Three home runs in the first inning ended up being not enough for the Houston Astros as they went down 8-5 at home against the Oakland Athletics on Saturday.

After Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez hit three home runs on Friday, he followed it up with another one less than 24 hours later, giving him six from his past six games.

But Alvarez was not one of the Astros to go deep in the first inning, with Aledmys Diaz, Kyle Tucker and Trey Mancini all taking turns hitting balls over the fence to jump out to a 4-1 lead before registering their third out.

From that point on, Athletics starting pitcher Cole Irvin tightened the screws, holding the Astros scoreless through the next six innings to allow his side a chance to fight back.

Oakland showed some power of their own in the middle frames, with Chad Pinder hitting a 348-foot wall-scraper to right field, before Seth Brown was much more convincing with his three-run, 432-foot launch in the fifth inning.

A double in the seventh inning gave Brown his fourth RBI, making it 7-5, with Alvarez's eighth-inning shot proving to be just a consolation.

It was Alvarez's 37th home run of the season, leaving him alone in third place league-wide, although he is still 20 home runs off leader Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees.

Woodruff dominates the Yankees

Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Brandon Woodruff put on a show at home against the New York Yankees, striking out 10 batters in eight innings on the way to a 4-1 win.

Woodruff allowed just one run – a solo home run to Josh Donaldson in the fourth inning – as only six Yankees reached base in the contest, with five hits and one walk.

With the bat, the majority of the damage was done by rising star Willy Adames, who became the second shortstop in the majors to hit 30 home runs this season with his three-run shot in the third inning. The other shortstop to hit 30 homers is Corey Seager, who was recently rewarded with a massive 10-year, $325million contract extension by the Texas Rangers.

Acuna carries the Braves

Ronald Acuna Jr drove in all four of the Atlanta Braves' runs in their 4-3 home win against the Philadelphia Phillies.

After two scoreless innings to begin the contest, Acuna broke the deadlock with a two-run, 427-foot bomb over the right-field wall, and then drove in another two runs with his next at-bat in the fourth inning when he doubled with two runners on base.

Both sides received solid starting pitching performances, with Philly opting to ride their ace Aaron Nola deep into the game, letting him pitch seven full innings, while the Braves pulled Jake Odorizzi after allowing just one run in four-and-two-thirds innings, although he threw only seven fewer pitches than Nola's 99.

Albert Pujols was the star of the show on Friday night as he moved one step closer to becoming the fourth player to ever hit 700 home runs, connecting on number 698 in the St Louis Cardinals' 6-5 win against the Cincinnati Reds.

An RBI ground ball from Jonathan India, a two-run double from Jake Fraley and an RBI single from Aristides Aquino gave the Reds a 4-1 lead heading into the sixth inning, where sparks would fly.

The stars delivered for the Cardinals to rally back from the deficit, with NL MVP favourite Paul Goldschmidt leading off the inning with a double, before fellow NL MVP candidate Nolan Arenado drove him home with a single, bringing Pujols to the plate.

On the very first pitch, Pujols crushed a no-doubt home run sailing well over the left-field wall to tie things up, with his 427-foot shot travelling further than any ball he hit at this year's Home Run Derby, and leaving him with two required to reach 700. Only Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714) have hit more.

Kyle Farmer put the Reds back ahead with his own solo home run in the seventh inning, but later in that inning Goldschmidt and Arenado would combine again, with back-to-back doubles scoring a pair of runs to take a 6-5 lead.

Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley came in to finish the job, and he did it in style, striking out all three batters from only nine pitches for a rare immaculate inning. It was only the third immaculate inning in Cardinals history.

Alvarez hits 1329 feet worth of home runs

Yordan Alvarez was in rare form for the Houston Astros in their 5-0 shut-out win against the Oakland Athletics, hitting home runs in each of his first three at-bats to deliver a win in Justin Verlander's return from injury.

The AL Cy Young Award favourite made his way back from the 15-day injured list to throw five hitless innings, striking out nine batters and only allowing one walk.

Helping him out with the bat, Alvarez hit a 434-foot home run in the first inning, followed by a 431-foot shot in the third inning, and from the first pitch of his third at-bat he did it again, blasting the longest ball of the night with a 464-foot nuke to center-field.

With his three homers, Alvarez is now tied for the third most in the majors with 36, although he remains 21 behind league-leader Aaron Judge (57).

Yankees blow a five-run lead

The New York Yankees led 5-0 in the second inning against the Milwaukee Brewers before going down 7-6 on a walk-off hit from Garrett Mitchell.

After the Yankees jumped out to their big early lead, Willy Adames pegged back four of the runs by himself, with a three-run homer in the second inning and an RBI double in the fourth.

A fielding error in the eighth inning allowed the Brewers to take a 6-5 lead, before Josh Donaldson collected his third RBI of the game with a solo home run to tie things in the last frame.

But Yankees closer Clay Holmes could not force extra innings, giving up two hits and two walks, capped off by Mitchell's game-winning single.

The Chicago White Sox dominated with bat and ball on Thursday as they hammered the Oakland Athletics 14-2.

AL Cy Young Award co-favourite Dylan Cease was on the mound for the White Sox and was at his dominant best, keeping the Athletics scoreless through the first six innings as he racked up nine strikeouts while giving up just three hits and two walks.

His six shut-out innings lowered his ERA for the season to 2.06, trailing only Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander, but with Verlander currently out injured, Cease has now made four more starts, and could pull away in the race for the league's best pitcher if his rival cannot return soon.

On offense, it was clearly the best game in the season for White Sox third-baseman Yoan Moncada as he went five-for-six at the plate. He had home runs in each of his first two at-bats, before following them with a single, a double and another single, getting out for the first time in the ninth inning.

Second-baseman Romy Gonzalez also proved to be a tough out, with his first four at-bats resulting in two singles, a double and a home run on his way to finishing four-for-five at the dish.

Seby Zavala, Elvis Andrus, Jose Abreu and A.J. Pollock also finished with multiple hits as the White Sox racked up 21 as a team, while the Athletics could only muster six.

With the win, the White Sox are now one-and-a-half games behind the Cleveland Guardians for the lead in the AL Central.

Molina turns back the clock in Cardinals loss

Future Hall-of-Fame catcher Yadier Molina hit two home runs in the St Louis Cardinals' 11-6 home loss to the Washington Nationals – doubling his total for the season.

Molina only had two home runs from 219 at-bats heading into the contest, but went two-for-four at the plate, hooking two balls over the left-field wall.

But the Cardinals pitching staff could not keep the Nationals off the board, with six Washington players collecting at least two hits each, led by the ninth batter in their lineup, Alex Call. Call finished four-for-five at the plate, including a home run and a double as he drove in five runs.

Burnes burns the Giants

Milwaukee Brewers ace Corbin Burnes had his way with the San Francisco Giants as he carried his side to a 2-1 victory in the first leg of Thursday's double-header.

Burnes pitched eight of the nine innings, allowing just three hits and no walks, while striking out 14 batters. It is the ninth time Burnes has struck out at least 10 batters in a game this season, and while it is a season-high, he finished one off his career-high of 15.

Back-to-back doubles in the fourth inning was the source of all Milwaukee's runs, with Christian Yelich bringing home Jace Peterson, before Yelich scored on a Hunter Renfroe hit.

Christian Yelich blasted the biggest home run seen in the majors since 2019 as the Milwaukee Brewers lost 10-7 to the Colorado Rockies in extras on Tuesday.

Yelich led the game off with a 499-foot home run into the third deck at Coors Field, which was also the third largest blast since Statcast started tracking homers in 2015.

Only home runs from Nomar Mazara, 505 feet in 2019, and Giancarlo Stanton, 504 in 2016, bettered Yelich's effort. Yelich's dinger came from the fourth pitch of the game from Rockies starter Chad Kuhl.

It was only one part of a thrilling contest that ended in the 10th inning with Randal Grichuk delivering a three-run home run to give the Rockies the edge.

The Rockies had trailed 6-1 going into the eighth inning before Grichek capped a five-run rally with a solo blast.

Colorado did most of their damage after Brewers starter Brandon Woodruff exited, having allowed one earned run, two hits and two walks across seven innings with five strikeouts.

Benches clear as O's edge Jays

The benches cleared as tempers flared during the seventh inning of the Baltimore Orioles' 9-6 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.

The incident occurred after Bryan Baker struck out Matt Chapman to finish the Blue Jays innings, with the right-hander appearing to make a "chirping" signal at the Toronto dugout who took umbrage and rushed on field on masse.

The Orioles, who improve to 72-64 to boost their wild card hopes, scored three runs in the eighth inning to pull away led by Ryan Mountcastle's two-run single, with Adley Rutschman safe after review.

Mets NL setback as Cruz blasts

Oneil Cruz lined a home run out of PNC Park into the Allegheny with a two-run blast as the Pittsburgh Pirates blew out the New York Mets 8-2.

Cruz displayed his unique power from Tommy Hunter over right-field and to blast his side into an 8-2 lead.

The result is a major blow for the Mets who slip to 85-51, alongside the Atlanta Braves with the same record in the National League East.

Another day, another Aaron Judge home run as the New York Yankees slugger wasted no time extending his league-lead in Sunday's 2-1 win away from home against the Tampa Bay Rays.

As the very first batter of the game, on the second pitch, Judge connected on a 450-foot bomb deep over the left-field wall. 

It was his 53rd home run of the season – and his fourth from his past six games – setting a new career-high after totalling 52 in 2017. He is now eight home runs away from Roger Maris' Yankees record of 61 – set 61 years ago, in 1961.

The AL MVP favourite is also now 17 home runs clear of second-placed Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies, who has 36.

Judge's shot would be the only score from the first six innings against the Rays as Yankees starting pitcher Frankie Montas continued to find some form following a rough start to his time in New York since being traded at the deadline from the Oakland Athletics.

Montas pitched five near-perfect innings, giving up one hit and no walks to go with seven strikeouts.

The Yankees were able to add an insurance run in the seventh frame thanks to a sacrifice-fly from Oswaldo Cabrera, and although closing pitcher Clay Holmes did give up a run, he was able to complete the save for his 18th of the season.

With the win, the Yankees now hold a five-game lead over the Rays for the AL East lead, and they are six games behind the Houston Astros in the race for the best record in the American League.

Gallen extends historic scoreless streak

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Zac Gallen is in the midst of the eighth-longest scoreless streak in MLB history as he pitched another seven shutout innings in a 5-1 win against the Milwaukee Brewers.

It has been 41-and-a-third innings since Gallen has allowed a run, and in the process he has become the fourth pitcher in the modern era to pitch six consecutive games with at least six scoreless innings – joining Don Drysdale (Dodgers, 1968), Orel Hershiser (Dodgers, 1988) and Zack Greinke (Dodgers, 2015). With one more scoreless inning, he will break the Diamondbacks' franchise record.

The 27-year-old now sports an 11-2 record this season with a 2.42 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP, establishing himself as one of the top arms in the league.

Giants walk-off after duelling home runs late

The San Francisco Giants treated their fans to one of the most enjoyable spectacles in sport as they ended their 5-3 win against the Philadelphia Phillies with a walk-off home run.

With the Giants leading 3-0 in the eighth inning – thanks in large part to a terrific 10-strikeout performance from ace Carlos Rodon – Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto erased the deficit with one swing as he connected on a three-run home run.

Needing a run in the bottom of the ninth to win, after Bryce Johnson got on base, Wilmer Flores was the hero for the night as he launched the game-winner hard and flat over the left-field wall to send the fans home happy.

The Los Angeles Dodgers made sure to put Monday's sorry home defeat to the Milwaukee Brewers well and truly behind them with another emphatic victory.

Having been blanked for the first time at home in 2022 in the first game of the series, the Dodgers hit back on Tuesday with a 10-1 rout of the Brewers, and they followed that win up in style a day later.

There was more resistance from Milwaukee this time around, but the Dodgers - who have the best record in Major League Baseball (86-37) and hold a huge 19.5-game lead in the National League West - still cruised to a 12-6 victory.

Pitcher Andrew Heaney appeared in his first win since April and was key as he struck out 10, one off his season best, while he has back-to-back 10 strikeout outings for the first time in over three years.

"It seems like he's got 10 punchouts every game and you don't know it until you look up at the scoreboard," Trea Turner said of Heaney. "There's always one guy that gets no run support and one that gets runs on every team. I guess he's been the lucky one."

"Feeling better, trying to get deeper in games and get more pitch efficient and stay away from a couple of mistakes that have cost me big-time the last couple games," Heaney said.

The Dodgers' emphatic win, which sees them clinch their season series against the Brewers 4-3, came on the back of huge victories for the Atlanta Braves and the Texas Rangers.

World Series champions Atlanta made light work of the Pittsburgh Pirates, winning 16-2, with Kyle Wright recording 21 outs from 73 pitches as he tied with Justin Verlander and Tony Gonsolin for the most victories in the majors. The Rangers, meanwhile, hammered the Colorado Rockies 16-4.

Quantrill does the damage in San Diego

Cal Quantrill returned to haunt his old team as the Cleveland Guardians stormed to a 7-0 victory over the San Diego Padres.

Playing in San Diego for the first time since he was traded to Cleveland in 2020, Quantrill struck out six and walked one.

"Apparently I really did care a lot. It just felt important," Quantrill told reporters of facing his former side. "I wanted that game to be clean. I didn't want to trail off."

Cubs and Cardinals set for series decider

The Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals will face off on Thursday with everything on the line in their five-game series.

That is after Zach McKinstry homered and drove in three runs to help the Cubs to a 7-1 triumph that ties the series at 2-2.

Elsewhere, the Tampa Bay Rays claimed a fifth straight win by edging out the Los Angeles Angels 4-3, while the Philadelphia Phillies are in line for a four-game clean sweep of their series with the Cincinnati Reds after a 7-5 success.

Aaron Judge plundered a 47th home run of the season as the New York Yankees bounced back to form with a 4-2 Subway Series win over the New York Mets.

The Yankees had gone 6-14 in August prior to Monday's derby and the pressure seemed to be on.

Manager Aaron Boone had received the backing of GM Brian Cashman ahead of the first game of the series, but the Yankees needed a big performance after a run of 14 losses in 18 games.

Up stepped Judge, whose dispatching of a Max Scherzer fastball ended a nine-game homerless streak and set the Yankees on their way to a second successive win on the back of three straight defeats to the Toronto Blue Jays. The turnaround began with a 4-2 win in the fourth game against Toronto.

Judge is closing in on Roger Maris' single-season American League record of 61 home runs, set in 1961, though he claimed to be unaware of that prospect.

"It's news to me," said Judge, who has nine homers in 20 games against the Mets and is 13 clear of next-best Kyle Schwarber across all MLB players when it comes to round trips this season. "I really don't worry about that. I was just happy to barrel something up and add to the lead that we already had against one of the best pitchers in the game.

"We've got a special group of individuals that are mentally tough enough to bounce back. It's a long season and we haven't been playing the type of ball we want to. It's time to get back to what we do."

Subway Series debutant Andrew Benintendi picked up the mantle in the later innings, and said: "To string together a couple of wins in a row against two really good pitchers, your confidence can really go up."

Daniel Vogelbach went deep for the Mets, smashing a huge two-run homer beyond the fence and into the crowd, while the Yankees' Jonathan Loaisiga pitched brilliantly alongside Ron Marinaccio.

Philadelphia hit back

The Mets went into the clash in the Bronx after three wins out of four against the Philadelphia Phillies, who responded to that disappointing run by comfortably dispatching the Cincinnati Bengals 4-1.

Noah Syndergaard (8-8) allowed one run on three hits with one strikeout and two walks, as the pitcher continued his fine start to life with the Phillies following his move from the Los Angeles Angels at the trade deadline, while Nick Castellanos and Bryson Stott both homered.

"Noah threw the ball well like he's been doing for us, and we hit the ball," Stott said, while Syndergaard added: "My time here so far has been amazing. I feel like I'm on cloud nine."

Dodgers blanked at home

The Los Angeles Dodgers do not tend to draw blanks at home. Indeed, they were on a nine-game winning streak at Dodger Stadium, yet that run came to a shuddering halt at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers, who cruised to a 4-0 triumph.

The Dodgers, who had won five of their last seven, including two successes against the Brewers last week, were blanked for a sixth time this season, but it is the first time they have failed to score on home turf in 2022.

Eric Lauer was on top form for the Brewers, claiming two strikeouts and two walk-outs, while Willy Adames, Christian Yelich, Luis Urias and Keston Hiura got the runs, with Milwaukee now 34-32 on the road for the season.

In one of the most anticipated pitching duels of the season, the top-two American League Cy Young Award favourites went head-to-head as Dylan Cease's Chicago White Sox beat Justin Verlander's Houston Astros 4-3 on Tuesday.

The White Sox struck first in the second inning as they were able to rattle off four hits, with Josh Harrison's infield single driving in the first run of the game.

Houston were quick in their response, jumping ahead 2-1 an inning later after back-to-back doubles from Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker, and after a couple of scoreless innings, Astros star Jose Altuve made it 3-1 with the game's only home run to lead off the fifth frame.

Cease departed after the fifth inning, finishing with three earned runs from six hits and three walks, striking out four in what was not his best showing.

Verlander was the sharper of the two stars early, conceding just one run through six complete innings, but the Astros were punished for sending him back out for the seventh as he gave up a two-run double to pinch-hitter Gavin Sheets, tying the game at 3-3.

In the eighth frame, after a walk to Eloy Jimenez and a single to Jose Abreu, Yoan Moncada came through with an RBI base hit to grab the decisive lead, with Australian closer Liam Hendriks shutting the door for his 27th save of the season.

Out of the entire league, Verlander owns the second-best ERA at 1.95, while Cease is third at 2.09. Both trail Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara (1.92).

Brewers beat the Dodgers in walk-off fashion

There were fireworks in the Milwaukee Brewers' 5-4 extra-innings win against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with all six runs scored in regulation coming via home runs before a walk-off hit from Victor Caratini.

Brewers Willy Adames and Christian Yelich went deep, while Joey Gallo, Mookie Betts and Chris Taylor all hit solo shots for the Dodgers to have things tied at 3-3 after nine innings.

After a scoreless 10th frame, Justin Turner was able to drive in a run to give the Dodgers a 4-3 lead, but closing pitcher Craig Kimbrel was not able to finish things off on the mound, giving up a hit and a walk to load the bases, setting up Caratini for the game-winning knock.

Ray strikes out 10 in Mariners win

Reigning AL MVP Shohei Ohtani and heavy favourite for AL Rookie of the Year Julio Rodriguez combined for six hits as the Seattle Mariners ran away late to beat the Los Angeles Angels 8-2.

Mariners starting pitcher and reigning Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray looked back to his best after an inconsistent start to the season, striking out 10 batters while giving up two runs in six innings.

Rodriguez, who made waves as he approached record-breaking numbers in last month's Home Run Derby, finished three-for-five at the plate with a home run, while Ohtani was three-for-four, including a triple, after striking out eight batters on the mound yesterday.

The New York Yankees slumped to their 10th loss from their past 12 games and were shut out for the second straight game as they lost 4-0 to the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday.

The Rays were fueled by Isaac Paredes' fourth-inning RBI, after Aaron Hicks' fielding error allowed a David Peralta triple, before piling on three ninth-inning runs with Yandy Diaz driving in two.

But it was another nightmare for the Yankees, who have been shut out four times in August, with a .372 slugging percentage and 3.5 runs per game this month.

Aaron Hicks had a chance to atone for his fielding error with bases loaded in the fourth inning but grounded into a double play.

MLB home-run leader Aaron Judge suffered a similar fate while trailing 1-0 in the eighth inning.

It is the first time the Yankees have been shut out in consecutive games since 2016.

The Yankees have now lost 11 of their past 14 games and hold a 72-44 record, falling behind the Houston Astros (75-42) to be the American League's top seed.

Freeman and Lux blast Dodgers to 80th win

The Los Angeles Dodgers became the first team to 80 wins in the majors this season with a 4-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Freddie Freeman blasted his first home run in 20 games in the first inning, while Gavin Lux landed a two-run homer at the top of the sixth.

Julio Urias dealt six strikeouts across five innings as the Dodgers moved to 80-34, clear of the next best in the National League, the New York Mets (75-41) after their 13-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves (71-46).

Ohtani impressive but Angels clipped

MVP candidate Shohei Ohtani tossed eight strikeouts across six innings but the Seattle Mariners pulled away with four ninth-inning runs to win 6-2 over the Los Angeles Angels.

Luis Rengifo tied it up at 1-1 in first inning when outfielders Julio Rodriguez and Mitch Haniger collided on the wall, spilling the ball above the home-run mark.

It was all square going into the ninth inning, but Sam Haggerty scored in a wild play, followed up by Dylan Moore as catcher Max Stassi could not hold a tag attempt, with runs to Julio Rodriguez and Ty France padding the win.

Future first-ballot Hall-of-Famer Albert Pujols turned back the clock in the St Louis Cardinals' 6-3 win against the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday, connecting on two long home runs.

It was a game where every run came via the long-ball, with Brewers outfielder Hunter Renfroe getting things started as he blasted a two-run homer in the second inning.

The Brewers would not score again until the ninth frame as Cardinals starting pitcher Miles Mikolas put in a terrific performance, giving up two runs from four hits and no walks in eight complete innings, striking out six.

With the bat, the Cardinals registered their first tally later in the second when Pujols sent a 392-foot lead-off shot over the left-field wall, and after three innings of scoreless baseball, Tyler O'Neill tied the game at 2-2 with a 420-foot moonshot to center-field.

Heading into the eighth inning with the scores tied, Dylan Carlson was the next to connect on a home run – the shortest of the game at 373 feet – and after an infield single to O'Neill and a walk to NL MVP favourite Paul Goldschmidt, Pujols stepped back up to the plate and launched a 443-foot nuke to left.

The 443-foot blast from Pujols was his longest of the season, and more than 20 feet further than any of his home runs that he hit in last month's Home Run Derby. He is only the third player in MLB history to have more than one game with multiple home runs after turning 42 years old – along with Barry Bonds and Carlton Fisk – and his 63 career multi-homer games is the fifth most ever.

With the win, the Cardinals opened up a one-and-a-half game lead over the Brewers atop the NL Central.

Yankees go down at Fenway Park

The New York Yankees have now lost four series in a row after being shut-out by the Boston Red Sox 3-0 on Sunday night.

It was a starring performance on the mound from Red Sox starter Michael Wacha in his return from injury, allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out nine batters in seven innings.

Despite the Yankees only collecting two hits total for the night, the game was locked at 1-0 until the sixth inning when Red Sox star Rafael Devers – who many consider the future of the franchise – gave his side some breathing room with a 433-foot, two-run home run.

The Yankees still hold a 10-game lead in their division, but now trail the Houston Astros by two-and-a-half games for the best record in the American League.

Estrada walks it off for the Giants

Thairo Estrada treated the San Francisco Giants home fans to a walk-off home run as they defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-7.

In the back-and-forth contest, the Giants jumped out to an early 5-0 lead, but the Pirates came storming back to lead 6-5 after a massive 442-foot, three-run homer from Bryan Reynolds in the seventh inning. Reynolds would finish the game three-for-four at the plate with five RBIs.

The Giants evened things up later in the seventh, before the Pirates were able to grab a lead in the ninth inning due to a fielding error, but they got away with it as Estrada delivered the winning blow with one out.

The Seattle Mariners rode a hot start to a strong 8-6 win on the road against the New York Yankees, despite missing rookie All-Star Julio Rodriguez.

With their 21-year-old superstar out of the lineup temporarily as he battles through a minor injury, Adam Frazier did a good impression in the lead-off spot, collecting two hits and two walks from his five plate appearances.

Early on, it was Eugenio Suarez coming through as he blasted a 432-foot, two-run homer in the opening frame, and Cal Raleigh made it 3-0 with his own solo shot an inning later.

A Carlos Santana sacrifice-fly made it 4-0 before the Yankees started to fight back, with Josh Donaldson's RBI double and Jose Trevino's two-run shot over the left-field wall trimming the margin to 4-3 in the fourth inning.

Santana drove in his second and third runs of the day with a clutch double in the fifth frame, but a pair of sixth-inning home runs to Yankees Donaldson and Anthony Rizzo had things tied at 6-6.

As was the theme on the day, every time the Yankees tried to make it a game again, the Mariners had the answers, again jumping straight back out in front through Sam Haggerty's pinch-hit home run in the seventh.

Frazier finished off the scoring with an RBI single in the top of the ninth, giving Mariners closer Andres Munoz an extra run of breathing room, and he finished off the save despite allowing a hit and two walks to load the bases.

Pirates win after a three-run Cruz missile

The Pittsburgh Pirates pulled off an upset win against Milwaukee Brewers ace Corbin Burnes, with rookie Oneil Cruz delivering the decisive blow.

After the Brewers hit three consecutive home runs in the sixth inning – courtesy of Willy Adames (355 feet), Rowdy Tellez (412 feet) and Kolten Wong (394 feet) – Cruz brought things back to square with his own three-run, 408-foot home run to get Burnes pulled from the game.

The Pirates ended up piling on another two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, with Wil Crowe coming in to strike out the side for the save.

Jacob deGrom returns in Mets loss

Arguably the best pitcher in all of baseball returned to action on Tuesday as Jacob deGrom started on the mound in the New York Mets' 5-1 loss to the Washington Nationals.

In his first start of the season after a series of injuries, deGrom looked like his devastating self, striking out four of the first six batters he faced, and going on to finish with figures of one earned run from three hits and no walks in five innings, striking out six.

As soon as deGrom was withdrawn from the game, the floodgates opened for the Nationals, connecting on three home runs across the next two innings to pull away for the win.

The San Diego Padres have made a key addition after trading in All-Star closer Josh Hader from the Milwaukee Brewers ahead of Tuesday's MLB Trade Deadline.

The addition of 28-year-old left-hander Hader is a major boost for the Padres, who have struggled in late-inning situations this season.

Hader is the 2022 league leader in saves, with 29 from 31 save opportunities this season, although he has career-worst 4.24 ERA which dipped to 12 during July.

The deal sees left-handed reliever Taylor Rogers, left-handed pitching prospect Robert Gasser, right-hander Dinelson Lamet and outfielder Esteury Ruiz sent to the Brewers.

"Josh Hader is one of the best closers in the league," Padres general manager A.J. Preller said.

"He's been there, done that, pitched in big spots, big playoff games. He's got elite stuff."

Hader, who has been with the Brewers since 2017, joins the Padres who have a 57-46 record to sit second in the National League West this season.

"Thank you for the support throughout my career," Hader wrote on Instagram. "Y'all have been great to me. The people, the energy, the love! There will always be a special place in my heart for MKE."

In other moves, the New York Yankees added right-handed starting pitcher Frankie Montas and closer Lou Trivino from the Oakland Athletics, along with reliever Scott Effross from the Chicago Cubs.

The Yankees, who have a 69-34 record, had previously brought in All-Star outfielder Andrew Benintendi from the Kansas City Royals.

The Houston Astros acquired first baseman Trey Mancini from the Baltimore Orioles along with catcher Christian Vazquez from the Boston Red Sox.

According to reports, outfielder Tommy Pham is set to join the Red Sox from the Cincinnati Reds.

The San Francisco Giants made MLB history with a remarkable ninth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers that concluded with Mike Yastrzemski's walk-off grand slam.

A regular season home game for a team hovering just above .500 in mid-July was perhaps not a likely setting for one of the most remarkable ever finishes to a major league game.

But it was exactly what the Giants required after the Brewers' five-run fifth inning had turned the contest on its head.

San Francisco were 5-2 down heading into the bottom of the ninth facing All-Star Brewers closer Josh Hader.

What followed was scarcely believable, even for those involved.

Solo home runs from Joey Bart and Darin Ruf were followed by Yastrzemski's big moment, making the Giants the first MLB team to hit three homers in an inning including a walk-off grand slam.

"Three bombs off Hader in the ninth? I still don't believe it," starter Alex Wood said after the dramatic 8-5 win. "It is just crazy. But we needed it and the boys pulled it off."

The Giants could have been forgiven for deeming this a lost cause; their previous walk-off grand slam had come courtesy of Bobby Bonds in September 1973.

But Yastrzemski revealed this stunning late show was inspired by Bart's conversation with injured catcher Curt Casali, which carried through the Giants dugout.

"We felt like the energy was sucked out of the dugout, and I think Joey was just a little fired up that there wasn't any really positive energy at the time," Yastrzemski said. "He was just kind of fed up.

"Obviously, we weren't out of the game, but it kind of felt like it for a little bit. I think we fell into the: 'Here we go again', and I'm glad we were able to flip the script and get out of that."

Bart explained: "I said something to Curt, just between me and him, like: 'Hey, we’ve got to get going'.

"As a young player, I don't feel like it's really my role to try to go and speak out.

"But that's just kind of how I was feeling at the time, like: 'Hey, it's not over yet, let's find a way to win'. And magic happened, for sure."

The New York Mets prevailed 7-3 against the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday in a clash between two of the National League's top-three teams.

Both sides hit three home runs, with the Mets jumping out to the early advantage through a solo homer to Eduardo Escobar in the second inning.

An inning later, after a walk to Tomas Nido and a base hit to Brandon Nimmo, Francisco Lindor came through with a much-needed, three-run blast to right-field as he looks to return to the kind of form that saw him become a four-time All-Star with the Cleveland Guardians.

Mark Canha made it 5-0 for the Mets in the sixth inning with his own solo shot, before Matt Olson's 412-foot home run in the bottom of the frame finally put the Braves on the scoreboard.

Olson's launch was the only run Mets starting pitcher Chris Bassitt conceded, finished with one earned run from six full innings, giving up five hits and two walks while striking out six.

Luis Guillorme added one more run for the Mets in the seventh inning with his RBI double, which also put Lindor on third base in the process. Lindor then scored in one of the more unique ways in baseball, with Braves relief pitcher Jesse Chavez being called for a balk.

Austin Riley and Eddie Rosario added consolation home runs in the eighth and ninth inning respectively, with Riley hitting his 25th of the season. Only three players have more: Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros (26), Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies (28) and Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees (30).

Twins win with walk-off whack

The Minnesota Twins sent their fans home happy after Jose Miranda's walk-off home run to defeat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-1.

Both starting pitchers performed well, with Milwaukee's Aaron Ashby giving up one run in four-and-two-thirds innings, while rookie Joe Ryan gave up only two hits and two walks for one run in five-and-a-third.

An RBI single from Gilberto Celestino in the second inning and a solo home run from Jace Peterson in the third were the only scores prior to the final frame.

With star Brewers closer Josh Hader on the mound trying to force extra innings, Jorge Polanco and Max Kepler both got on base as the first two batters of the inning, setting up Miranda to drill the game-winning shot over the left-field wall.

Orioles and Mariners both win 10th in a row

The Baltimore Orioles defeated the Chicago Cubs 7-1 for their 10th consecutive win, while the Seattle Mariners accomplished the same feat with their 2-1 and 6-4 victories in their double-header against the Washington Nationals.

For the Orioles, it is their longest winning streak since 1999, and the first time since 2005 that they have swept three series in a row. Austin Hays was the star on Wednesday, collecting four hits from his five at-bats, while Spenser Watkins was credited with the win on the mound.

Meanwhile, the Mariners have not won 10 straight since 2002, and they also have the heavy favourite for AL Rookie of the Year in star center-fielder Julio Rodriguez, who is the only rookie to be named for the All-Star Game. 

It was a unique day at the ballpark as the Milwaukee Brewers treated their home fans to a 5-2 extra-innings win against the Chicago Cubs on Independence Day.

Pitchers dominated the early stages, with the only run in the first six innings coming from Cubs center-fielder Nelson Velasquez, who sent a ball 418 feet for the first home run of his career.

Cubs starter Justin Steele retired 20 batters before finally conceding his only run as Pedro Severino collected an RBI double in the seventh inning, tying things at 1-1.

Steele finished his day with nine strikeouts in six-and-two-thirds innings, with his one earned run coming from two hits and four walks. 

Milwaukee's Eric Lauer was just as impressive, pitching six full innings for one earned run from two hits and two walks, also striking out nine.

With scores tied in the top of the ninth inning, in his return from over a month on the sidelines due to injury, Seiya Suzuki sent a ball to deep center-field. It bounced awkwardly off the wall to evade the outfielders, allowing the Japanese rookie star to round the bases for an inside-the-park home run and give the Cubs a 2-1 lead.

But David Robertson could not complete the save for Chicago, giving up a single, a double, a hit-by-pitch and a walk to drive in the tying run, sending the game to extra innings.

The Cubs were unable to put a run on the board in the top of the 10th, setting up the Brewers for a walk-off win.

After Rowdy Tellez was intentionally walked, putting two men on base, Victor Caratini blasted a 411-foot, walk-off home run to finish the contest.

It was the first time in MLB history there had been a player hit his first career home run, another hit an inside-the-parker, and another hit a walk-off homer in the same game.

Alvarez delivers in the clutch

The breakout star of the Houston Astros, Yordan Alvarez, capped off a big comeback on Monday with a walk-off home run to defeat the Kansas City Royals 7-6 at home.

It was the Royals who started hot, jumping out to a 5-0 lead after M.J. Melendez's solo home run in the third inning, and that is when the Astros would begin their fightback.

The Astros pulled back three runs through RBIs to Kyle Tucker, Jose Altuve and Mauricio Dubon, and after Melendez's second home run of the game made it 6-3, Tucker drove in another two runs in the eighth inning.

Lourdes Gurriel tied things at 6-6 in the eighth frame, before with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Alvarez completed the comeback with a no-doubt, 444-foot solo home run to center-field.

Mateo takes one for the team in Orioles win

The Baltimore Orioles took a gutsy 7-6 home win against the Texas Rangers as shortstop Jorge Mateo wore a hit-by-pitch in the botttom of the 10th inning for an unconventional walk-off.

A pair of clutch hits in the ninth inning – first a solo home run from Texas' Marcus Semien to put his side up 6-5, and then an RBI double from Baltimore's Adley Rutchsman to tie it at 6-6 – forced extra innings in the back-and-forth contest.

The Rangers were unable to put on a run on the board in the 10th, allowing the Orioles to escape with the result after a bunt single, an intentional walk and finally Mateo's hit-by-pitch drove in the winning run.