Nick Gonzales' single in the eighth inning drove in the go-ahead run as the Pittsburgh Pirates continued their mid-season surge with Monday's 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Gonzales hit that scored All-Star Bryan Reynolds snapped a 1-1 tie and helped give Pittsburgh its seventh win in eight games as it pushes for a play-off spot in the National League. The Pirates, who last reached the post-season in 2015, sit a half-game behind the New York Mets for the NL's final wild card spot.

Pittsburgh also moved within a game of St. Louis for the second wild card. 

Reynolds led off the bottom of the eighth with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch by St. Louis reliever John King. Two batters later, Gonzales hit a slow grounder that got through the infield to score Reynolds for a 2-1 Pittsburgh lead.

David Bednar then held the Cardinals scoreless in the ninth to earn his 18th save of the season. Aroldis Chapman received the win with one scoreless inning in relief of Mitch Keller, who allowed just one run on six hits in a seven-inning no-decision.

The Cardinals also got a solid outing from their starter, as Andre Pallante yielded just one run and three hits through six innings.

Nolan Gorman accounted for St. Louis' lone run by hitting a solo homer off Keller in the fifth inning that tied the score at 1-1. The Pirates had gone ahead in the third when Andrew McCutchen doubled and later scored on Oneil Cruz's single. 

Witt just misses cycle in Royals' rout of Diamondbacks

Bobby Witt Jr. finished a single short of hitting for the cycle and had one of three Kansas City home runs as the Royals rolled to a 10-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks to extend their winning streak to four games.

Witt tripled in the first inning, doubled in the third and delivered a three-run homer in the fourth that gave the Royals an 8-3 lead. The All-Star shortstop was hit by a pitch and flied out in his final two at-bats, though, to narrowly miss becoming the first Kansas City player to record a cycle since Hall of Famer George Brett in 1990.

Salvador Perez had a go-ahead two-run homer in the third inning and Hunter Renfroe later added a solo shot as part of the Royals' 15-hit attack. Vinnie Pasquantino and Kyle Isbel each collected three hits, with Isbel driving in two runs and Perez three.

Arizona had taken a 3-1 lead when Ketel Marte followed Alek Thomas' RBI double in the top of the third with a two-run homer off Cole Ragans. The Royals countered with three runs in their half of the inning, however, to quickly move back ahead.

Witt started the rally with a lead-off double and scored on Pasquantino's single before Perez launched Arizona starter Yilber Diaz's pitch over the center field wall for a 4-3 Kansas City edge.

The Royals then extended the margin with four runs in the fourth.

Isbel doubled in Maikel Garcia and Adam Frazier followed with an infield single to chase Diaz. Witt then greeted Miguel Castro with a home run on the reliever's first pitch to put Arizona at a five-run deficit.

Renfroe's solo homer in the fifth increased the lead to 9-3.  Perez drove in Witt with the Royals' final run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth.

Ragans (7-6) shook off his early troubles to work six innings while allowing three runs on five hits and striking out six.

Diaz (1-1), making his third MLB start, was tagged for seven runs in three-plus innings.

Isbel previously knocked in Kansas City's first run with a second-inning single. The Diamondbacks managed a late run in the eighth when Christian Walker doubled and later scored on Eugenio Suarez's sac fly.

Ober pitches Twins past struggling Phillies

Bailey Ober bounced back strongly after allowing an early home run to Bryce Harper to lead the Minnesota Twins to a 7-2 win over the struggling Philadelphia Phillies in the opener of a three-game series.

After giving up hits to three of the game's first four batters, including Harper's two-run homer, Ober (9-5) yielded just one more hit over the remainder of his seven-inning stint to improve to 4-1 over his last six starts. The right-hander retired 17 of the final 18 batters he faced.

Manuel Margot led Minnesota offensively with two hits, including a two-run single that gave the Twins a 3-2 lead in the fifth inning. Willi Castro also knocked in two runs to help Minnesota snap a three-game losing streak, while Carlos Santana and Max Kepler each had two hits and an RBI.

The Phillies still own the majors' best record at 63-37 but have now lost four of their last five games.

After Castro's third-inning single plated Diego Castillo to trim Philadelphia's lead to 2-1, the Twins struck twice more in the fifth to forge ahead.

Kepler led off the bottom of the fifth with a single and Castillo followed with a ground-rule double to put two on for Margot, who sent both runners home with a go-ahead single to right off Philadelphia All-Star Ranger Suarez.

Suarez (10-5) lost his third straight start after surrendering three runs and seven hits over 5 1/3 innings.

The Twins extended their lead in the seventh when Ryan Jeffers doubled and later crossed the plate on a Santana double, then put the game out of reach with three runs in the eighth.

Kepler followed a Trevor Larnach double with a run-scoring single to put Minnesota up 5-2, and the Twins later loaded the bases before scoring twice more on a walk to Castro and a wild pitch from reliever Yunior Marte.

Cole Sands worked the final two innings for Minnesota to notch his third save of the season.

Hunter Brown and three relievers combined on a four-hitter and the Houston Astros moved into a tie for the AL West lead with a 3-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Friday night.

Yainer Diaz delivered the big blow with a two-run single and the Astros (51-46) won for the 18th time in 24 games. They trailed the Mariners by 10 games and were seven games under .500 on June 18.

Seattle, meanwhile, has stumbled to an 8-16 mark during that span and turned in a listless effort against a division rival coming out of the All-Star break that led to boos from the home fans after the final out.

Brown allowed four hits with three walks and five strikeouts to win for the sixth time in seven starts.

Bryan Abreu and Ryan Pressly each worked a perfect inning and Josh Hader pitched the ninth for his 19th save.

Houston did all its scoring in the third against Luis Castillo.

Trey Cabbage doubled, then scored as Jose Altuve reached on a bunt single and a bad throw by Josh Rojas got away from first baseman Ty France. Alex Bregman was hit by a pitch and Yordan Alvarez walked to load the bases.

Diaz then jumped on Castillo’s first pitch for a two-run single and a 3-0 lead.

Pirates rally, walk-off Phillies

Nick Gonzales delivered a walk-off single and the surging Pittsburgh Pirates completed a rally from a three-run deficit for an 8-7 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Pittsburgh trailed 7-4 but pulled to within one in the seventh on an RBI infield single by Oneil Cruz and Rowdy Tellez’s sacrifice fly.

Jose Alvardo was called on to protect the slim lead in the ninth, but Connor Joe led off with a single and Andew McCutchen walked. After a double steal, Bryan Reynolds struck out and Cruz brought home the tying run on a fielder’s choice.

Gonzales then sent a first-pitch cutter through the left side of the infield to give the Pirates their fifth straight win and seventh in eight games.

Pittsburgh (49-48) moved over .500 for the first time since April 24.

Trea Turner homered and Weston Wilson had a career-high three hits, including his first home run of the season, for the major league-best Phillies, who lost their third in four games.  

Freeman’s slam lifts Dodgers

Freddie Freeman drilled a grand slam in the eighth inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ bullpen worked four scoreless innings in a 4-1 win over the Boston Red Sox.

Nick Pivetta limited the Dodgers to two hits over six scoreless innings, but the Dodgers got to Boston’s bullpen in the eighth.

Miguel Vargas drew a leadoff walk against Zach Kelly and Chris Taylor struck out before Brennan Bernadino entered. He gave up a ground-rule double down the left-field line to Shohei Ohtani and Will Smith was intentionally walked to load the bases.

Freeman followed by sending an 0-1 slider over the wall in right field for his 15th home run and seventh career grand slam.

Gavin Stone allowed one run and six hits over five innings before Anthony Banda, Alex Vesia and Ryan Yarbrough each pitched a scoreless frame. Daniel Hudson pitched the ninth for his fifth save.

All-Star MVP Jarren Duran homered for the Red Sox, who entered the break with 10 wins in 14 games.  

Kyle Schwarber hit another leadoff home run and All-Star Matt Strahm struck out Shohei Ohtani in a key spot as the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 for their major league-leading 60th win on Wednesday night. 

The Phillies have won the first two games of this three-game series between division leaders. At 60-32, only the 1976 team (88 games) reached the 60-win mark faster in a season in franchise history.

Philadelphia won without All-Star slugger Bryce Harper, who sat out with a bruised left hand after he returned for Tureday’s10-1 win following a nine-game absence. Harper was hurt at an unspecified point, through he clearly grabbed his hand and hunched over in pain on a second-inning chopper by Miguel Rojas.

Strahm entered with one out in the seventh and the Phillies holding a 4-2 lead. With runners at the corners, he struck out Ohtani and retired Teoscar Hernandez on a fly out to escape the jam.

The Dodgers scored a run in the eighth on Rojas’ RBI single, but Jeff Hoffman tossed a scoreless ninth for his ninth save.

Schwarber’s homer off Gavin Stone was his 39th career leadoff homer and 18th overall this season.

Valdez pitches Astros past Marlins

Framber Valdez struck out a season-high 10 over seven stellar innings and rookie Joey Loperfido homered and tripled to propel the Houston Astros to their eighth straight home win, 9-1 over the Miami Marlins.

Valdez allowed six hits – all singles – and walked one to win his third straight decision.

Loperfido hit a two-run homer to highlight a four-run second off Bryan Hoeing and had his first career triple in the fourth.

Yainer Diaz had three hits and three RBIs for the Astros (48-44), who have won eight of 11 to match a season high at four games over .500.

Perez’s home runs help Royals sweep

Salvador Perez homered in both games and MJ Melendez hit a solo shot in the nightcap as the Kansas City Royals beat the St. Louis Cardinals 8-5 for a sweep of their day-night doubleheader.

Garrett Hampson had two-run double to back a strong start by Alec Marsh in the Royals’ 6-4 victory in the early game.

Kyle Isbel homered in the second game and James McArthur pitched the ninth for his second save of the day and 17th of the season.

Kansas City notched its 50th and 51st wins of the season after it totaled just 56 victories all last season.

Nolan Arenado, Alec Burleson and Paul Goldschmidt homered in the opener for the Cardinals, while Lars Nootbaar went deep in the nightcap. St. Louis entered the day having won four of five.

Brandon Nimmo drove in four runs and had three of the New York Mets' season-high 22 hits as Major League Baseball's hottest team rolled to a 14-2 victory over the Texas Rangers on Monday.

Francisco Lindor went 4 for 4 and knocked in two runs as the Mets won their sixth consecutive contest while collecting their most hits in a game since recording 23 against the Atlanta Braves on Aug. 15, 2019.

Nimmo had a two-run homer among his three hits and DJ Stewart added a three-run blast as New York battered Texas starter Jon Gray for nine runs and 11 hits in just three-plus innings.

Pete Alonso, Mark Vientos and Francisco Alvarez also had three hits each to support a solid start from David Peterson, who allowed two runs and struck out six over six innings to move to 3-0.

After Lindor singled to open the game and later scored on Alonso's base hit to put the Mets up early, New York broke open the game with six runs in the second.

Lindor's single brought in Vientos for a 2-0 lead and Nimmo followed with a run-scoring hit of his own to extend the margin. Alonso made it 4-0 with his second RBI single of the night before Stewart launched Gray's pitch into the right field seats to cap the big inning.

Peterson served up Robbie Grossman's two-run homer in the third inning that got the Rangers on the board, but Nimmo followed Lindor's single in the fourth with his eighth home run of the season to give New York a 9-2 advantage.

The Mets struck two more times in the fifth as Lindor doubled in a run and Nimmo added another RBI single. Stewart singled in the sixth and later crossed the plate on Alvarez's hit to increase the lead to 12-2.

Alvarez had another run-scoring hit in the eighth as the Mets scored twice more during the inning.

The defending World Series champion Rangers lost their fourth in a row and dropped six games below .500 at 33-39.

Pirates' rookie Skenes bests Reds to stay unbeaten

Paul Skenes continued an outstanding start to his MLB career by throwing six sharp innings and leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 4-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds to open a three-game series.

Skenes improved to 4-0 by yielding just one run on six hits and striking out seven. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft now sports a 2.29 ERA through his first seven major league starts.

The heralded rookie's lone run allowed came in the top of the first inning, when Jeimer Candelario singled and scored on a double by Spencer Steer.

Pittsburgh countered with three runs off Carson Spiers in their half of the first, which began with a walk to Andrew McCutchen and Bryan Reynolds' ground-rule double.

Oneil Cruz then drove both runners home with a single and later moved to third on Rowdy Tellez's double before crossing the plate on Ke'Bryan Hayes' groundout.

The Pirates extended their advantage to 4-1 in the second inning on consecutive doubles by McCutchen and Reynolds, who finished with two hits along with Tellez.

Spiers (0-1) made his first start of the season for Cincinnati, which has now lost three straight. The right-hander worked six innings while permitting all four Pittsburgh runs.

Schwarber's two homers help Phillies extend Padres' road woes

Kyle Schwarber belted a pair of two-run homers to lead the way as the Philadelphia Phillies extended the San Diego Padres' road losing streak to eight games with Monday's 9-2 rout.

Alec Bohm added a three-run homer and went 3 for 5 to help the National League leaders bounce back after losing two of three games to the Baltimore Orioles over the weekend. Rafael Marchan finished 4 for 4 with two RBIs, while Trea Turner had a pair of hits in the Philadelphia shortstop's return from a hamstring injury that had sidelined him since early May.

The Phillies also received a strong start from Cristopher Sanchez (4-3), who held struggling San Diego to two runs - one earned - in seven innings.

San Diego entered Citizens Bank Park off three straight road losses to the New York Mets over the weekend, and fell behind 2-0 when Schwarber followed Marchan's third-inning single with a blast into the seats off Randy Vasquez.

Vasquez (1-4) walked Brandon Marsh to lead off the bottom of the fourth, which led to another run when the outfielder took second on a wild pitch and scored on Marchan's single.

An error by Marsh led to a run in the top of the fifth that got the Padres on the board, though the Phillies answered in their half when Bohm took Vasquez deep with Turner and Bryce Harper aboard.

Schwarber struck again in the sixth with a homer off Adrian Morejon that extended the lead to 8-2 and once again scored Marchan, who had reached on a single.

Both teams scratched home a run in the seventh inning, as San Diego's Donovan Solano brought in Jurickson Profar with a double and Marsh doubled and later scored on Marchan's fourth hit of the game.

Vasquez lasted just 4 1/3 innings and was lit up for six runs on 12 hits. 

Luis Gil won his ninth straight decision and Alex Verdugo homered and drove in four runs against his former team as the New York Yankees became the first team to 50 wins with an 8-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Friday night.

Gil allowed one run and four hits over five innings with four walks and six strikeouts in a season-high 104-pitch outing. The rookie is 9-0 with a 1.64 ERA in 11 starts since a loss at Toronto on April 15.

New York’s bullpen pitched one-hit ball with eight strikeouts over the final four innings.

Verdugo, who spent the previous four seasons with Boston before he was traded to the Yankees in December, hit the first pitch he saw from Brayan Bello for a two-run homer in the first inning, doubled home a run in the fifth and added an RBI single in the ninth.

Verdugo matched a career high with four RBIs, done twice earlier this season and three times with the Red Sox.

Bello was tagged for five runs and six hits in 4 2/3 innings.

Jose Trevino also homered for the major league-best Yankees (50-22), who won for the 13th time in 16 games. 

Bohm lifts Phillies over Orioles in 11th

Alec Bohm ripped a two-run double in the top of the 11th inning shortly after a 71-minute rain delay, and the Philadelphia Phillies topped the Baltimore Orioles, 5-3.

After the Orioles intentionally walked Bryce Harper to put runners at first and second with one out, Bohm followed with a drive to left-center that eluded Austin Hays that scored both runners.

Kyle Schwarber led off the game with a home run and Rafael Marchan hit his first of the season for the NL East-leading Phillies, who bounced back from consecutive losses at Boston to take the opener of a three-game series between two of baseball's top teams.

Anthony Santander hit a tying home run in the eighth, but the Orioles went 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position in their second straight loss following a six-game winning streak.

Baltimore’s Kyle Bradish allowed two runs in five innings before exiting due to elbow pain. He missed the first month of the season with a sprained UCL and will have further tests.

Garver, Castillo keep Mariners surging

Mitch Garver hit a two-run homer to back a strong start by Luis Castillo and the Seattle Mariners extended their AL West lead with a 3-2 win over the Texas Rangers.

Castillo gave up two runs – both in the first inning - on four hits in six innings with one walk and seven strikeouts. He improved to 4-0 with a 1.69 ERA in his last five home starts.

Mike Baumann and Andres Munoz each pitched a hitless inning before Ryne Stanek worked around a hit in the ninth for his sixth save.

Seattle took the lead for good in the third when J.P. Crawford scored on a fielder’s choice. Julio Rodriguez hit a grounder to third with runners at the corners and Crawford trotted home to make it 3-2.

The Mariners have won five of six and 14 of 19 to open a 6 ½-game lead over Texas in the West.

Ranger Suarez became the majors’ first 10-game winner and Bryce Harper celebrated his tying home run with a soccer slide as the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the New York Mets, 7-2 in the opener of Major League Baseball’s third London Series on Saturday.

Harper’s homer sparked a six-run fourth that included Whit Merrifield’s three-run homer and the major league-best Phillies (45-19) won their fourth in a row and seventh in eight games.

Harper finished a triple shy of the cycle and did a soccer slide in front of the Phillies dugout and moments later yelled “I love soccer!” while high-fiving teammates.

Nick Castellanos went deep in the eighth inning as manager Rob Thomson earned his 200th regular season win (200-137).

Suarez gave up two runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings and Philadelphia’s bullpen worked 3 1/3 scoreless innings.

Starling Marte had two hits and an RBI for the Mets, who had won three straight.

Streaking Reds edge Cubs

TJ Friedl homered and knocked in three runs and Jeimer Candelerio also went deep as the Cincinnati Reds held off the Chicago Cubs, 4-3, for their seventh straight win.

The Cubs threatened to tie in the ninth with runners at first and third with one out, but Justin Wilson got Ian Happ on a foul popup and retired Mike Tauchman on a groundout for his first save since 2019.

Andrew Abbott allowed five hits and walked four in five innings, but the only run he gave up was on Dansby Swanson’s first-inning RBI double. He struck out Patrick Wisdom three times and Christopher Morel twice.

Candelerio’s first-inning home run off Ben Brown lifted the Reds into a 1-1 tie, and Friedl’s two-run shot in the third was his third homer in the last seven games.

Hernandez goes deep twice as Dodgers rout Yankees

Teoscar Hernandez belted an eighth-inning grand slam for his second homer of the game and drove in six runs to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to an 11-3 victory over the New York Yankees.

Hernandez opened the scoring in the second inning with a solo shot off Nestor Cortes and connected for his fifth career grand slam in the eighth to extend the lead to 8-2.  

The six RBIs matched a career high for Hernandez, who had done that twice previously. He has eight RBIs in the first two games of this series.

Kike Hernandez also went deep and Freddie Freeman added a two-run double for Los Angeles, which has taken the first two games of this marquee series in the Bronx.

Aaron Judge hit his major league-leading 22nd and 23rd home runs as the Yankees lost their second straight following an eight-game winning streak.

New York’s star right fielder Juan Soto sat out his second consecutive game with left forearm inflammation.

Rhys Hoskins homered in his return to Philadelphia, but his former team defeated his current one as the Phillies earned a 3-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in Monday's opener of a three-game series between National League division leaders. 

Hoskins spent his first seven MLB seasons in Philadelphia and helped the Phillies win the 2022 NL pennant. After missing the entire 2023 campaign with a torn ACL, he signed a two-year, $34million contract to join the Brewers in the offseason.

The first baseman received a standing ovation from the Citizens Bank Park crowd during his first at-bat, then later took former teammate Zack Wheeler deep in the seventh inning for his 10th home run of the season.

Hoskins' blast was the lone run allowed in seven innings by Wheeler (7-3), who held Milwaukee to five hits and struck out six. Jose Alvarado recorded his 10th save with a perfect ninth as the Phillies snapped NL Central-leading Milwaukee's five-game winning streak and improved to 42-19, tied with the New York Yankees for the majors' best record.

Wheeler got all the support he needed when Philadelphia recorded four hits, including run-scoring singles from Edmundo Sosa and Johan Rojas, off Bryce Wilson in the second inning to build a 2-0 lead.

David Dahl extended the margin further with a solo homer off Wilson in the fourth. Dahl finished 2 for 3 with two runs scored in his Phillies' debut after being called up from the minors when Philadelphia placed left fielder Brandon Marsh on the injured list prior to the game.

Wheeler made the lead stand until Hoskins' homer in the seventh by working out of a pair of earlier jams. The Philadelphia ace got Brice Turang to bounce into a bases-loaded double play to prevent the Brewers from scoring in the third, and Hoskins was thrown out at the plate by Rojas while attempting to score on Blake Perkins' single to center in the fifth.

Wilson (3-2) allowed all three Philadelphia runs in 5 2/3 innings of work after entering the game in the second inning.

Diamondbacks stun reeling Giants on Smith's homer in ninth

Pavin Smith connected for a game-winning two-run homer in the ninth inning as the Arizona Diamondbacks extended the San Francisco Giants' losing streak to a season-high five games with a 4-2 victory.

Smith, pinch-hitting for Eugenio Suarez, sent Randy Rodriguez's pitch over the center field wall with one out and Jake McCarthy aboard to snap a 2-2 tie and give the defending NL champion Diamondbacks a third consecutive win.

McCarthy had reached on a double to precede Smith's second home run of the season.

Heliot Ramos went 2 for 4 for the skidding Giants and tied the contest at 2-2 with a solo home run off Ryne Nelson in the seventh inning.

Nelson pitched a career-high 7 2/3 innings and allowed two runs on six hits before giving way to Ryan Thompson, who tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the win.

Lourdes Gurriel hit his 100th career homer, a solo shot off Spencer Howard in the second that gave Arizona a 1-0 lead. The Diamondbacks scored again later in the inning when Suarez tripled and came home on Blaze Alexander's two-out single.

The Giants cut their deficit to 2-1 on Matt Chapman's fourth-inning double that plated Brett Wisely, who had led off the inning with a single.

Wisely and Chapman each finished with two hits for San Francisco, while Alexander went 2 for 3 for Arizona.

Rogers' two homers lift Tigers over Rangers

Jake Rogers' second home run of the game snapped a tie in the eighth inning as the Detroit Tigers earned a 2-1 win over the Texas Rangers in the opener of a three-game series.

Rogers launched a pitch from Jose Leclerc into the left seats to break a 1-1 deadlock and record the third multihomer game of his career. The blast made a winner out of Beau Brieske after the right-hander yielded just one hit over three scoreless innings in relief of Detroit starter Tarik Skubal.

Skubal served up a lead-off homer to Marcus Semien in the first inning but kept the Rangers off the board for the remainder of his six-inning stint. The lefty scattered seven hits and struck out seven to help the Tigers to their seventh win in 10 games.

The defending World Series champion Rangers went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position to drop two games below .500 at 29-31.

Rogers brought Detroit even with a two-out homer in the third, the only run surrendered by Texas starter Nathan Eovaldi in 5 2/3 innings. The veteran hurler gave up just three hits and fanned seven in his second start since missing nearly four weeks with a groin strain.

Semien and Corey Seager each had two hits for Texas, with Seager extending his hitting streak to 16 games with a pair of singles.

The Philadelphia Phillies matched the best 35-game span in franchise history with a 5-2 victory over the Texas Rangers on Thursday behind seven strong innings from Zach Wheeler.

The major league-leading Phillies have won seven straight and are 29-6 over their past 35 games, a stretch the franchise hadn’t accomplished since 1892.

Philadelphia completed its seventh series sweep of the season and improved to 17-3 in May.  The Phillies either split or won each of their last 15 series, the longest span since a 19-series stretch in 1984.

Wheeler allowed two runs on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts to win his sixth consecutive decision.

Phillies starters have gone at least seven innings in 18 starts this year, the most in baseball.

J.T. Realmuto homered for the second straight day and Nick Castellanos also went deep as the Phillies moved to 15-3 since they lost two-time All-Star shortstop Trea Turner to a left hamstring injury.

Defending World Series champion Texas has lost four straight and 10 of 12 to drop a season-high three games under .500.

Athletics stun Rockies with five-run 11th

Tyler Soderstrom walked with the bases loaded to cap a five-run 11th inning and the Oakland Athletics rallied for a stunning 10-9 win over the Colorado Rockies.

After the Rockies scored four in the top of the 11th, Oakland opened the bottom half with a double, single and two-run homer by JJ Bleday to tie it at 9. Colorado loaded the bases on an intentional walk to Kyle McCann before Peter Lambert walked Soderstrom to force in the winning run.

J.D. Davis and Daz Cameron homered for the A’s, who trailed 4-0 heading to the bottom of the seventh.

Oakland won its fourth game when trailing after eight innings, tied with Miami for most in the majors.

Giants rally past Pirates again

Matt Chapman hit a three-run homer during an eighth-inning rally and the San Francisco Giants spoiled a solid start by rookie Paul Skenes in a 7-6 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Giants overcame a five-run deficit in Wednesday’s extra-inning win and trailed 6-2 after seven innings in this one before getting going against Pittsburgh’s struggling bullpen.

Chapman homered for the third straight game after LaMonte Wade Jr. and Thairo Estrada opened the eighth with singles. After Jorge Soler doubled and scored on pinch-hitter Wilmer Flores’ single, Brett Wisely delivered a go-ahead hit off Aroldis Chapman later in the inning to put the Giants on top 7-6.

San Francisco won consecutive games in which it trailed by at least four runs for the first time since 1998.

Joey Bart staked Pittsburgh to a 5-1 lead with his fourth career grand slam in the fourth. He also doubled before being ejected by first base umpire Alex Tossi after grounding out to end the eighth.

Skenes was excellent for the second straight start, allowing one run and six hits in six innings.

Edmundo Sosa hit a three-run homer and Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto had solo shots as the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Texas Rangers 11-4 for the best 50-game start in franchise history on Wednesday.

Realmuto finished with three RBIs and Alec Bohm had a two-run double to extend the lead to 10-3 in the sixth inning. He is tied for the National League lead with 46 RBIs.

The major league-leading Phillies (36-14) are just the 26th team in NL history to win at least 36 of their first 50 games played. The 1988 Atlanta Braves were the last team to get off to such a start. Only 17 teams in AL history have reached that mark. The last was the 2001 Seattle Mariners, who went on to 116 wins.

Philadelphia has won five straight and 17 of its last 20 games overall and 17 of 19 at home.

Realmuto’s home run in the third snapped a 2-2 tie and his two-run single in the sixth made it 8-3.

Corey Seager and Leody Taveras homered for the defending World Series champion Rangers, who have lost four straight and nine of 11 to drop two games under .500.

Streaking Indians beat Mets

Johnathan Rodriguez drove in the go-ahead run with his first major league hit and the Cleveland Guardians rallied for their sixth consecutive win, 6-3 over the New York Mets.

Rodriguez, playing in his second game since being recalled from Triple-A Columbus two days earlier, snapped a 3-3 tie in the seventh inning with a grounder through the right side of the infield.

Cleveland, which trailed 3-0 heading into the sixth, moved into a tie for the second-best record in the majors at 33-17.

Jose Ramirez and Kyle Manzardo had RBI doubles in the eighth after Andres Gimenez hit a tying, three-run homer in the sixth off starter Jose Quintana.

The Mets got home runs from Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil and Harrison Bader but have lost eight of 10 to fall to a season-high seven games under .500 (21-28).

Royals’ Ragans dominates Tigers

Cole Ragans pitched one-hit ball over six innings and struck out a career-high 12 to lead the Kansas City Royals to their sixth straight win, 8-3 over the Detroit Tigers.

Ragans walked three but held the Tigers hitless until Riley Greene’s two-out single in the sixth to win for the fourth time in five decisions.

Freddy Fermin drove in three runs, Bobby Witt Jr. added two hits and two RBIs and Nelson Velazquez homered as the Royals won their first series against the Tigers since September 2002. It was Kansas City’s first sweep of Detroit since July 2021.

Tarik Skubal allowed four runs on six hits over five innings to end his 14-game unbeaten streak dating to Aug. 29.

Detroit has lost four straight to fall a season-worst three games under .500.

Ranger Suarez struck out 10 to become the majors’ first nine-game winner and the red-hot Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Texas Rangers 5-2 on Tuesday.

Suarez allowed one run on five hits over seven innings with two walks. Since a no-decision in his first start of the season, the left-hander is 9-0 with a 1.36 ERA in his last nine starts.

Suarez is the first pitcher to go undefeated with a sub-1.50 ERA and at least 65 strikeouts over his first 10 appearances of a season.

Jeff Hoffman gave up Corey Seager’s home run in the eighth but Matt Strahm retired Nathaniel Lowe on a sharp line drive to left with two runners on to end the inning and preserve Philadelphia’s 3-2 lead.

Jose Alvarado pitched the ninth for his ninth save.

Bryce Harper hit his 11th home run and Alec Bohm drove in a pair of runs – his NL-best 44th – as the Phillies won for the ninth time in 11 games to improve the best record in the majors to 35-14.

The Rangers have lost eight of 10 to drop under .500 (24-25) for the first time this season.

Witt leads streaking Royals

Bobby Witt Jr. hit a pair of home runs and drove in six runs as the Kansas City Royals extended their winning streak to five with a 10-3 rout of the Detroit Tigers.

Witt hit a 468-foot, three-run homer in the second inning off Casey Mize and added a solo shot leading off the sixth. He also had an RBI single in the first and a sacrifice fly in the third.

Kansas City had six extra-base hits and have had at least one in all 50 games this season, one game shy of the franchise record set in 1978.

Maikel Garcia tied a career high with four hits and scored three runs. He extended his hitting streak to nine games.

Guardians edge Mets to stay hot

Jose Ramirez homered and drove in three runs and the Cleveland Guardians held on for their fifth straight victory, 7-6 over the New York Mets.

David Fry added his first career pinch-hit home run as the Guardians won their sixth in a row at home and improved the majors’ fourth-best record to 32-17.

Ramirez has driven in 34 runs in his last 34 games to take over the American League lead with 44.

Jeff McNeil and Starling Marte hit two-run homers and Mark Vientos had a solo blast for the Mets, who have lost the first two games of the series to drop to 3-9 since May 10.

Nick Sandlin got two outs in the fifth in relief of starter Xzavion Curry for the win and Emmanuel Clase worked the ninth for his MLB-best 15th save in 18 chances.

Ranger Suarez struck out 10 to become the majors’ first nine-game winner and the red-hot Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Texas Rangers 5-2 on Tuesday.

Suarez allowed one run on five hits over seven innings with two walks. Since a no-decision in his first start of the season, the left-hander is 9-0 with a 1.36 ERA in his last nine starts.

Suarez is the first pitcher to go undefeated with a sub-1.50 ERA and at least 65 strikeouts over his first 10 appearances of a season.

Jeff Hoffman gave up Corey Seager’s home run in the eighth but Matt Strahm retired Nathaniel Lowe on a sharp line drive to left with two runners on to end the inning and preserve Philadelphia’s 3-2 lead.

Jose Alvarado pitched the ninth for his ninth save.

Bryce Harper hit his 11th home run and Alec Bohm drove in a pair of runs – his NL-best 44th - as the Phillies won for the ninth time in 11 games to improve the best record in the majors to 35-14.

The Rangers have lost eight of 10 to drop under .500 (24-25) for the first time this season.

Witt leads streaking Royals

Bobby Witt Jr. hit a pair of home runs and drove in six runs as the Kansas City Royals extended their winning streak to five with a 10-3 rout of the Detroit Tigers.

Witt hit a 468-foot, three-run homer in the second inning off Casey Mize and added a solo shot leading off the sixth. He also had an RBI single in the first and a sacrifice fly in the third.

Kansas City had six extra-base hits and has at least one in all 50 games this season, one game shy of the franchise record set in 1978.

Maikel Garcia tied a career high with four hits and scored three runs. He extended his hitting streak to nine games.

Guardians edge Mets to stay hot

Jose Ramirez homered and drove in three runs and the Cleveland Guardians held on for their fifth straight victory, 7-6 over the New York Mets.

David Fry added his first career pinch-hit home run as the Guardians won their sixth in a row at home and improved the majors’ fourth-best record to 32-17.

Ramirez has driven in 34 runs in his last 34 games to take over the American League lead with 44.

Jeff McNeil and Starling Marte hit two-run homers and Mark Vientos had a solo blast for the Mets, who have lost the first two games of the series to drop to 3-9 since May 10.

Nick Sandlin got two outs in the fifth in relief of starter Xzavion Curry for the win and Emmanuel Clase worked the ninth for his MLB-best 15th save in 18 chances.

New York Yankees lead-off hitter Anthony Volpe started off Thursday's game against the Minnesota Twins with a home run.

That was all the run support Clarke Schmidt would need.

Schmidt pitched a career-high eight innings and the Yankees completed a three-game sweep of the Twins with a 5-0 win.

Schmidt permitted three hits without a walk while striking out eight as New York won for the 10th time in 12 games to become the first AL club to 30 wins.

The Yankees (30-15) posted back-to-back shutouts at Minnesota and extended their scoreless streak to 26 innings dating to the first inning of Tuesday's series opener.

Volpe's homer sparked a three-run first inning for New York, which outscored Minnesota 14-1 in the three games.

Aaron Judge and Gleyber Torres each hit two doubles, while Anthony Rizzo, Austin Wells and Alex Verdugo all drove in one run.

The Twins (24-19) entered this series with only three losses in their previous 20 games before promptly being swept for the first time since April 15-17, at Baltimore.

Mets score two in 11th to edge Phillies

J.D. Martinez hit a go-ahead single in the 11th and later scored on a wild pitch to provide the final margin as the New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies to avoid a four-game sweep in the home-and-home series.

The Phillies sent the game into extras after Bryson Stott tied the game with a single off Mets closer Edwin Díaz in the 9th.

It marked the second straight blown save for Díaz and his third in four opportunities since May 5.

Pete Alonso opened the scoring with a first-inning homer for the Mets (20-23), who had lost to the Phillies at home on Monday and Tuesday and then lost the opener of the two-game series in Phildelphia on Wednesday.

In a scheduling quirk, these teams played four consecutive games split between New York and Philadelphia, as part of the arrangement with the teams playing a two-game set in London on June 8-9.

Kyle Schwarber and Alec Bohm each had run-scoring doubles for the NL East-leading Phillies (31-14), who lost for only the fourth time in 20 games.

De La Cruz runs wild as Reds blank Dodgers

Elly De La Cruz had four hits, three runs and four stolen bases as the visiting Cincinnati Reds beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-2 in their series opener.

De La Cruz now has a major league-leading 30 steals - 13 more than the next-closest player (Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Jose Caballero).

Playing in Cincinnati's 44th game, he is the fastest player to 30 steals since 1996, when Kenny Lofton reached 30 steals in Cleveland's 41st game.

De La Cruz had has many hits as the Dodgers (29-17), who have now totalled one run in their last two games to lose consecutive games for the first time since April 19-20.

The Reds (19-25), who ended up using seven pitchers during a bullpen day, won for the second time in three games after going just 1-11 in their previous 12.

Zack Short broke a scoreless tie with a run-scoring double in the sixth inning, and Reynaldo Lopez and three Atlanta relievers combined on a five-hitter as the Braves opened a three-game series with the Chicago Cubs with Monday's 2-0 win.

Ronald Acuna Jr. plated Short with a single as the Braves scored both of the game's lone runs against reliever Hayden Wesneski, who replaced Shota Imanaga after the Japanese lefty tossed five scoreless innings to deliver another effective start in his debut MLB season.

Imanaga scattered seven hits and struck out eight to lower his MLB-leading ERA to 0.96. The offseason addition extended his team record with an eighth consecutive start of allowing two earned runs or fewer to begin his major league career.

Lopez was just as good while also not factoring in the decision, as the right-hander yielded just two hits and a pair of walks over five innings. Ray Kerr (2-0) received the win with two scoreless innings in relief of Lopez.

Wesneski (2-2) took over in the sixth and struck out the first two Atlanta batters before giving up a double to Travis d'Arnaud. Short, starting at third base with Austin Riley dealing with left-side tightness, then laced a double into the right field corner to put the Braves ahead.

Acuna followed with a single to left to extend the lead to 2-0.

The Cubs threatened in the ninth by putting their first two runners on, but A.J. Minter worked out of the jam to notch his first save of the season and close out the Braves' fifth win in six games.

Stott the hero as Phillies rally past Mets in 10 innings

Bryson Stott ignited a ninth-inning rally with a solo homer, then drove in the go-ahead run in the 10th as the Philadelphia Phillies rallied for a 5-4 win over the rival New York Mets.

The Phillies trailed 4-2 entering the ninth before scoring twice off Mets closer Edwin Diaz, who forced in the tying run by hitting Alec Bohm with a pitch with the bases loaded.

Stott started the comeback with a lead-off homer and pinch-hitter Kody Clemens followed with a single before Diaz issued a pair of walks to load the bases with two out. The two-time All-Star then hit Bohm in the forearm on an 0-2 count to bring in Clemens and force extra innings.

In the 10th, designated runner Bryce Harper advanced from second to third on a wild pitch from Sean Reid-Foley before crossing the plate on Stott's sacrifice fly.

Jose Alvarado then kept the Mets scoreless in the bottom of the 10th to record his eighth save and give the National League-leading Phillies a victory to start this four-game, home-and-home series.

Stott scored the game's first run after reaching on a single in the top of the second inning and later coming home on Garrett Stubbs' infield hit.

The Mets answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning, as Pete Alonso and J.D. Martinez had back-to-back doubles off Philadelphia starter Cristopher Sanchez to tie the game before Tomas Nido brought in Martinez with a single.

Starling Marte doubled off Sanchez in the third and later scored on a bases-loaded walk to Martinez to increase the Mets' lead to 3-1. It remained that way until the top of the seventh, when the Phillies put two aboard on singles by Edmundo Sosa and Brandon Marsh in front of Johan Rojas' run-producing groundout.

New York restored a two-run advantage in its half of the seventh when Alonso scored on Bohm's error on a grounder hit to third off the bat of Tyrone Taylor.

Martinez finished 3 for 4 with two RBIs in the Mets' sixth loss in nine games. Philadelphia has now won 10 of its last 12.

Ramirez's four RBIs helps Guardians extend Rangers' skid

Jose Ramirez went 2 for 3 and drove in four runs as the Cleveland Guardians extended the Texas Rangers' losing streak to a season-high four games with Monday's 7-0 victory.

Ramirez knocked in two of Cleveland's four runs in the eighth inning that broke a scoreless tie as the American League Central leaders took the opener of this three-game series.

The game featured a pitching duel between Cleveland's Tanner Bibee and Texas' Michael Lorenzen, who held the Guardians to one hit through seven innings before the visitors broke through against the Rangers' bullpen in the eighth.

Jose Leclerc (3-3) relieved Lorenzen and was greeted by a double from Estevan Florial, who scored on Brayan Rocchio's single two batters later for a 1-0 Cleveland lead.

The Guardians then loaded the bases on a walk and a single before Ramirez drove in two with a base hit to extend the margin. Texas reliever Jacob Latz later forced in another run with a wild pitch that allowed Andres Gimenez to score from third.

Cleveland tacked on three more runs in the ninth on Gimenez's RBI double and another two-run single from Ramirez.

Bibee allowed just three hits and two walks before being removed with one out in the sixth. 

Ranger Suarez continued his stellar start with seven scoreless innings and was backed by home runs from Nick Castellanos and Johan Rojas in the Philadelphia Phillies’ 8-2 win over the Miami Marlins on Friday.

Suarez allowed three hits with nine strikeouts and two walks to become the first seven-game winner in the majors. His 1.50 ERA is the second lowest in MLB.

Rojas and J.T. Realmuto each had three of Philadelphia’s 15 hits, while Bryce Harper had two with an RBI double.

The major league-leading Phillies have won 12 of their last 14 games.

Castellanos took Trevor Rogers deep in the second inning and Rojas added an RBI single later in the inning. He homered off reliever Eli Villalobos in the seventh to make it 7-0.

The Marlins dropped to 10-30 on the season and 1-6 since trading second baseman Luis Arraez to San Diego.

Arraez lifts Padres with walk-off hit

Luis Arraez singled home the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the San Diego Padres a 2-1 victory, ending the Los Angeles Dodgers’ seven-game winning streak.

Playing his first home game since he was acquired from Miami last Saturday, Arraez lined a single to center to score pinch-runner Tyler Wade with one out.

Padres starter Michael King struck out 11 and held the Dodgers to just two hits in seven scoreless innings.

Counterpart Tyler Glasnow was nearly as good, yielding his only hit over seven innings on Luis Campusano’s third-inning home run and striking out 10 for the third time in four outings.

The Padres have won seven of nine to move back over .500 (21-20).

Twins defeat Blue Jays to stay hot

Carlos Santana homered to snap a fifth-inning tie and Joe Ryan pitched one-run ball over seven innings to lead the surging Minnesota Twins to a 3-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Carlos Correa had two hits and two runs to help the Twins win for the 16th time in 18 games.

Ryan limited the Blue Jays to one hit without a walk and struck out seven for his first victory in three starts. Jhoan Duran worked the eighth and Griffin Jax pitched the ninth for his fifth save.

Santan’s home run off Yusei Kikuchi gave Minnesota at least one in 18 consecutive games in Toronto, extending the second-longest such streak in team history.

Isaiah Kiner-Falefa had a home run among his three hits as Toronto lost for the sixth time in eight games.

Shohei Ohtani's major league-leading 11th home run of the season helped make Walker Buehler's return to the mound a winning one for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who posted a 6-3 victory over the Miami Marlins on Monday.

The Dodgers homered four times in all to take the opener of this three-game series and extend their winning streak to five games. Ohtani and James Outman delivered two-run blasts, while Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernandez had solo shots for the reigning National League West champions.

Making his first MLB start since June 2022 after recovering from the second Tommy John surgery of his career, Buehler did not factor in the decision while allowing three runs on six hits with four strikeouts in four innings.

Buehler's return began in a rocky way, as Jazz Chisholm Jr. opened the game with a single before stealing second and scoring on Bryan De La Cruz's base hit. De La Cruz later scored on Jesus Sanchez's single for a 2-0 Miami lead.

The Dodgers quickly pulled even, as Ohtani followed a lead-off walk to Mookie Betts in the bottom of the first with his fourth homer in three games. Two pitches later, Freeman connected off Miami starter Roddery Munoz to put Los Angeles in front.

Nick Gordon's solo homer off Buehler in the second tied the score once again, but Outman sent Los Angeles back ahead in the bottom of the inning with his blast to center that followed a walk to Gavin Lux.

Hernandez's ninth homer of the season increased the lead to 6-3 in the third, and relievers Ryan Yarbrough, Blake Treinen and Alex Vesia combined for five scoreless innings to protect Los Angeles' advantage.

Chisholm and Sanchez each had two hits for the Marlins. Munoz allowed all six Los Angeles runs in 4 2/3 innings of work.

Wheeler, Harper help scorching Phillies finish sweep of Giants

Zack Wheeler struck out 11 over seven innings, Bryce Harper belted a three-run homer for a second consecutive game, and the torrid Philadelphia Phillies completed a four-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants with a 6-1 victory.

Wheeler allowed one unearned run and four hits in a dominant effort that gave Philadelphia its sixth straight win and 10th in a row at home. The Phillies have now won 10 of their last 11 overall and improved to 17-3 since April 15.

The Phillies did have one streak end, however, as Alec Bohm went 0 for 4 to end a run of 18 straight games with at least one hit.

Giants starter Mason Black, making his major league debut, kept the Phillies off the board until the rookie issued back-to-back walks in the fourth inning and gave up a run-scoring single to Whit Merrifield.

Black ran into greater trouble in the fifth, as Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto began Philadelphia's half of the inning with singles before Harper launched a pitch into the left field seats for a 4-0 lead.

The Giants got their only run in the sixth when Thairo Estrada reached on an error, moved to third on LaMonte Wade Jr.'s single and scored on Wilmer Flores's sacrifice fly.

Schwarber capped the scoring with a solo homer off reliever Tyler Rogers in the eighth.

Black lasted 4 1/3 innings and permitted five runs on eight hits while walking three. 

Twins bounce back, win series opener against Mariners

Simeon Woods Richardson allowed just one hit over six scoreless innings for the Minnesota Twins, who scored twice in the seventh inning to earn a 3-1 win over the Seattle Mariners to open a four-game series.

Carlos Correa went 2 for 4 with an RBI double to help Minnesota get back on track following Sunday's 9-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox, which ended the Twins' 12-game winning streak.

Seattle's Luis Castillo held the Twins to one run through six innings, but was touched for two in the seventh as Minnesota broke a 1-1 tie.

Castillo walked Max Kepler to start the Twins' half of the inning and Correa followed with his second double of the night to put two on. Correa advanced to third on a fielder's choice grounder as Kepler was thrown out at the plate, then scored the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly from Christian Vasquez.

Manuel Margot then greeted reliever Trent Thornton with a run-scoring single that extended the lead to 3-1.

Woods Richardson recorded a career-high eight strikeouts while yielding just a third-inning single to Mitch Garver and a walk to Cal Raleigh in the fifth. The right-hander exited with a 1-0 lead, but reliever Griffin Jax surrendered two hits and a walk in the seventh before Garver got Seattle on the board with a sac fly that plated former Twin Jorge Polanco.

The Twins had gone ahead in the fifth on back-to-back doubles from Kepler and Correa, the first hits Castillo surrendered during the game.

Castillo allowed just three hits overall in 6 2/3 innings, but did walk three and was charged with three runs - two earned - to take the loss.