Adam Duvall starred before blasting a walk-off two-run homer over the Green Monster as the Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles 9-8 on Saturday.

Duvall, who joined the Red Sox from the Atlanta Braves in the offseason, had four hits, three runs and five RBIs for the game in a glittering display at Fenway Park.

But his crowning moment came with the Red Sox two out with a runner on first at the bottom of the ninth, hammering a Felix Bautista fastball just above the Green Monster for the walk-off blast.

The Red Sox capitalised on Ryan McKenna's fielding error at deep left field that allowed Masataka Yoshida to get on first base after hitting a routine fly ball.

Duvall's subsequent blast just cleared the Monster, caroming into a tabletop and back on to the field, but the lights flickered, signalling the walk-off homer.

The 34-year-old outfielder homered in the third inning as part of a four-run salvo after the Red Sox trailed 7-1.

Baltimore had raced ahead with Ryan Mountcastle's two-run first-inning homer along with Cedric Mullins three-run blast in the third. The Orioles tagged Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale for seven runs across three innings.

The Red Sox cut it to 8-7 in the seventh after Enrique Hernandez's homer and Duvall's ground rule double for Rafael Devers to score. Austin Hays went five-for-five with two runs for the O's.

Flaherty's mixed day as Cardinals register first win

St Louis Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty threw five no-hit innings along with giving up a career-high seven walks as his side claimed their first win of the season, 4-1 over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Flaherty fanned four, tossing down 49 of 95 pitches for strikes, but only had one clean inning, albeit his final one, on a mixed day on the mound.

The Cardinals opened up a 3-0 lead in the third inning, capitalising on a two-out throwing error by Jays third baseman Matt Chapman, before Nolan Gorman's two-run single.

Angels pile on the runs in Fujinami's A's debut

The Los Angeles Angels scored 11 runs in the third inning as they spoiled Shintaro Fujinami's debut for the Oakland Athletics, winning 13-1.

Fujinami, who joined the A's on a one-year free-agent deal, fell apart in the third after a positive start, with his game ending after 55 pitches with the Angels leading 6-0. The Japanese pitcher allowed eight earned runs with three walks and four Ks.

Taylor Ward blasted a three-run homer off reliever Adam Oller, while Shohei Ohtani had two hits and two RBIs.

Trayce Thompson produced a three-homer, eight-RBI game as the Los Angeles Dodgers won 10-1 over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Los Angeles Angels reliever Aaron Loup was embarrassed to inflict an unwanted MLB first on team-mate Shohei Ohtani despite his latest superstar showing.

The Angels lost 2-1 to the Oakland Athletics on Opening Day, but they had led 1-0 through Ohtani's six innings, in which he sent down 10 strikeouts.

Loup then came in for what he described as "probably the most embarrassing outing of my career".

It was the first time since at least 1901 a pitcher's team had lost on Opening Day after he had 10 Ks and no runs allowed. They had previously been 25-0 in such circumstances.

Ohtani's performance was all the more remarkable as he called his own pitches, using the recently approved PitchCom, in response to the introduction of the pitch clock.

An early mix-up required catcher Logan O'Hoppe to ask Ohtani to re-enter the code in the device, which was soon ditched for the remainder of the first inning.

All went smoothly thereafter, though, and O'Hoppe said: "He probably could have been more unhittable if we had PitchCom in the first inning."

So quickly did the two-way sensation master the new process, Ohtani was regularly keying in his pitch before the pitch clock had even begun.

He explained the nature of a visit from home-plate umpire Adrian Johnson at the end of the fifth inning, saying: "He told me I was pitching a little early – before the batter was in the box."

The A's scarcely threatened to disrupt Ohtani's shutout, and he had the answer when they did.

With only one out and runners on second and third in the fourth inning, he struck out Jesus Aguilar and Ramon Laureano in quick succession.

Mike Trout reflected: "That sequence right there... he went from dominant to unhittable."

Ultimately, however, it was not enough, with Ohtani himself restricted to only one hit as a batter, a single in the same fourth inning.

"We got a lot of guys on base, got a few guys in scoring position, but we just lacked that one big hit," Ohtani said. "Obviously we want to score more."

Manager Phil Nevin added: "We're going to score more runs, I'm not worried about that. It's just opening night. Baseball gets weird sometimes."

After his record-breaking 2022 season, there was no one more fitting to hit the first home run of the 2023 campaign than Aaron Judge as the New York Yankees won 5-0 over the San Francisco Giants on Thursday.

Judge, who blasted an American League single-season record 62 home runs last season, lit up Opening Day with the first home-run shot of 2023 in the first inning at Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees outfielder needed only two pitches before launching Logan Webb's sinker over the center-field wall. Judge's blast had an exit velocity of 109.3 mph and traveled 422 feet according to Statcast projections.

Gerrit Cole did the rest on the mound, recording an Opening Day franchise record 11 strikeouts across six scoreless innings.

Gleyber Torres creamed a two-run blast in the fourth inning to open up a 3-0 lead, while Torres scored again from a D.J. LeMahieu single in the seventh.

Judge chimed in with a broken-bat RBI single in the same inning, with Jose Trevino scoring, securing a 5-0 win and initiating "M-V-P!" chants from the home crowd.

Top prospect Anthony Volpe also got a rousing reception from the Yankees faithful, finishing 0-2 with a walk in his maiden start at shortstop.

Jays edge Cards in 19-run, 34-hit epic

The Toronto Blue Jays edged the St Louis Cardinals 10-9 in a wild 19-run 34-hit Opening Day classic where Vladimir Guerrero Jr played a key role.

Guerrero brought home the decisive run with a ninth-inning sacrifice fly for new addition Kevin Kiermaier to score the go-ahead run. Guerrero finished with three RBIs from two hits.

Alejandro Kirk had helped the Jays to a 3-0 first-inning lead with a two-run single on a line drive, after Daulton Varsho drove in George Springer on a double.

The chaotic contest saw the Jays become the first MLB team to allow a go-ahead run in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings on the road and still win since the Boston Red Sox in 1938.

Ohtani sends down 10 Ks in Angels defeat

Shohei Ohtani took the unusual step of calling his own pitches, sending down 10 strikeouts, but it was not enough for the Los Angeles Angels in a 2-1 loss to the Oakland Athletics.

Ohtani threw six shutout innings, allowing only two hits, but the A's capitalized after he exited, turning a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 victory, scoring two at the bottom of the eighth.

Tony Kemp doubled on a fly ball past Mike Trout in center field with Esteury Ruiz scoring, before Aledmys Diaz's line drive drove in Kemp.

Angels outfielder Hunter Renfroe produced a moment of magic in the fifth inning with a no-look catch, leaving Ohtani stunned.

The Los Angeles Angels have announced top prospect Logan O'Hoppe will be their starting catcher for Thursday's Opening Day game against the Oakland Athletics.

O'Hoppe will catch from Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani who has also been confirmed to start Thursday's game at O.co Coliseum.

The 23-year-old will step in with Max Stassi placed on the Angels injured list on Wednesday with hip soreness.

"He worked his tail off all winter to be in this position and he's earned it," Angels manager Pat Nevin said of O'Hoppe.

"A guy like Ohtani is saying this guy can really catch and I don't mind throwing to him."

O'Hoppe debuted for the Angels late last season, batting .286 with two RBIs in five games. He batted .281 with a .799 OPS in 12 games in spring training.

The New York-born catcher was traded by the Philadelphia Phillies, where he was behind J.T. Realmuto, to the Angels in August last year in exchange for Brandon Marsh.

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.

Albert Pujols hit a home run in his final regular season home game as a trio of St Louis Cardinals legends were honoured in a 7-5 loss against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.

Pujols, 42, drove in the first runs of the game with a two-run double in the first inning, and with his next at-bat, he connected on the 702nd home run of his career to score another two runs. Only Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714) have ever hit more homers in their career, and with his three RBIs, he joined Ruth with the second-most ever (2214), trailing only Aaron (2297).

Starting on the mound for the Cardinals was another future Hall-of-Famer, 41-year-old Adam Wainwright, who was being caught behind the plate by 40-year-old Yadier Molina as the two added one more to their record number of starts together.

Unfortunately for Wainwright his final regular season start at Busch Stadium was less of a fairytale ending than Pujols', giving up six runs in four-and-two-thirds innings before all three Cardinals icons were pulled from the game together for a standing ovation.

Bryan Reynolds finished two-for-five at the plate for the Pirates, and the center-fielder hit his 27nd home run of the season to add some breathing room in the seventh inning, after Ben Gamel's three-run blast in the second frame.

Trout hits homer in Angels win

Three-time American League MVP Mike Trout moved up to fourth in this season's home run standings as he knocked his 39th in the Los Angeles Angels' 8-3 home win against the Texas Rangers.

Trout's 409-foot blast came in the fourth inning after the Angels piled on six runs in the opening frame, and with three games left he only needs one more home run to reach 40 for the third time in his 12 seasons.

Nobody in the top-20 for home runs this season has played fewer than Trout's 116 games, with the rest of the top-five all totaling at least 153 appearances.

Langelliers, Kaprielian carry the A's

Rookie Shea Langelliers and starting pitcher James Kaprielian were both excellent in the Oakland Athletics' 10-3 win against the Seattle Mariners.

Facing reigning Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray on the mound, the Athletics figured him out in the fourth inning, with Langelliers bombing a big 423-foot home run to left-field. It was one of two homers on the day for the 24-year-old catcher in his first season, also hitting one in the ninth inning for his first ever multi-homer day.

On the mound, Kaprielian was just as good, giving up only one hit and two walks in six scoreless innings, striking out seven batters.

Cal Raleigh made MLB history to end the Seattle Mariners' 21-year playoff drought in fitting fashion – circumstances scarcely believable to manager Scott Servais.

The Mariners entered Friday knowing either defeat for the Baltimore Orioles or a victory of their own at home to the Oakland Athletics would clinch a Wild Card place.

Seattle were enduring the longest active postseason absence in any of the four major American sports.

And a surprise win for the Orioles at the New York Yankees kept Mariners fans waiting just a little longer, with their team very rarely doing things the easy way even in this hugely successful season.

But Raleigh, pinch-hitting for Luis Torrens, homered on a 3-2 pitch from Domingo Acevedo at the bottom of the ninth to clinch a sensational 2-1 walk-off win and a playoff series next weekend.

Raleigh became the first player in MLB history to secure a postseason berth with a pinch-hit, walk-off home run.

After only two as a rookie in 2021, this was also Raleigh's 26th homer of the year – a new single-season record for Mariners catchers.

That it happened at T-Mobile Park put the icing on the cake for Servais, who had already been talking up his team's World Series chances after beating the Texas Rangers the previous night. 

"The fact that we're in our ballpark and there's 40,000 people here tonight, it's better than maybe what you can even dream it could be," Servais said.

"We have a lot of baseball yet ahead of us. We did end the drought tonight, which is a very special feeling.

"There's so many kids that grew up in the Pacific Northwest that don't know anything about the Mariners being in the playoffs, and now we get to show them."

Servais is not alone in outlining title ambitions in Seattle, where the Mariners remain the only MLB team never to have been to a World Series, let alone won one.

But president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto believes the adversity has only made the franchise stronger.

"It wasn’t fluid. It wasn't a linear road for us," he said. "We stumbled, and we fell, and I think that made us stronger.

"And along the way, we found stars, we found leaders, and we found we found a team that came together.

"I think what you see out there right now is a group of guys who believe that they can beat anybody."

Shohei Ohtani's no-hit bid was spoiled in the eighth inning with two outs as the Los Angeles Angels won 4-2 over the Oakland Athletics on Thursday.

The reigning American League (AL) MVP was four outs shy of a no-hitter, with Conner Capel managing a two-out single in the eighth inning to end his bid.

Ohtani finished the game with 10 strikeouts across eight scoreless innings allowing two hits and one walk. Dermis Garcia singled after Capel's hit but Ohtani got out of the jam with Shea Langeliers grounding out to third.

The Angels two-way superstar also went two-for-four at the plate with an RBI single in the first inning, meaning his hit streak to reach a career-high 14 games.

Ohtani's performance adds further intrigue to the AL MVP race with New York Yankees' history-making outfielder Aaron Judge who matched Roger Maris' franchise and AL record with his 61st home run this season on Wednesday.

Blue Jays clinch playoff spot despite not taking field

The Toronto Blue Jays secured their postseason berth despite not playing on Thursday, benefitting from the Baltimore Orioles' 5-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox as J.D. Martinez hit a two-run go-ahead home run in the eighth inning.

The result means the Jays (87-69) are assured of an American League (AL) Wild Card spot, with the Orioles back at 80-76 in fourth in the AL Wild Card race.

Toronto are second in the AL East behind the New York Yankees (96-59), with the Seattle Mariners (85-70) and the Tampa Bay Rays (85-71) in the box seats for the other AL Wild Cards.

The Mariners claimed a 10-9 walk-off win over the Texas Rangers in a game that included nine homers, including two each for Seattle's MItch Haniger and Jarred Kelenic.

Garcia grand slam dents Brewers' Wild Card hopes

The Philadelphia Phillies and the Milwaukee Brewers both lost crucial games in the National League (NL) Wild Card race.

The Phillies, who hold the third NL Wild Card spot with an 83-72 record, went down 2-0 to the Chicago Cubs with both runs scored by Seiya Suzuki.

The Brewers (83-73) looked on track to capitalise on the Phillies' loss before Avisail Garcia's eighth-inning grand slam earned the Miami Marlins a 4-2 win.

Aaron Judge seems determined to end any discussion about who the American League MVP is, slugging his 58th and 59th home runs of the season in the New York Yankees' 12-8 road win against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Judge now has 20 home runs more than any other player this season, and he is two home runs away from both the Yankees' and American League's single-season record of 61 – set 61 years ago in 1961 by Roger Maris. With his 59th, he set a new Yankees and American League record for a right-hander.

It was a massive day for Judge, who finished four-for-five at the plate, also adding a two-run double in the ninth inning to give his side some breathing room.

In a game where the two teams combined for 28 hits, Anthony Rizzo and Oswaldo Cabrera both collected three each for the Yankees, while Tyrone Taylor and Kolten Wong had three each for the Brewers, including a home run each.

It was a mediocre start on the mound for Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, giving up four runs in five innings while striking out eight batters, but he was still credited with the win as the Yankees never surrendered their lead after he left the game.

The win moves the Yankees' record to 88-58, leaving them with a five-and-a-half game lead over the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East, while they remain seven-and-a-half games behind the Houston Astros for the best record in the American League.

Soto shines in Padres win

Juan Soto has been in a slump for the past month, but he began to break out of it with three hits in the San Diego Padres' 6-1 away win against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Soto, 23, was acquired by the Padres in a blockbuster trade at the deadline that saw the Washington Nationals receive one of the biggest hauls in the history of the league, but he is yet to live up to his hefty price.

After just 10 hits in the past month (10-of-74, .135 batting average), Soto went three-for-four on Sunday with a walk, a single, a double and a home run. It was his first home run of September.

Meanwhile, on the mound, Yu Darvish was excellent for the Padres, striking out eight batters in six scoreless innings while allowing only one hit and one walk.

Alvarez stays red-hot for the Astros

Other than Judge, there is arguably not a hotter hitter in the league right now than Yordan Alvarez, who notched another four RBIs in the Houston Astros' 11-2 home win against the Oakland Athletics.

While Soto had only 10 hits in 30 days before Sunday, Alvarez is now on a 10-game hitting streak, and he has 13 hits from his past six games after a pair of doubles against the Athletics.

In any other year, Alvarez would be considered a real chance to win AL MVP, as he boasts the third-most home runs in the league (37), the second-best slugging percentage (.630) and the third-best on-base percentage (.407) – but he trails Judge in all three categories.

On the mound, Framber Valdez gave up two earned runs in six innings, giving him his league-leading 26th 'quality start' of the season. No other pitcher has more than 23.

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.

Miami Marlins ace pitcher and heavy NL Cy Young Award favourite Sandy Alcantara shut down the best team in baseball single-handedly, pitching a complete game in his side's 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Alcantara needed 111 pitches to get all 27 outs, striking out 10 batters while giving up one run from six hits and two walks.

The one run he gave up was a solo home run to Mookie Betts in the third inning, continuing a hot series for Betts after hitting two home runs yesterday. It was Betts' 30th home run of the season – only six players have more.

Miami had to manufacture their runs the hard way, relying on small-ball. In the fourth inning, Jon Berti hit a single and then stole second base, allowing Brian Anderson to tie the game at 1-1 with an RBI base hit.

Two innings later, the Marlins took the lead when they capitalised on a fielding error as Edwin Encarnacion's single was bobbled by the left-fielder, letting Joey Wendle scamper home.

The Marlins showed incredible trust in their star in the ninth inning, as a pair of singles and a walk loaded the bases, but Joey Gallo could not be the hero for the Dodgers, grounding out to first base to end the game.

Alcantara has clearly been the best pitcher in the NL this season, and might have a case as the best starter in all of baseball.

He has tossed 19 more innings than any other player, and he is the only pitcher with more than 5.4 WAR (wins above replacement) – putting a gap on the field with 6.4. Of his 26 starts, 19 have been 'quality starts', meaning at least six innings pitched with no more than three earned runs.

Ohtani blanks the Blue Jays

The most unique player in baseball was the star of the show in the Los Angeles Angels' 2-0 win against the Toronto Blue Jays, with Shohei Ohtani striking out nine batters in seven shut-out innings.

Ohtani, who has hit the 11th-most home runs this season (27), has also struck out the seventh-most batters, with 176 in his 22 starts. Among starting pitchers, only Atlanta Braves rookie Spencer Strider (13.3) has a better strikeouts-per-nine-innings figure than Ohtani's 12.4.

He did not collect a hit in his four at-bats on Saturday, but was walked twice.

Yankees sputter in extra innings loss

The New York Yankees could only muster one hit in 11 innings against the Oakland Athletics, going down 3-2 in extras.

Athletics starting pitcher Adam Oller produced a career-best showing, giving up one hit and one walk in eight complete innings, while Yankees starter Domingo German also had his best stuff, carrying a perfect game into the sixth frame.

In extras, the Yankees scored their only two runs from a bases-loaded wild pitch, but that 2-0 lead was wiped out with one swing as pinch-hitter Stephen Vogt connected on a two-run home run. In the 11th, after the Yankees failed to score, the Athletics won with a walk-off error when New York second-baseman D.J. LeMahieu could not complete a double-play.

All 16 runs of the Los Angeles Dodgers' 10-6 win over the Miami Marlins were scored after the fifth inning, with Mookie Betts collecting four hits and driving home four runs in a big day at the plate on Friday.

After a scoreless opening five frames, Chris Taylor drove in the first run of the game for the Dodgers with a sacrifice fly in the sixth, only for the Marlins to respond with a two-run double to Joey Wendle to give the Marlins a 2-1 lead.

Betts connected on his 28th home run of the season with a two-run shot to left-field in the seventh inning, but the lead was again short-lived as the Marlins responded in the bottom of the frame, with Miguel Rojas and Wendle driving in a run each to lead 5-4.

In the ninth inning, trailing by one run, Betts came through again with his 29th homer to tie the game, and when Justin Turner made it 6-5 with his RBI single, it looked like the Dodgers were going to get the job done in regulation, but a big Peyton Burdick home run took things to extra innings.

The Dodgers made sure it would not drag on all night, piling on four runs in the 10th, highlighted by an RBI double to Betts for his fourth hit of the night.

With the win, the Dodgers extended their league-best record to 87-37, giving them a seven-and-a-half game lead atop the National League, and 19-and-a-half game lead over the San Diego Padres in the NL West.

Judge, Cole carry the Yankees

The New York Yankees received starring performances from their marquee players as they defeated the Oakland Athletics 3-2 on the road.

Setting the foundations for the win was ace pitcher Gerrit Cole, who struck out 11 batters in his seven-and-a-third innings, allowing one run from three hits and two walks. It was the first time Cole has been credited with a win this month.

With scores tied at 0-0 in the fifth inning, Oswaldo Cabrera and D.J. LeMahieu were able to string together a couple singles to put two runners on base for Aaron Judge, and the AL MVP favourite delivered, crushing his 49th home run of the season. No other player has more than 35.

After a rough month, the Yankees have now won five in a row.

Harper returns in style for the Phillies

Reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper returned from a two-month injury layoff on Friday, and delivered a two-run hit with his very first at-bat in his side's 7-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Harper finished one-for-four at the plate with two RBIs as he came back in the designated hitter spot, while Rhys Hoskins, Alec Bohm and Nick Castellanos all collected multiple hits.

Bailey Falter banked the win on the mound, making it through six innings while conceding three runs from six hits and no walks, striking out six.

On the same day they activated slugger Giancarlo Stanton, the New York Yankees put All-Star pitcher Nestor Cortes on the 15-day injured list with a strained left groin. 

Stanton, who had been sidelined by left Achilles tendinitis since July 23, returned to the lineup as designated hitter for the start of a four-game series against the Oakland Athletics on Thursday night.

Batting third, he connected on a two-out, bases-loaded single to drive in two runs in the second inning, before collecting his third RBI with a bases-loaded walk in the third inning of his side's 13-4 win.

Cortes' loss is a big one for the first-placed Yankees, who entered Thursday with a seven-and-a-half game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East.  

The left-hander is 9-4 with a 2.68 ERA in 23 starts, while throwing a career-high 131 innings this season. An All-Star for the first time earlier this year, Cortes said he felt discomfort in his push-off leg early during his last start against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday and pitched through it. He expects to return on schedule and contribute to the September stretch run. 

''I feel like if there was a time for it to happen, it would be now, instead of the middle of September or late September going into the playoffs or October,'' Cortes said. ''I've got to take care of my body so I can be one of the guys when playoff time comes around.'' 

Cortes played light catch from between 100 and 120 feet at the Oakland Coliseum on Thursday, making 30-40 throws. He could throw in the bullpen in the next few days. 

''I'm hoping 15 days is enough,'' he said. ''I think the fact that I'm feeling pretty well – I don't think there will be any hiccups along the way.'' 

The Yankees could move Clarke Schmidt into the rotation after he was stretched out to pitch starter innings when he was sent to the minors on August 1.  

Luis Severino is recovering from a lat strain, but is expected to return to the rotation from the injured list by mid-September.