2021.

Lindor led off the bottom of the first against Max Meyer with his 24th home run and Alonso did the same in the second, his 27th.

New York extended its lead in the third on Jesse Winker’s RBI single and Mark Vientos doubled home Lindor in the fourth.

The Mets scored once in each of the first four innings for the first time since May 26, 1995, against San Francisco.

Aaron Civale pitched six stellar innings and Willy Adames hit a three-run homer in the first inning as the Milwaukee Brewers ended the Cleveland Guardians’ five-game winning streak with a 5-3 victory in a matchup of division leaders on Friday night.

Civale, who began his career with Cleveland in 2019, gave up four hits with one walk and four strikeouts.

After going 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA in his first five appearances with Milwaukee, he’s 2-0 with a 1.46 ERA over his last two starts.

The Brewers jumped on Gavin Williams for three runs in the first.

Ty Black reached on a fielder’s choice with one out and William Conteras walked before Adames sent a 431-foot drive over the wall in right-center.

It was Adames’ franchise record 10th three-run homer – the most in the majors this season.

Jose Ramirez and David Fry homered in the eighth to draw the Guardians within 5-3, but Joel Payamps retired the side in order in the ninth for his sixth save with regular closer Devin Williams unavailable.

Lowly White Sox end Astros’ win streak

Luis Robert Jr. had two home runs among his four hits and drove in four runs as the major league-worst Chicago White Sox snapped the Houston Astros’ eight-game winning streak with a 5-4 victory.

Robert hit a two-run homer in the third and added a solo shot in the fifth as the White Sox built a 4-1 lead. It’s the seventh career two-homer game for Robert and his first since March 30 against Detroit.

Jake Meyers and Jon Singleton homered for the Astros, who struck out a season-high 16 times in their first loss since Aug. 5.

The White Sox (30-93) are 3-5 in their last eight games following 21 consecutive losses.

Garrett Crochet allowed one run on four hits over four innings with nine strikeouts. Chad Kuhl gave up Singleton’s homer in the ninth but fanned Jose Altuve for his first save of the season.

Witt continues surge as Royals win

Bobby Witt Jr. homered, doubled and singled to raise his major league-leading average to .352 and Michael Lorenzen pitched into the sixth inning to lift the Kansas City Royals to a 7-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds.

Witt hit a four-seam fastball from Nick Martinez 430 feet into the upper deck for his 25th homer in the fourth inning. He doubled and scored on a fielder’s choice in the sixth and had an infield single in the seventh.

The Reds intentionally walked him with two outs in the ninth, just before he scored on Vinnie Pasquantino's 18th homer.

Witt is batting .422 (27 for 64) with seven homers and 19 RBIs in his last 16 games. He became the third Royals player to hit 25 homers and steal 25 bases in consecutive seasons.

Lorenzen, acquired by the Royals from Texas on July 29, allowed a run and two hits in 5 2/3 innings and left after 83 pitches.

Salvador Perez, Adam Frazier and Freddie Fermin also drove in runs for Kansas City, helping snap Cincinnati's four-game win streak.

Rookie Weston Wilson became the ninth player in franchise history to hit for the cycle and Alec Bohm and Nick Castellanos hit back-to-back homers in the first inning to power the Philadelphia Phillies to a 13-3 drubbing of the Washington Nationals on Thursday night.

Wilson tripled and singled in the fourth, homered in the seventh and then doubled to right in the eighth, with Alex Call failing on a diving attempt.

Wilson had the 10th cycle in Phillies history - Chuck Klein did it twice - and he was the first home player to accomplish the feat at Citizens Bank Park since David Bell in 2004.

Wilson had just 16 at-bats and 22 plate appearances last season, officially making him the first rookie in Phillies history to hit for the cycle.

Philadelphia jumped on Mitchell Parker for four first-inning runs, with Bohm hitting a three-run shot and Castellanos following with 16th of the season.

Trea Turner had three hits and two RBIs and Johan Rojas drove in three runs for the Phillies, who collected 17 hits in their second straight win following a four-game skid.

Zack Wheeler allowed two runs and three hits over six innings for his 12th win, one off the National League lead.

Keibert Ruiz hit a pair of homers as Washington dropped to 1-6 this season against Philadelphia.

Baez lifts Tigers to sweep

Javier Baez hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning and the Detroit Tigers allowed one hit and rallied for a 2-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners to complete a three-game sweep.

Detroit trailed 1-0 in the eighth after Seattle got seven two-hit innings from Bryce Miller, but Yimi Garcia walked Parker Meadows, who stole second. After Zack McKinstry popped out and Akil Baddoo grounded out, Andres Munoz relieved and hung a 2-1 slider that Baez lined over the fence in left field.

Munoz hadn’t allowed a hit in a franchise-record 12 consecutive outings.

The Mariners scored four runs in the three-game series and dropped three games behind AL West-leading Houston.

Kenta Maeda pitched one-hit ball over 5 1/3 innings, Shelby Miller earned the win with 1 1/3 innings before Jason Foley worked the ninth for his 16th save to preserve Detroit’s fourth straight win.

Brewers rally past Dodgers for split

Jackson Chourio and Wiliam Contreras homered in the first inning and scored again in an eighth-inning comeback as the Milwaukee Brewers rallied for a 6-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in a matchup of division leaders.

Milwaukee trailed 4-3 in the eighth before loading the bases on Chourio’s double, a walk to Garrett Mitchell and William Contreras’ infield single.

Willie Adames singled home Chourio to tie it and Tyler Black’s grounder sent Mitchell home. Contreras scored an insurance run from third when Rhys Hoskins grounded out with a batted ball that hit pitcher Daniel Hudson’s leg.

Devin Williams earned his third save in as many opportunities and ended the game by striking out Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani. That save came one day after Williams preserved a 5-4 victory by retiring Ohtani, Betts and Freddie Freeman in order.

After falling behind 3-0 in the first inning, the Dodgers rallied to take a 4-3 lead when Kike Hernández greeted Elvis Peguero with a tiebreaking two-out single in the sixth inning.

Aaron Judge became the fastest in major league history to hit 300 home runs, reaching the milestone with a three-run shot in the eighth inning in the New York Yankees’ 10-2 rout of the lowly Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night.

Judge hit his major league-leading 43rd home run on a 3-0 up-and-in sinker from Chad Kuhl to extend the lead to 9-2.

Chicago had intentionally walked Juan Soto to bring up Judge, who had not homered on a 3-0 pitch since 2021.

Judge hit that mark in his 955th game and 3,431st at-bat. Ralph Kiner reached 300 homers in his 1,087th game and Babe Ruth did it in his 3,831st at-bat.

Soto also went deep after hitting three home runs in a 4-1 win over the White Sox on Tuesday. He has 34 this season and six in his past four games.

Austin Wells had three hits, including a home run, and three RBIs for the Yankees, who moved back atop the AL East with a one-half game lead over Baltimore.

The White Sox lost for the 26th time in 28 games and have dropped 12 consecutive series. They are on pace to finish 39-123, which would be the most losses since the 1889 Cleveland Spiders went 20-134.

Streaking Astros sweep Rays

Maurico Dubon delivered a tiebreaking single in the 10th inning and Josh Hader pitched two hitless innings as the Houston Astros won their season-high eighth straight game, 2-1 over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Automatic runner Pedro Leon moved to third on Jeremy Pena’s deep fly to center and after Zach Dezenso struck out and Jake Meyers walked, Dubon’s single to center gave the Astros the lead.

Houston was hitless until Peña homered for the second straight game, leading off the fifth against Zack Littell with his 12th of the season.

Ronel Blanco limited the Rays to two hits over six scoreless innings and Hader struck out three for the win.

The Astros have outscored opponents 44-20 during the eight-game run with their pitchers posting a 2.34 ERA.

Tampa Bay has scored two or fewer runs in nine of its last 13 games.

Sizzling Diamondbacks roll over Rockies

Eugenio Suarez hit a grand slam and drove in five runs to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to their season-high sixth straight victory, 11-4 over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday.

Joc Pederson had two RBIs as the Diamondbacks finished a three-game sweep and improved to 18-3 in their last 21 games. Following a 6-1 homestand, the defending NL champions go on a nine-game trip to Tampa Bay, Miami and Boston.

Arizona has totalled 46 runs during the six-game streak while batting .329.

Suarez had three hits, driving the first pitch he saw from Riley Pint into the left-center seats for a 10-3 lead in the sixth and his fourth career slam.

Jordan Montgomery allowed three runs on five hits and three walks over six innings with a season-high eight strikeouts.

The last-place Rockies, who lost for the eighth time in 11 games, committed three errors and hit four batters. Colorado fell to an NL-worst 17-46 on the road.

Juan Soto hit three home runs in a game for the first time in his career, Nestor Cortes spun seven shutout innings and the New York Yankees bounced back from an embarrassing loss to beat the Chicago White Sox 4-1 on Tuesday.

A night after the White Sox beat the Yankees 12-2, Soto’s two-run shot in the third gave New York the lead. He followed with solo homers in the fifth and seventh innings to extend the lead to 4-0.

Soto had 22 multi-homer games in his career entering Tuesday but had never before gone deep three times in a game. He finished 3 for 4 with a walk.

Cortes had one of the best outings of his season, allowing just three hits in seven shutout innings with nine strikeouts and no walks. The left-hander is 2-1 in his last three starts after going 0-4 over his previous six outings.

Aaron Judge reached base four times but did not leave the yard as his career home run total stayed at 299.

The Yankees (71-50) pulled into the AL East lead with the win after the Baltimore Orioles (70-50) lost to the Washington Nationals.

Luis Robert Jr. provided Chicago’s only run with an RBI single in the eighth.

Ohtani hits NL-leading 37th HR in win over Brewers

Shohei Ohtani extended his National League home run lead with his 37th blast of the season, and the Los Angeles Dodgers won a matchup of division leaders, beating the Milwaukee Brewers 7-2.

Ohtani’s solo shot with two outs in the third inning expanded his lead for the NL home run crown over the Atlanta Braves’ Marcell Ozuna (35).

Gavin Lux and Andy Pages each hit two-run homers, and Will Smith added a solo shot as the Dodgers tied the Cleveland Guardians for the best record in baseball at 71-49.

Los Angeles rookie Gavin Stone got his 10th win of the season, allowing three hits and one run over five innings. Landon Knack pitched the final four innings for the Dodgers and was credited with a save.

The Brewers dropped their third straight game but still lead the NL Central by 7 ½ games over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Down 2-0, Milwaukee’s William Contreras went deep off Stone in the third inning to cut the Dodgers’ lead in half, but Los Angeles responded with a five-run fourth to blow the game open.

Skubal first to 14 wins as Tigers roll

Tarik Skubal became the first pitcher in the majors to 14 wins this season, Kerry Carpenter hit two of his team’s five home runs and the Detroit Tigers routed the Seattle Mariners 15-1.

Skubal allowed a run and three hits in six innings with nine strikeouts as he added to his breakout season and built on his case for the AL Cy Young.

The left-hander’s ERA dropped to 2.53 and separated himself from four other pitchers who have 13 wins. The Kansas City Royals’ Seth Lugo is among MLB’s 13-game winners but allowed eight runs and took a loss Tuesday.

Carpenter had the fourth multi-homer game of his career after taking George Kirby deep in back-to-back innings.

Gio Urshela, Javier Baez and Jake Rogers also went deep for Detroit. Rogers hit a grand slam in the fourth inning and had a career-high seven RBIs.

The Mariners’ loss ended their four-game winning streak and dropped them to two games back of an AL wild card spot.

Mookie Betts went 2 for 4 with a homer and three RBIs in a dazzling return from the injured list that sparked the Los Angeles Dodgers to a key 5-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday.

In his first game since fracturing his left hand on June 16, Betts hit a two-run homer that broke a scoreless tie in the third inning and later added a run-scoring single to lead Los Angeles in the opener of this four-game series between National League division leaders.

Shohei Ohtani also had a two-run homer, his NL-leading 36th of the season, to help Clayton Kershaw earn his first win since September in the three-time Cy Young Award winner's best start of the season.

Kershaw (1-2) held the Brewers to one run and three hits through 5 2/3 innings in his fourth start since returning from offseason shoulder surgery.

The Dodgers have now won four straight and moved a half-game ahead of the East-leading Philadelphia Phillies in the race for the NL's best record. Milwaukee dropped to 2 1/2 games behind Los Angeles and has lost two in a row following a five-game winning streak.

Betts stepped to the plate with Teoscar Hernandez aboard in the third inning and drove a 2-1 pitch from Milwaukee starter Freddy Peralta over the left field wall to stake Kershaw to a 2-0 lead. 

Ohtani made it 4-0 two innings later by following a Kevin Kiermaier single with an opposite-field homer off Peralta (7-7), who was tagged for four runs on five hits in six innings.

Kershaw departed with two out and a runner on in the sixth in favour of Joe Kelly, who was greeted by a home run by William Contreras that brought the Brewers within 4-2.

Betts struck again in the seventh, however, with a two-out single that plated Ohtani, who drew a walk and advanced to second with his 33rd stolen base of the season.

Three Dodger relievers then combined to keep the Brewers scoreless over the final three innings, with Daniel Hudson working a perfect ninth to notch his ninth save. 

Valdez stars again as Astros win sixth straight

Framber Valdez and the Houston Astros both extended their unbeaten runs as the American League West leaders opened a three-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays with a 6-1 victory.

Valdez (12-5), who lost a no-hit bid with two outs in the ninth inning in his previous outing, struck out nine while yielding just one run and three hits over 5 2/3 innings to improve to 7-0 with a 2.68 ERA over his last nine starts. The Astros have won all of those appearances.

Yainer Diaz supplied the big blow in Houston's sixth consecutive win with a three-run homer in the third inning. Alex Bregman added a solo shot to help the Astros move a half-game ahead of the Seattle Mariners for sole possession of the AL West lead.

Bregman's blast off Taj Bradley in the first inning put Houston ahead quickly, and the Astros broke the game open with four runs in the third.

After Bradley walked Chas McCormick and gave up a single to Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez drove in McCormick with a two-out hit to increase the margin. Diaz then belted the first pitch he saw into the left field seats for a 5-0 advantage.

The Rays got on the board in the bottom of the third when Taylor Walls tripled and scored on Jose Caballero's sacrifice fly, but managed just two hits off Valdez and two Houston relievers the rest of the way en route to their fifth loss in seven games.

Houston tacked on one more run in the fifth as Alvarez doubled, advanced to third on Jeremy Pena's infield single and scored on a fielder's choice groundout off the bat of Jake Meyers.

Bradley (6-7) lost his third straight start after allowing six runs and eight hits over 4 1/3 innings.

Braves score in 10th to win duel of aces with Giants

Travis d'Arnaud drove in the game's lone run with a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning as the Atlanta Braves earned a needed 1-0 win over the San Francisco Giants in the opener of a four-game series.

The game featured a matchup of standout pitchers that lived up to its advanced billing, as both Atlanta's Chris Sale and the Giants' Blake Snell turned in dominant performances despite neither factoring in the final outcome.

Sale racked up a season-high 12 strikeouts while permitting just three hits over seven scoreless innings, while the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Snell fanned 11 Braves and surrendered two hits in 6 1/3 shutout innings.

The Braves finally broke the deadlock with Orlando Arcia placed as the designated runner to start the 10th. Sean Murphy then singled off Taylor Rogers to move the go-ahead run to third before d'Arnaud's fly ball to right was deep enough to enable Arcia to score.

Raisel Iglesias was able to strand the Giants' designated runner in the bottom of the inning by recording two strikeouts before getting Patrick Bailey to fly out and end the game. The Atlanta closer also pitched a scoreless ninth to keep the contest at 0-0.

The lack of run support prevented Sale from becoming the majors' first 14-game winner this season, though his outstanding effort helped the Braves increase their lead over the rival New York Mets to one game for the NL's final wild card spot.

Atlanta entered the series having gone 7-14 over its previous 21 games to fall out of the top spot in the wild-card race.

The Giants have now dropped two straight following a 12-3 stretch that got them back into the play-off picture. San Francisco is now 2 1/2 games behind Atlanta in the standings.

The Seattle Mariners received a big night from Cal Raleigh and another outstanding pitching performance to complete a three-game sweep of the floundering New York Mets with Sunday's 12-1 win.

Raleigh drove in a season-high five runs with a pair of homers, while Luis Castillo fanned nine over six strong innings as the Mariners won their fourth consecutive game. Sunday's rout kept Seattle in a virtual tie with the Houston Astros for first place in the American League West.

The Mets, meanwhile, were swept in a three-game series for the first time since May 28-29. New York, which was shut out in each of this series' first two matchups, remained a half-game behind the Atlanta Braves for the National League's third and final wild card.

Castillo (10-11) continued Seattle's stellar run of pitching by limiting the Mets to one run and four hits. The right-hander also received plenty of support from Raleigh, who went 3 for 4, and from a three-hit night from Jorge Polanco which included a solo homer.

Victor Robles and Randy Arozarena drove in two runs each in the Mariners' highest scoring game of the season.

Mets starter Luis Severino kept Seattle's bats mostly quiet early on, with Polanco's solo homer in the second the game's lone run through four innings of play.

The Mariners broke through in the fifth, however. Dominic Canzone led off with a double and Arozarena later singled before Raleigh sent Severino's pitch over the right field wall for a 4-0 advantage.

Severino (7-6) finished with eight strikeouts while permitting four runs in five innings.

Jeff McNeil finally ended New York's scoring drought with a solo homer in the top of the sixth, but the Mariners countered with six runs against the Mets' bullpen in their half of the inning.

Polanco began the outburst with a double before New York's Ryne Stanek walked two batters to load the bases. Leo Rivas and Robles then each delivered RBI singles, with a throwing error by McNeil on Robles' hit allowing an additional run to score for a 7-1 lead.

Two batters later, Raleigh launched a three-run homer to further increase the margin.

The Mariners got two more runs in the seventh despite managing just one hit in the inning. Robles drew a bases-loaded walk before Mets reliever Phil Maton hit Arozarena with a pitch to force in the final run.

Astros complete sweep of Red Sox to extend winning streak

The Astros kept pace with Seattle in the AL West by cruising to their fifth consecutive victory, a 10-2 rout of the scuffling Boston Red Sox highlighted by back-to-back homers by Alex Bregman and Yordan Alvarez during a five-run fifth inning. 

Bregman's three-run blast off Brennan Bernardino staked Houston to a 4-0 lead, and Alvarez followed with his third homer in two games to help send the Astros to a three-game series sweep.

Jeremy Pena also homered for the Astros and finished 3 for 5. Jose Altuve also collected three hits and Yainer Diaz contributed a two-run double to support a solid start from Hunter Brown (10-7), who struck out nine while allowing two runs over 5 1/3 innings.

Boston has now lost four straight and may be down a starting pitcher for a while after James Paxton exited Sunday's contest in the first inning with a strained right calf.

Lucas Sims replaced Paxton and allowed a lead-off walk to Mauricio Dubon and a one-out single to Altuve before being removed in the third inning. Bernardino came on in relief and hit Alvarez with a pitch to load the bases, then uncorked a wild pitch that enabled Dubon to score the game's first run.

Pedro Leon and Altuve singled in front of Bregman's game-breaking homer that was followed by Alvarez's 25th home run of the season. The Astros tacked on another run in the fifth when Pena singled, stole second, and scored on Jake Meyers' base hit.

Houston put up four more runs in the sixth - all with two out - to put the game out of reach.

Bregman doubled and Alvarez was walked intentionally to set up Diaz's double that plated both runners for an 8-0 advantage. Pena then homered over the Green Monster in left field to further pad the margin. 

Brown's only trouble occurred in the bottom of the sixth, when he gave up two singles and a walk to load the bases with none out. The right-hander walked Wilyer Abreu two batters later to force in the Red Sox's first run, and Masataka Yoshida greeted reliever Caleb Ferguson with an RBI single to bring Boston within 10-2.

Burger homers again as Marlins snap Padres' seven-game win streak

Jake Burger went 3 for 4 and homered for a third straight game, and the Miami Marlins held off a late comeback attempt to end the San Diego Padres' winning streak at seven games with Sunday's 7-6 victory.

Burger's two-run blast off Dylan Cease helped Miami build a 5-0 lead after two innings. The homer was the third baseman's 12th since the All-Star break, the most of any player in the majors over that time frame.

Jesus Sanchez also had a two-run homer as the Marlins ended a three-game skid. Max Meyer (3-2) pitched a career-high 6 1/3 innings while allowing four runs to earn the victory.

Cease (11-9) was dealt his first loss since July 7 and struggled early on, as the Marlins recorded four first-inning hits that led to a pair of runs. Xavier Edwards and Burger began the bottom of the first with consecutive singles, with Edwards later scoring on Jonah Bride's infield hit and Otto Lopez knocking in Burger with a single.

The Marlins then took advantage of a pair of San Diego errors that put two on in the second for Burger, who crushed Cease's pitch over the center field wall for a 5-0 lead.

Cease lasted five innings while being charged with all five runs, only two of which were earned due to the errors.

Meyer kept the Padres scoreless until the fifth, when Xander Bogaerts doubled and later scored on a David Peralta groundout. 

San Diego further closed the gap in the sixth inning, which Luis Campusano began with a single and Luis Arraez followed with a double off Meyer. Both players scored on ground-outs by Jurickson Profar and Jake Cronenworth, respectively, to pull the Padres within 5-3.

Peralta doubled in a run in the seventh to cut Miami's lead to one, but Sanchez gave the Marlins some breathing room in the bottom of the inning by following Burger's single with his 14th homer of the season.

Donovan Solano's pinch-hit, two-run homer in the eighth brought the Padres within 7-6, and San Diego got the tying run to second in the ninth when Ha-Seong Kim doubled with two out. Kim's hit was initially ruled a home run before being overturned after a video review.

The Marlins then called on reliever George Soriano, who fanned Campusano for the final out to register his second career save.

Jackson Merrill hit another tying home run and Luis Arraez drove in three runs, including the go-ahead run in the 10th, to lift the San Diego Padres to their season-high-tying seventh straight win, 9-8 over the Miami Marlins on Saturday.

David Peralta had three hits and Jake Cronenworth drove in two runs for the Padres, who have won 16 of 18 overall and 17 of 21 on the road.

With automatic runner Tyler Wade at second, Ha-Seong Kim opened the 10th with a walk. Both runners moved up on Kyle Higashioka's sacrifice before Arraez's soft grounder to first put the Padres ahead.

Tanner Scott got the final three outs for his 19th save and first as a member of the Padres, who acquired him from the Marlins at the trade deadline.

San Diego trailed 7-3 after Miami's six-run sixth but got two runs back in the seventh and Merrill followed Xander Bogaerts' leadoff walk in the eighth with his 17th home run and fifth in 10 games to tie it.

Four of those home runs lifted the Padres into a tie, with three coming in the ninth inning.

Jake Burger and Vidal Brujan homered for the Marlins, who have lost three straight and nine of 13.

McCarthy hits two homers in Diamondbacks' rout of Phillies

Jake McCarthy hit a pair of two-run homers and All-Star Ketel Marte also went deep before leaving with an ankle injury as the red-hot Arizona Diamondbacks rolled to an 11-1 rout of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Corbin Carroll also homered for the Diamondbacks, who have won 14 of 17 to move into a wild-card spot and remain 3 ½ games behind the NL West-leading Dodgers.

Marte exited in the fourth inning after he was knocked on his back covering second by Garrett Stubbs' head-first slide. Marte fell to the ground in pain and eventually left the field under his own power with a trainer.

Arizona starter Zac Gallen also departed early after moving awkwardly in attempting to field a ground ball in the fifth inning. There was no immediate word on his injury, but the ace right-hander missed a month earlier this season with a right hamstring injury.

McCarthy had his first career multi-home run game.

Marte homered in the first off Aaron Nola to reach 30 for the second time in his career. He hit 32 homers in 2019.

Hoskins homers in Brewers' 1-0 win

Rhys Hoskins homered in the 8th inning and rookie Tobias Myers and two relievers combined on a three-hitter as the Milwaukee Brewers won their fifth in a row, 1-0 over the Cincinnati Reds.

Hoskins took reliever Tony Santillan deep for his 20th home run, giving him a 14-game hitting streak.

Myers allowed three hits over 7 1/3 innings and struck out a career-high nine. Seven of his strikeouts were against the first three batters in the Reds order; Jonathan India, Elly De La Cruz and Tyler Stephenson.

Joel Payamps got the final two outs of the eighth for the win and Devin Williams struck out the side in the ninth for his first save of the season.

Cincinnati's Nick Martinez gave up one hit and struck out seven in a season-high seven innings.

Milwaukee (67-49) moved a season-high 18 games over .500.

Jackson Merrill hit another tying home run and Luis Arraez drove in three runs, including the go-ahead run in the 10th, to lift the San Diego Padres to their season high-tying seventh straight win, 9-8 over the Miami Marlins on Saturday.

David Peralta had three hits and Jake Cronenworth drove in two runs for the Padres, who have won 16 of 18 overall and 17 of 21 on the road.

With automatic runner Tyler Wade at second, Ha-Seong Kim opened the 10th with a walk. Both runners moved up on Kyle Higashioka’s sacrifice before Arraez’s soft grounder to first put the Padres ahead.

Tanner Scott got the final three outs for his 19th save and first as a member of the Padres, who acquired him from the Marlins at the trade deadline.

San Diego trailed 7-3 after Miami’s six-run sixth but got two runs back in the seventh and Merrill followed Xander Bogaerts’ leadoff walk in the eighth with his 17th home run and fifth in 10 games to tie it.

Four of those home runs lifted the Padres into a tie, with three coming in the ninth inning.

Jake Burger and Vidal Brujan homered for the Marlins, who have lost three straight and nine of 13.

McCarthy hits two homers in Diamondbacks’ rout of Phillies

Jake McCarthy hit a pair of two-run homers and All-Star Ketel Marte also went deep before leaving with an ankle injury as the red-hot Arizona Diamondbacks rolled to an 11-1 rout of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Corbin Carroll also homered for the Diamondbacks, who have won 14 of 17 to move into a wild-card spot and remain 3 ½ games behind the NL West-leading Dodgers.

Marte exited in the fourth inning after he was knocked on his back covering second by Garrett Stubbs’ head-first slide. Marte fell to the ground in pain and eventually left the field under his own power with a trainer.

Arizona starter Zac Gallen also departed early after moving awkwardly in attempting to field a ground ball in the fifth inning. There was no immediate word on his injury, but the ace right-hander missed a month earlier this season with a right hamstring injury.

McCarthy had his first career multi-home run game.

Marte homered in the first off Aaron Nola to reach 30 for the second time in his career. He hit 32 homers in 2019.

Hoskins homers in Brewers’ 1-0 win

Rhys Hoskins homered in the 8th inning and rookie Tobias Myers and two relievers combined on a three-hitter as the Milwaukee Brewers won their fifth in a row, 1-0 over the Cincinnati Reds.

Hoskins took reliever Tony Santillan deep for his 20th home run, giving him a 14-game hitting streak.

Myers allowed three hits over 7 1/3 innings and struck out a career-high nine. Seven of his strikeouts were against the first three batters in the Reds order; Jonathan India, Elly De La Cruz and Tyler Stephenson.

Joel Payamps got the final two outs of the eighth for the win and Devin Williams struck out the side in the ninth for his first save of the season.

Cincinnati’s Nick Martinez gave up one hit and struck out seven in a season-high seven innings.

Milwaukee (67-49) moved a season-high 18 games over .500.

Matt Wallner hit a go-ahead three-run homer and Minnesota’s bullpen pitched four perfect innings as the Twins completed a doubleheader sweep of the reeling Cleveland Guardians with a 6-3 win on Friday night.

In the first game, Bailey Ober pitched six shutout innings and Carlos Santana and Ryan Jeffers each hit solo home runs to give the Twins a 4-2 victory.

The Twins’ seventh win in nine tries moved them within 1 ½ games of the Guardians, who have lost a season-high seven in a row.

That's the closest defending division champion Minnesota has been since May 13 to Cleveland, which has held first place for all but seven days in April.

The Guardians, who hadn't lost more than three games in a row all season until this skid started last weekend, went hitless against relievers Cole Sands, Caleb Thielbar and Trevor Richards after tagging Twins starter Louie Varland for eight hits and three runs in 4 2/3 innings.

Richards recorded his first save, after Jhoan Duran notched his 16th save in the opener by striking out the side in the ninth inning.

Sizzling Padres rally past Marlins

Manny Machado highlighted a four-run 10th with a two-run double and drove in three runs as the red-hot San Diego Padres rallied for their sixth straight win, 6-2 over the Miami Marlins.

The Padres trailed 2-0 entering the eighth but Jurickson Profar doubled with one out and scored on Machado’s double. Jackson Merrill, who finished with three hits, led off the ninth with a 400-foot homer to center, his 16th to tie it.

Machado’s double off Brett De Geus scored former Marlin Luis Arraez, who had singled, and Jake Cronenworth. Tyler Wade broke the 2-2 tie when he beat the throw home on a Cronenworth grounder to shortstop Xavier Edwards.

Martin Perez allowed two runs on three hits over seven innings and Bryan Hoeing and Jason Adam each worked a hitless inning before Tanner Scott worked the 10th against his former team.

San Diego has won 15 of its last 17 games and is 2 ½ games behind the NL West-leading Dodgers.

Jake Burger and Jonah Bride hit back-to-back homers in the fourth for the last-place Marlins, who have lost eight of 12.

Diamondbacks win on Del Castillo’s walk-off homer

Adrian Del Castillo hit a walk-off home run in the ninth inning for his first career blast to lift the surging Arizona Diamondbacks to a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Phillies rallied from a 2-0 deficit, tying it in the eighth on a two-out RBI double from Johan Rojas that scored Nick Castellanos from first.

That set up Del Castillo's ninth-inning heroics. He jumped all over a 97 mph fastball from Jeff Hoffman, launching it deep into the right-field seats for his first big league homer. Del Castillo was called up this week after starting catcher Gabriel Moreno went down with a groin injury in Cleveland.

Arizona has won 13 of 16 to strengthen its hold on an NL wild-card spot.

Mitch Haniger lined a bases-clearing double to right field just out of the reach of a diving Ryan Vilade to lift the Seattle Mariners to a 4-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Thursday night.

The Mariners trailed 3-1 entering the bottom of the ninth but Luke Raley led off with an infield single against Luke Holton. Randy Arozarena followed with a single off Will Vest to put runners at the corners. Vest struck out Cal Raleigh and Justin Turner before walking Jorge Polanco.

Haniger then hit a sinking liner to right that Vilade dove for but misjudged, and the ball rolled to the wall, easily scoring all three runners.

It was Haniger’s franchise-leading eighth walk-off hit.

Raley homered in the sixth for Seattle’s first run and the Mariners snapped a three-game skid to move into a virtual tie with Houston for the AL West lead.

Zack McKinstry knocked in two runs for the Tigers, who were denied a sweep.

Brewers pound Braves for sweep

Rookie Jackson Chourio hit two of the Brewers’ six home runs and William Contreras added three hits, including a homer, and three RBIs as Milwaukee routed the struggling Atlanta Braves, 16-7 to complete a three-game sweep.

Sal Frelick had four hits and Garrett Mitchell, Willy Adames and Jake Bauers also went deep for the NL Central-leading Brewers, who collected 20 hits and swept the Braves in Atlanta for the first time since 2016.

Chourio, at 20 years and 150 days, became the youngest player in Brewers history with a multi-homer game. Billy Jo Robidoux, at 21 years and 266 days, set the previous record in 1985. Chourio is also the youngest player in baseball with such a game since Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in 2019.

Austin Riley and Marcell Ozuna homered for Atlanta, which allowed 36 hits in the past two games and dropped its fifth straight.

Charlie Morton was roughed up for eight runs on nine hits in just 2 2/3 innings.

Red-hot Padres sweep Pirates

Luis Arraez capped a three-run ninth inning with an RBI double and the San Diego Padres edged the Pittsburgh Pirates, 7-6, for a series sweep.

Pirates closer David Bednar was called on to protect a 5-4 lead in the ninth but gave up a leadoff single to Xander Bogaerts and walked Jackson Merrill.

After David Peralta struck out, Ha-Seong Kim walked to load the bases and the Padres tied it on a run-scoring grounder and went ahead when Oneil Cruz tossed a double play attempt past first. Arraez then tacked on what became the winning run with a double to right.

Manny Machado and Peralta homered as the Padres won their fifth straight and 14th in 16 tries to pull within 2 ½ games of the NL West-leading Dodgers.

Joey Bart homered and Cruz had three hits for the Pirates, who lost their fourth in a row.

Kyle Schwarber homered three times, doubled and matched a career high with seven RBIs as the Philadelphia Phillies rallied for a 9-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in a matchup of division leaders on Wednesday night.

Schwarber led off the game against Gavin Stone with his first home run of the night and delivered a two-run double in the fifth to get the Phillies within 4-3. His three-run shot off Joe Kelly capped a five-run sixth and he took Michael Grove deep in the ninth for his 27th of the season.

The seven RBIs were the most by a Phillies player since Carlos Ruiz had that many against Atlanta in 2012.

Schwarber’s three-homer game was the second of his career, the other coming on June 20, 2021, for Washington against the Mets. He had seven RBIs one other time, on July 28, 2019, for the Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee.

Freddie Freeman drove in three runs for the Dodgers, who had their lead in the NL West sliced to three games over surging San Diego and Arizona. That is their smallest lead since April. 

Surging Diamondbacks sweep Guardians

Josh Bell homered twice and Eduardo Rodriguez won his season debut as the Arizona Diamondbacks remained red hot with a 5-3 win over the first-place Cleveland Guardians to complete a doubleheader sweep.

Ketel Marte, Geraldo Perdomo and Corbin Carroll each hit two-run homers to give the Diamondbacks a 7-3 victory in the opener.

Randal Grichuk went deep in the second game for Arizona, which won for the 12th time in 14 games and has won seven consecutive series, reinforcing its hold on a NL wild-card spot.

Rodriguez signed with the Diamondbacks in December but had been sidelined with a left shoulder strain. He allowed three runs and four hits over 5 2/3 innings and Justin Martinez loaded the bases in the ninth before striking out Lane Thomas for his second save of the series and his career.

Josh Naylor, Jose Ramirez and David Fry hit home runs in the doubleheader for Cleveland, which has lost a season-high five straight and had its AL Central lead cut to 3 ½ games over Minnesota.

The Guardians still own the best home record in baseball at 35-20.

Santander’s blasts power Orioles

Anthony Santander homered from both sides of the plate and Jackson Holliday added a two-run shot to lead the Baltimore Orioles to a 7-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Eloy Jimenez added a two-run double for the Orioles, who rebounded after losing Tuesday’s series opener to tie the Yankees for first in the AL East.

Baltimore trailed 3-2 when Holliday went deep for the third straight game in the seventh inning to score Jimenez, who hit an infield single.

At 20 years, 274 days, Holliday is the youngest player in AL history to homer in three straight contests.

Santander hit a two-run shot off Bowden Francis in the first inning and belted a solo shot as a right-handed hitter in the eighth. The homers were his 33rd and 34th, a career high.

Santander leads the majors with 25 homers since the start of June.

Jonathan Cannon pitched six strong innings and Andrew Benintendi hit a two-run homer as the Chicago White Sox ended an American League record-tying 21-game losing streak with a 5-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday night.

The White Sox won for the first time since July 10 after their 21-game skid matched the 1988 Baltimore Orioles for the longest in AL history. They avoided the major league record of 23 straight losses set by the 1961 Philadelphia Phillies.

Cannon allowed his only run on Zack Gelof’s home run and five other hits with two walks and five strikeouts for his second major league win.

Dominic Leone, Chad Kuhl and John Brebbia finished with three hitless innings.

The White Sox took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning when Benintendi’s home run off Ross Stripling scored Luis Robert Jr., who had singled.

Gelof’s 14th homer in the bottom half cut Oakland’s deficit in half, but Chicago extended to a 4-1 lead in the sixth on Andrew Vaughn’s RBI single and a wild pitch by Michel Otanez.

Astros’ Valdez falls just short of history

Framber Valdez came up one out shy of his second career no-hitter, allowing a two-run homer to Corey Seager, before the Houston Astros held on for a 4-2 victory over the Texas Rangers.

Needing three outs for his second no-hitter in just over a year, Valdez walked Robbie Grossman to open the ninth before Ezequiel Duran grounded into a double play. After Josh Smith walked, Seager blasted the first pitch he saw into the right-field seats to get the Rangers within 4-2.

Josh Hader replaced Valdez and walked Marcus Semien but got Josh Jung to fly to the wall in right for his 23rd save.

Valdez had a perfect game through five innings and faced the minimum of 18 batters through six.  He won his third straight start and sixth consecutive decision, allowing one hit and three walks with five strikeouts.

The left-hander threw his first career no-hitter in a 2-0 win over Cleveland on Aug. 1, 2023. Teammate Ronel Blanco pitched the 17th no-hitter in franchise history against Toronto on April 1.

Yordan Alvarez hit a two-run homer in the ninth that ended up being the difference.

Surging Red Sox edge Royals

Dominic Smith scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch in the sixth inning on a call that was overturned on a challenge, and the Boston Red Sox held on for a 6-5 win over the Kansas City Royals.

Smith doubled to open the sixth and moved to third on a single by Eric Sogard. After David Hamilton struck out, Smith charged home on a pitch by Seth Lugo that bounced in front of the plate and got away from catcher Salvador Perez. Perez chased the ball to the backstop, wheeled and threw to Lugo, who appeared to tag Smith for an apparent out.

The Red Sox challenged the call, which was overturned on review.

Masataka Yoshida added a two-run single later in the inning and Kenley Jansen got the final four outs for his 21st save.

Boston has won three straight and five of six to pull within one-half game of Kansas City for the final AL wild card.