The San Francisco Giants have secured their franchise shortstop with the signing of former Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins star Carlos Correa to a 13-year, $350million contract in free agency.

Correa, 28, spent the first seven years of his career with the Astros, earning Rookie of the Year, two All-Star selections, a Platinum Glove and the 2017 World Series title.

He became a free agent prior to the 2022 season, signing a three-year, $105m deal with the Minnesota Twins, but exercised his right to opt out after just one year following a 78-84 campaign, missing the playoffs.

Correa was not to blame for the Twins' struggles, posting the second-best batting average of his career (.291) while playing his third-most games in a season (136), resulting in the largest shortstop contract in MLB history.

The Giants were considered the only side other than the New York Yankees with a realistic chance of landing reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge in free agency, but with his decision to return to New York, they had some money set aside to spend.

Likely joining Correa in San Francisco's opening day line-up will be former Seattle Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger, who inked a three-year, $43.5m free agent deal earlier in the process.

Minnesota Twins shortstop Carlos Correa will exercise an opt-out clause in his contract and test the free agent market for a second straight year.

Correa signed a three-year, $105 million deal with the Twins in March that included player options for both 2022 and 2023.

The 28-year-old, who spent his first seven MLB seasons with the Houston Astros, will enter a potentially stellar free-agent class after a strong first season in Minnesota in which he batted .291 with 22 home runs, 64 RBIs and a .366 on base percentage in 136 games.

"With the year that I have had, my health and my being at the best moment of my career at 28, that is the right decision," Correa told El Nuevo Dia newspaper.

Correa's decision was expected after the 2015 American League Rookie of the Year was unable to secure a longer-term contract during an uncertain 2021-22 offseason impacted by a labour dispute between MLB owners and players that lasted into March. 

He agreed to join the Twins shortly after the end of the lockout after the team offered the attractive opt-out clauses.

"I have been in this business for a long time, and I know that things do not always go the way one wants them to," Correa said about his previous experience with free agency.

The two-time All-Star figures to have plenty of competition in an offseason market headlined by New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, and that is also expected to include frontline starting pitchers Jacob deGrom and Justin Verlander.

Correa will also be one of a number of high-calibre available shortstops, with the Los Angeles Dodgers' Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts of the Boston Red Sox and the Atlanta Braves' Dansby Swanson also set to hit free agency.

In addition to his relatively young age, Correa will also have the benefit of not being eligible to receive a qualifying offer from the Twins that would have required other teams to surrender draft pick compensation to sign him.

Correa said he would certainly consider returning to the Twins, who were tied for the AL Central lead on September 4 before struggling down the stretch and finishing 78-84.

"I have a good relationship with Minnesota," he said. "I am very interested in being able to return."

The Los Angeles Dodgers are heading into the playoffs on the right foot after a convincing 6-1 home win against the Colorado Rockies in their regular season finale on Wednesday.

With the win, the Dodgers finished the season 111-51, setting a new franchise record as they totaled the fourth-most wins in MLB history and the most by a National League (NL) team since 1906.

The NL record is held by the Chicago Cubs from 1906 with 116 wins. The Dodgers' 111-win season is the equal fourth best in MLB history.

It was a stylish final outing for Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, who gave up one run from one hit and one walk in his five innings, striking out nine batters. 

At the plate, Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman did all he could in his last-gasp attempt to win the National League batting title, going three-for-four with a home run to raise his batting average to .325 – finishing .001 behind the New York Mets' Jeff McNeil (.326).

Fellow All-Star Trea Turner also hit a home run for the Dodgers as he went two-for-four with three RBIs, and center-fielder Cody Bellinger collected a deep-ball of his own as five of the Dodgers' six runs scored via home runs.

The Dodgers will play the winner of the Wild Card game between the Mets and the San Diego Padres in the NLDS.

Arraez wins the AL batting title

Luis Arraez risked losing the American League (AL) batting title by suiting up in the Minnesota Twins' 10-1 win against the Chicago White Sox.

Arraez came into the day with the lead at .315, with his only threat, Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees at .311 and not playing on the final day.

But fittingly, Arraez did not record an out, collecting two walks and a double before being pulled. 

Incredibly, it is the third-best batting average from Arraez's four years in the league, posting a .334 in 2019 before going .321 on a small sample size in 2020. His 'down' year in 2021 was still a very strong .294.

Ohtani, Trout end the season in fitting fashion

As has been the story of their time with the Los Angeles Angels, both Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout were excellent, but could not stop their team from losing 3-2 against the Oakland Athletics.

Ohtani only gave up one run from one hit and one walk in his five innings on the mound, lowering his ERA for the season to a magnificent 2.33. It is the sixth-lowest ERA in the league, while he is also 11th in home runs hit with 34.

He went one-for-four with a single at the plate, while Trout hit his 40th home run of the season to finish tied for third in the majors. No other player in the top 15 has played fewer than 130 games, while Trout played 119.

In a feel-good story, after announcing his retirement, Oakland's Stephen Vogt hit a home run with his last ever swing on a day where his children were allowed to do his introduction over the PA system at the start of the game.

Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber hit his 41st and 42nd home runs of the season in his side's 9-8 loss against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday.

Schwarber connected on his first of the day as the Phillies' very first batter, and he did it again with his next at-bat in the third inning for a pair of solo shots. He is second in the league in home runs, trailing only Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees.

While the Phillies got two RBIs from their lead-off hitter, the Braves got three from theirs, with Dansby Swanson leading the way for Atlanta offensively.

Swanson finished three-for-six, including a massive 417-foot two-run home run in the fourth inning to turn a 4-3 deficit into a 5-4 lead.

After a pair of sacrifice-flies from Phillies Bryce Harper and Alec Bohm in the fifth inning, William Contreras tied things at 6-6 in the eighth inning when he came home to score on a wild pitch, sending the game to extra innings.

In extras, after a scoreless 10th inning, hits to rising stars Ronald Acuna Jr and Michael Harris II drove in a run each, and the Phillies were only able to claw one back.

Braves reliever Jackson Stephens was credited with the win after pitching both extra innings, striking out three batters and allowing one unearned run.

Trout goes deep in Angels win

Mike Trout's strong season continued in the Los Angeles Angels' 10-3 win against the Minnesota Twins, hitting his ninth home run of September.

Trout, who is now tied for the fourth-most home runs in the league with 37, finished three-for-four at the plate and scored three times, highlighted by a 416-foot bomb to left-field.

Fellow Angels star Shohei Ohtani also had a strong outing, collecting two hits and an RBI from five at-bats, while Jose Suarez took the win on the mound with two earned runs in five-and-two-thirds innings.

Javier pitches a gem for the Astros

Houston Astros starting pitcher Cristian Javier gave up only one hit in his six innings against the Baltimore Orioles to help his side to a 6-3 road victory.

Javier had a perfect game through four-and-a-third innings before allowing his sole hit of the contest, quickly following it with a double-play to end the inning. That hit was the only baserunner he allowed as he also finished with no walks, and he lowered his ERA for the season down to 2.65.

The Astros are the only team with three starting pitchers who all boast ERAs under 2.70, with American League Cy Young Award favourite Justin Verlander leading the league at 1.82, while the league-leader in quality starts, Framber Valdez, is at 2.69.

Aaron Judge blasted two home runs to move another few steps closer to history as the New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 7-6 on Tuesday.

The Yankees outfielder delivered his 56th blast in the sixth inning, taking another over the Green Monster in the eighth inning for his 57th of the season.

Judge remains on pace for 65 home runs this season, which would break Roger Maris' American League (AL) and Yankees single-season record of 61 set in 1961. The pair of solo blasts comes after Judge went without a homer across five games.

The 30-year-old also has 10 multi-homer games this season which is one short of the AL record held by Hank Greenberg from 1938.

"I'm out of adjectives," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "Just really impressive what he did."

Gerrit Cole, who came into the game with a 7.13 career ERA as a Yankee at Fenway Park, had 10 strikeouts across six innings.

Xander Bogaerts blasted Cole for a game-tying solo home run in sixth inning, before the game went to extras where Gleyber Torres had a go-ahead three-run double.

Trout misses out on eight-game HR streak

Three-time AL MVP Mike Trout fell one game short of tying the majors record for homering in consecutive games, going 0-for-3 in the Los Angeles Angels' 3-1 loss to the Cleveland Guardians.

Trout, who walked on four pitches in his second at-bat, lined out to center on a 3-2 cutter from left-hander reliever Kirk McCarty.

The 10-time All-Star's streak ends at seven games, falling one shy of the record of eight held by Dale Long (1956), Don Mattingly (1987) and Ken Griffey Jr (1993).

Twins pair fall agonisingly short in no-no-bid

Minnesota Twins' pair Joe Ryan and Jovani Moran doubled up but fell agonisingly two outs short in their no-hitter bid in a 6-3 win over the Kansas City Royals.

Rookie Ryan was pulled after seven innings and 106 pitches, with the Twins crowd booing that call, before Moran got through the eighth and attempted to close it out, only to lose the no-no bid with Bobby Witt's RBI double.

The failed bid means there have five no-hit bids lost in the ninth inning this season, which is the most since 2017.

Aaron Judge's history-making season continued after hitting his 55th home run in the New York Yankees' 5-4 win over the Minnesota Twins in 12 innings on Wednesday.

With the Yankees trailing 3-0 at the bottom of the fourth inning, Judged lined a drive over left field to cut the deficit with a solo blast.

The drive meant Judge has the most home runs in a single season in Yankees' history for a right-hander, breaking a tie with Alex Rodriguez.

Judge homered for a fourth straight game, keeping him on track to surpass Roger Maris' Yankees record of 61 blasts in a single season set in 1961, exceeding Babe Ruth's 60 in 1927.

In the sixth inning, the Yankees leveled the game before two runs in the 12th capped by Oswaldo Cabrera's game-ending single.

The Yankees also won 7-1 in the second game of the double-header to improve their record to 83-54, sitting five games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East.

Soto injured as Padres win

Juan Soto's struggles since his move to the San Diego Padres got worse after exiting their 6-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks with a right shoulder contusion.

Soto was struck and floored by a wild 91 mph fastball from Diamondbacks pitcher Tommy Henry at the bottom of the third inning. He walked to first base, fielded in the fourth inning but eventually was taken out of the game in the fifth.

The prize trade deadline signing had only two hits from his past eight games entering Thursday, with Yu Darvish leading the Padres to victory with Jurickson Profar hitting a two-run homer.

Cards rally in walk-off win

The St Louis Cardinals rallied with five ninth-inning runs to storm home and claim a thrilling 6-5 walk-off win over the Washington Nationals.

Trailing 5-1 entering the bottom of the ninth, Tommy Edman was the hero after each of Nolan Arenado, Corey Dickerson and Yadier Molina drove in a run.

With runners on first and second base, Edman drove to left field, resulting in a walk-off two-run double.

Shohei Ohtani continues to put forward his case for back-to-back American League (AL) MVP awards as the All-Star pitcher blasted two home runs in the Los Angeles Angels' 10-0 home win against the Detroit Tigers on Monday.

Ohtani, who was also named an All-Star as a batter, hit a double in the first inning, and then connected on a 382-foot, two-run homer with his next at-bat in the third frame.

He was robbed of another hit when his 100mph line drive was caught by the Tigers first-baseman, but there was nothing they could do about his massive 416-foot launch in the seventh inning for his second home run of the game.

Also getting in on the fun was three-time AL MVP Mike Trout, who had a single, a double and a home run as the Angels' two superstars combined to go six-for-nine at the plate with three home runs and two doubles.

Ohtani is now tied for sixth in the majors with 32 home runs this season, while Trout is tied for 10th with 30 home runs. Trout has played 16 games fewer than any other player with 30 homers, and Ohtani is also eighth in the majors for strikeouts as a pitcher (181 in 23 starts).

On the mound, Jose Suarez was spectacular for the Angels, pitching seven scoreless innings while only giving up three hits and one walk, striking out seven.

Judge homers for third consecutive day

Ohtani's biggest challenger for the AL MVP, and the heavy favourite, Aaron Judge hit a home run for the third day in a row to help his New York Yankees defeat the Minnesota Twins 5-2 at home.

Judge's hot streak has now seen him hit five home runs from his past seven games, taking his league-leading tally to 54 – 18 more than any other player. He is now seven home runs away from the Yankees' all-time record of 61 in a season, set 61 years ago, in 1961, by Roger Maris.

His big hit on Monday came at the perfect time, with his two-run homer in the sixth inning breaking a 2-2 tie to put the Yankees up 4-2, allowing Wandy Peralta and Clay Holmes to close the door with sharp pitching out of the bullpen.

Debutant pitchers make history

Two pitchers in their very first career start tossed at least six scoreless innings in shutout wins, with Ryne Nelson carrying the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 5-0 win and Hunter Brown delivering for the Houston Astros in a 1-0 result.

Nelson pitched seven innings, striking out seven batters while allowing four hits and one walk. Brown pitched six innings, giving up three hits and one walk while striking out five.

It is the first time in MLB history that two debutant starting pitchers delivered a scoreless outing with at least five strikeouts on the same day.

Chicago White Sox pitcher Dylan Cease lost his no-hitter bid on the last out as his side won 13-0 over the Minnesota Twins in the MLB on Saturday.

Cease enjoyed his longest no-hit bid of his career, and had two outs in the ninth inning before it was spoiled by a Luis Arraez line-drive single into right-center.

It was a cruel ending for Cease who had allowed only two base runners with walks, with seven strikeouts up until that point.

Cease became the second pitcher this season to fall one out short from a no-hitter, after St Louis Cardinals' Miles Mikolas in June.

The White Sox right-hander is the third pitcher to fall one short over the last five seasons. It would have been Chicago's third no-hitter of the last two years.

Cease instead settled for a career-first shutout, striking out Kyle Garlick shortly after Arraez spoiled his party.

Judge homers again as Yankees lose once more

Aaron Judge remains on track for 63 home runs this season after blasting his 52nd of the season in the New York Yankees' 2-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Judge's solo home run came in the ninth inning after the Yankees had gone 21 innings without scoring, with another defeat leaving them with a 15-26 record since the All-Star break.

Yandy Diaz came up with the decisive two-run single in the third inning while Corey Kluber allowed only two hits and no runs with four strikeouts across seven innings.

Riley keeps up streak as Braves walk it off

Austin Riley homered in the fourth consecutive game as the Atlanta Braves defeated the Miami Marlins in a 2-1 walk-off win. Riley also continued his 10-game on-base streak and seven-game hitting streak.

Riley hammered a line-drive blast left in the fourth inning to put the Braves up 1-0 but the Marlins would square it up in the ninth inning before a remarkable finale.

With bases loaded, Robbie Grossman provided the finish with a walk-off walk from Marlins closer Steven Okert.

Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander added to his already convincing case for the American League Cy Young Award as he pitched six innings without allowing a hit in his side's 4-2 win against the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday.

Verlander, 39, is almost guaranteed to finish top-five in voting for best pitcher in the league for the ninth time in his career, and he showed why against the Twins as he struck out 10 while also allowing no walks.

He was pulled after six innings and 91 pitches with a no-hitter intact, before former Astros player Carlos Correa broke it up as he collected a hit from the very first pitch thrown by reliever Ryne Stanek.

Despite some late struggles by Astros bullpen arm Hector Neris, allowing a pair of runs in the ninth inning, the early offense highlighted by Alex Bregman's two-run home run was enough to get the job done.

Mauricio Dubon and Trey Mancini drove in a run each for the Astros, while rookie Jeremy Pena collected a couple of hits and Bregman went three-for-four.

With this performance, Verlander now leads the majors in wins (16-3), ERA (1.87) and walks-plus-hits-per-inning, or WHIP (0.85).

The win moves the Astros to 79-45, giving them a three-game buffer over the Yankees for the best record in the AL.

Yankees break streak of six consecutive series losses

The New York Yankees have finally rediscovered some form after a miserable month, winning their two-game series against local rivals the New York Mets as Frankie Montas pitched his best game in pinstripes in the 4-2 victory.

Montas, who arrived in a trade from the Oakland Athletics at the deadline, pitched five-and-two-thirds innings while giving up two runs from six hits and a walk after struggling in his first few starts in a Yankees uniform.

After four scoreless innings to open the game, Aaron Judge put the first run on the board with his league-leading 48th home run of the season, launching a 453-foot bomb. He now has 14 more home runs than second-placed Kyle Schwarber (34) from the Philadelphia Phillies.

Phillies win on a walk-off

The Philadelphia Phillies blew their lead in the ninth inning against the Cincinnati Reds, but it only set up a thrilling 7-6 walk-off win for the home fans.

Leading 5-4 heading into the final frame, closing pitcher Brad Hand was not able to finish off the job, as a fielding error and an infield single allowed two runners on base, who were both driven in by a pinch-hit RBI triple to T.J. Friedl.

In response, a lead-off walk to Jean Segura led to the tying run as Bryson Stott's RBI double made it 6-6, before pinch-hitter Nick Maton was the hero with a walk-off base hit.

The worrying form of the New York Yankees continued as they were downed the Seattle Mariners 4-3 after Carlos Santana's seventh-inning go-ahead two-run homer on Wednesday.

The Yankees have lost seven of their past eight games and are 2-7 in August, with the skid putting their top seed hopes in the American League in jeopardy.

Sam Haggerty had blasted the Mariners into a 1-0 lead with a solo home run in the sixth inning.

After Tuesday's 1-0 extras' loss to the Mariners, the Yankees actually went scoreless across 19 innings, breaking that run in the seventh inning on Wednesday.

Kyle Higashioka crushed a go-ahead two-run homer to left-center field in the seventh inning, before Aaron Judge added another, his 45th home run of the season, to extend the lead.

But the Mariners, who won the season series against the Yankees for the first time since 2002, fought back through Santana, with his two-run blast being his 11th homer of the season.

Mariners pitcher Robbie Ray played his part, striking out seven batters as well as Seattle moved to 61-52, while the Yankees are 71-41.

Dodgers clinch 10 straight wins

Joey Gallo blasted a three-run homer to help the Los Angeles Dodgers secure their 10th win in a row with an 8-5 triumph over the Minnesota Twins.

The Dodgers were trailing 4-2 in the fifth inning but rallied back with Chris Taylor homering the go-ahead run. Gallo, who was traded to the Dodgers from the Yankees last month, came up with his 13th home run of the season in the seventh inning.

The 10-game win streak is the Dodgers' longest since they won 11 in a row in July 2017, while they swept the four-game series against the Twins with a 32-10 run record.

Lindor stars as Mets winning run continues

The New York Mets extended their run of wins by three or more runs to six with a 10-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds fueled by Francisco Lindor again.

The shortstop helped the Mets clinch a series sweep with a second-inning two-run single, opening up a 4-0 lead and making franchise history.

Lindor, who finished with three runs, two hits and two RBIs, moved to 81 RBIs for the season, tying with Jose Reyes in 2006 for a Mets' single-season record.

The Minnesota Twins signalled their win-now mindset with a trio of pitching moves, while the Los Angeles Dodgers took on a big-name reclamation project on Tuesday's MLB trade deadline day.

Minnesota lead their division by one game from the Cleveland Guardians, so the decision to push their chips into the middle and make a run at the playoffs is one that makes sense, and to make any noise, they needed pitching reinforcements.

A strong hitting side, the Twins are sixth in the majors in both on-base percentage (.321) and slugging percentage (.419) – but sit in the bottom half of the league in key pitching stats ERA (19th, giving up 4.03 runs per nine innings), strikeouts (21st) and walks allowed (19th).

Out of all 30 teams in the majors, only the Washington Nationals have had fewer 'quality starts' than the Twins – defined by the starting pitcher conceding three or fewer runs in six complete innings. The Nationals are also the only team to have less 'saves' collected by closing pitchers than the Twins.

In a bid to remedy both of those issues, the Twins acquired starting pitcher Tyler Mahle from the Cincinnati Reds, and All-Star closing pitcher Jorge Lopez from the Baltimore Orioles.

The nature of a starting pitcher is that they will throw more innings, and accumulate more overall value, but Lopez is arguably the more significant addition.

One of the best closers in all of baseball this season, 29-year-old Lopez boasts a terrific 1.68 ERA and is 10th in the league in saves with 19. He has allowed 47 total baserunners in 48 innings of work for an impressive WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) of 0.97.

Mahle, 27, does not have spectacular numbers this season (4.40 ERA), but that was mainly due to a rocky start.

He has since rebounded with a run of nine starts of at least five innings pitched with no more than four runs conceded, including back-to-back showings against the Arizona Diamondbacks where he totalled 22 strikeouts and one earned run from 15 innings.

Completing their haul, the Twins also traded pitching prospect Sawyer Gipson-Long for established reliever Michael Fulmer from the Detroit Tigers in another win-now move.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers acquired Joey Gallo from the New York Yankees in the midst of the power-hitting outfielder's worst season of his career.

Gallo, who has a pair of 40 home run seasons on his resume, and is still only 28 years old, has been a disaster since being traded to the Yankees last season, batting .159 with just 37 hits compared to 106 strikeouts.

One of the best teams in baseball, the Dodgers are hoping a change of scenery is all that is needed to re-energise the hard-hitting lefty, and they were able to acquire him as a depth piece for only minor league pitcher Clayton Beeter, who did not figure to contribute in any way to the major league side this eason.

Aaron Judge became the second-fastest player to ever hit 200 career home runs as he connected on his 42nd of the season in the New York Yankees' 8-2 home victory against the Kansas City Royals.

Judge's moment came in the second inning, but it was not his side's first home run of the night after D.J. LeMahieu blasted a 410-footer to center-field as the Yankees' first batter of the game.

After All-Star catcher Jose Trevino got on base, Judge took one opposite-field to put the Yankees 4-0 up. He reached his 200th home run in his 671st career game – 13 games slower than former Philadelphia Phillies slugger Ryan Howard.

That was not all Judge would do in this contest, getting on base four times as he finished with a pair of hits and a pair of walks. He now has 10 more home runs than second-placed Kyle Schwarber (32).

On the mound, Nestor Cortes put in a strong showing to be credited with the win, giving up two runs in five innings, striking out five. 

After a clean Aroldis Chapman inning in relief, Clarke Schmidt then came in for a three-inning save, striking out five batters and throwing 52 pitches.

Twins stars go deep against Padres

Both Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa hit home runs in the Minnesota Twins' 7-4 win on the road against the San Diego Padres.

Stars on both sides were swinging a heavy bat, with Padres MVP candidate Manny Machado opening the scoring with his own solo shot in the third inning.

But the Twins had all the answers, as Buxton destroyed a baseball 434 feet over the left-field wall an inning later, before Correa kick-started his side's five-run eighth frame with his own two-run homer.

Shohei puts on a show

The Los Angeles Angels rallied back late to defeat the Texas Rangers 9-7, headlined by reigning AL MVP Shohei Ohtani's 22nd home run of the season.

The superstar designated hitter – who has also pitched the sixth most strikeouts in all of baseball this season (146 in 17 starts) – connected on a 424-foot, three-run home run to center-field in the third inning to give the Angels a 3-2 lead. Only 15 players have hit more home runs this campaign.

Texas fought back in the middle innings through home runs to Marcus Semien and Meibrys Viloria, but the Angels scored five in the eighth inning to steal the result.

The Seattle Mariners set a new record on Sunday as they defeated the Texas Rangers 6-2 for their 14th consecutive win – the longest winning streak entering the All-Star break in MLB history.

Prior to this season, the longest winning streak heading into the All-Star break was 10 games, set by the 1935 Detroit Tigers, the 1945 Chicago Cubs and the 1975 Cincinnati Reds. All three teams ended up making the World Series.

It was a great showing from the Mariners' top hitters as their two All-Stars drove in a pair of runs each. 

A late addition to the American League All-Star roster, Ty France connected on the longest drive of the game with his 432-foot solo home run in the fifth inning, extending the Mariners' lead to 3-1.

Rookie of the Year favourite – and the only rookie All-Star – Julio Rodriguez then drove in a pair of runs with his double in the seventh inning, and Rodriguez was brought home by a France RBI base hit as the very next batter.

Of all rookies in the majors this season, Rodriguez leads in hits (93), home runs (16), RBIs (50), runs (52) and stolen bases (21).

The Mariners are now 51-42 for the season, giving them the fourth-best record in the American League. They are also one game away from tying their longest winning streak of all time, with 15-in-a-row set in 2001.

Soto homers in Nationals win

Washington Nationals star Juan Soto showed why he is expected to fetch one of the largest trade hauls in the history of the league as he connected on his 20th home run of the season in his side's 7-3 win over the Atlanta Braves.

Soto is reportedly on the trade block after turning down a 15-year, $440million contract extension, with the 23-year-old considered one of the purest hitters in the game.

He connected on his homer in the eighth inning to put the finishing touches on the win and continue his barnstorming July. After an uncharacteristically poor start to the season, Soto is 17-of-40 at the plate this month, with an on-base percentage of .589 while slugging .850.

Cease pitches a gem

Chicago White Sox ace Dylan Cease was at the top of his game as his team hammered the Minnesota Twins 11-0.

Cease, arguably the best pitcher not to be named an All-Star this season, showed his quality with seven scoreless innings, giving up just one hit and two walks while striking out eight.

Nine of the 10 White Sox batters collected at least one hit, with elite first baseman Andrew Vaughn hitting a home run among his three knocks, and their lone offensive All-Star Tim Anderson had a two-RBI single to open the scoring.

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. 

For the second straight day a Pittsburgh Pirates player has hit three home runs in an 8-7 win – this time with Michael Perez starring against the Milwaukee Brewers.

On Wednesday it was Bryan Reynolds hitting three home runs in an 8-7 win against the Washington Nationals, and Thursday's game started in fine fashion for the Pirates at home, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning.

Those runs came first through a monster 431-foot, two-run blast from Oneil Cruz as he continues to make his case as arguably the most exciting youngster in baseball, before Jack Suwinski followed up with a 412-foot solo shot as the very next batter.

The Brewers fought back in the next couple of frames, with Christian Yelich's RBI triple and Omar Narvaez's RBI double helping to even the score at 3-3 in the fourth inning, and that is where Perez began his memorable night.

In the bottom of the fourth, Perez connected on a 377-foot, two-run homer, driving in Suwinski, and with Suwinski on base again in the sixth inning, Perez repeated the act, this time with a 391-foot, two-run smack.

Perez's longest hit of the game came in the eighth frame, extending his side's lead to 8-4 with a 408-foot solo homer.

With his third long ball of the game, Perez matched his season total entering the contest, and the third turned out to be crucial as the Brewers were able to drive in three runs in the ninth inning, ultimately falling short.

Adding salt to the wounds for the Brewers was starting pitcher Adrian Houser being forced to leave the game in the third inning due to elbow tightness, with the bullpen going on to give up five runs in the last five-and-two-thirds innings.

Guardians walk it off

The Cleveland Guardians only collected three hits in their 5-3 win against the Minnesota Twins, but they saved the best for last.

Twins pitchers Chris Archer, Tyler Duffey and Jovani Moran combined to hold the Guardians to just one hit through the first seven innings – although Archer did hand out six walks.

The Guardians were able to tie things up at 3-3 in the eighth inning as two runs came home on a fielding error from Carlos Correa, setting the table for Andres Gimenez to be the hero in the bottom of the ninth, connecting on a 411-foot, two-run, walk-off blast. 

Astros beat the Yankees again

The New York Yankees are 6-3 in their past nine games, but all three losses have come against the Houston Astros after Thursday's 2-1 defeat.

Astros starting pitcher Luis Garcia put in an excellent showing, giving up one run in five-and-a-third innings, holding the Yankees to three hits and two walks from 101 pitches, striking out six.

Houston's only scoring play of the game came in the third inning, with Alex Bregman's two-run double, while the Yankees' sole run came from an Anthony Rizzo homer as the last batter before Garcia was withdrawn.