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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Philadelphia hit back

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

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

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

Dodgers blanked at home

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

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

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

The New York Mets won a barnburner on Sunday as they came from behind in the ninth inning to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 10-9 on the road.

It looked early on like it would be a fun night for the Philly fans in attendance, with the hosts jumping ahead 3-0 through a three-run Alec Bohm home run before they recorded a single out.

Philadelphia ended up with their first five batters reaching base, and Nick Maton batted in the fourth run of the frame with his single.

The Mets showed fight in the middle innings, with Michael Perez bringing in two runs with his base hit in the second, before Daniel Vogelbach trimmed the margin to one with his RBI double in the third, and Starling Marte tied things at 4-4 in the fourth with a single.

Just when the Phillies started to feel the pressure, Bohm came through with his second three-run homer of the night to jump back ahead 7-4 later in the fourth inning, and that score would hold until the seventh.

After Pete Alonso and Tyler Naquin got on base, Mets left-fielder Mark Canha tied things up with a single swing as his 345-foot shot barely scraped over the left-field wall, and there were plenty of fireworks still to come.

Jean Segura sent the home fans into raptures with his solo home run in the eighth inning, giving the Philles an 8-7 lead, before Canha delivered once again, connecting on a two-run shot for his second home run of the game. Brandon Nimmo then launched his own solo homer to add one more insurance run for the Mets.

That extra tally would be needed, as the Phillies were able to score once in the ninth inning through a sacrifice fly, but they could not manufacture a 10th run to force extra innings.

Bohm finished with six RBIs and Canha had five, while eight more players had multiple hits as the two sides combined for 30 knocks.

Yankees steady the ship

The New York Yankees collected a much-needed 4-2 victory at home against the Toronto Blue Jays, avoiding a series sweep, although they have now lost six consecutive series after dropping the first three games.

New York had won three of their past 17 games entering Sunday's contest, and they benefited from a strong start by pitcher Nestor Cortes, who finished with one earned run from three hits and one walk in his six innings.

With the bat, D.J. LeMahieu batted in two of the four runs, although one was not credited as an RBI due to a fielding error, before newly acquired lead-off hitter Andrew Benintendi came through with the scores tied at 2-2 with his first home run as a Yankee to grab the winning break.

Lou Trivino shut the door out of the bullpen, pitching the last two-and-a-third innings for the Yankees, giving up just one walk and no hits.

Ohtani struggles on the mound

A disappointing pitching performance from Shohei Ohtani doomed the Los Angeles Angels to a 4-0 away loss against the Detroit Tigers.

Ohtani, who has struck out no fewer than five batters in each of his past 11 starts – averaging 9.1 per game over that span – finished with just two strikeouts as he was only able to make it through four innings, making it his second-shortest start since April.

He allowed five hits, but a season-high four walks in a showing that got off to the worst possible start, with Tigers lead-off hitter Riley Greene sending Ohtani's very first pitch of the game 448 feet over the right-field wall.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are the first National League team in 100 years to win 12 consecutive games by multiple runs after they hammered the Kansas City Royals 13-3 away from home on Saturday.

Fans were still finding their seats when Dodgers lead-off hitter Mookie Betts opened the scoring from the fifth pitch of the game, connecting on a 421-foot home run.

It was the first of five runs from the Los Angeles side in the opening frame, with Max Muncy, Justin Turner and Gavin Lux also driving in runs.

Dodgers catcher Will Smith added another couple of tallies with a two-run homer an inning later to establish a 7-0 lead early, and after the Royals snatched two runs back through a Michael Massey triple later in the second, Lux homered in the third and Muncy homered in the fourth to open up a 10-2 buffer.

Cody Bellinger and Joey Gallo gave Dodgers fans who stuck around for the ninth inning a treat, with another two home runs putting the icing on the cake.

Muncy finished with four hits and four RBIs, while Betts went three-for-four at the plate and both Smith and Lux picked up a pair of hits.

Starting on the mound for Los Angeles, Andrew Heaney made it through three innings before he was forced to leave the game early, suffering a contusion in his throwing forearm.

The last National League team to match the Dodgers' feat were the 1922 Pittsburgh Pirates, who had their 13-game multi-run winning streak snapped exactly 100 years ago to the day.

DeGrom dominates the Phillies

New York Mets ace and arguably the best pitcher in all of baseball Jacob deGrom looked at the peak of his powers in his third start of the season, holding the Philadelphia Phillies scoreless through six innings in a 1-0 win.

DeGrom retired 18 of the 20 batters he faced, striking out 10 and making it through his six innings in an efficient 76 pitches. 

The game's only run came in the first inning, with Pete Alonso's base hit scoring Starling Marte, as Phillies starter Aaron Nola also pitched beautifully, going eight full innings with eight strikeouts, allowing one run from four hits and a walk.

Kiner-Falefa the unlikely Yankees hero

The New York Yankees will have a chance to win their three-game series away from home against the Boston Red Sox tomorrow after coming back to win 3-2.

After dropping the first game of their slate 3-2 in extra innings yesterday, the Yankees were in danger of losing their fourth series in a row when they trailed 2-0, before Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit a two-run shot in the fifth inning for his first home run of the season.

With the scores still tied at 2-2 in the last frame, Kiner-Falefa came through again as he was able to bunt for a hit while bringing home Andrew Benintendi from third base. From his 103 games this season, it is only the second time he has collected three RBIs.

The Philadelphia Phillies will be sweating on the availability of All-Star slugger Kyle Schwarber after he was forced out of Thursday's 3-0 loss to the Miami Marlins due to a mild right calf strain.

The 2021 and 2022 All-Star, who leads the National League (NL) with 34 home runs this season, was pulled out after earning a walk in the fifth inning having experienced tightness throughout the game.

The injury concern comes ahead of the Phillies' series against the NL East-leading New York Mets which begins on Friday.

"I probably won't play [on Friday]," Schwarber told reporters. "I will do as much work as possible and try to get back as quickly as possible.

"I want to be quick as I can but also don't want to do anything that's outrageous to hurt the team and be down an extended amount of time, too.

"It’s something I've been managing. It wasn't anything serious. Today it just got tighter and tighter and tighter, and I just felt like if there was a ball that fell on the field, I wouldn’t be able to serve."

The Phillies currently occupy the second NL Wild Card spot, having won 12 of their past 14 games.

Philadelphia holds a 62-49 record, behind the Atlanta Braves (66-46) in the NL Wild Card race, with the San Diego Padres (63-51) and the Milwaukee Brewers (60-50) next behind them.

The Houston Astros received a big boost from new recruit Trey Mancini as he blasted a pair of home runs, punctuated by a grand slam, in his side's 9-3 away win against the Cleveland Guardians on Friday.

Mancini, who was acquired from the Baltimore Orioles this past week, has now hit a home run in each of his two starts for his new club. In doing so, he became the first player in the modern era to hit a home run in his first two starts for his first two teams, after also accomplishing the feat back when he began with the O's.

He struck first in the second inning, tying the game at 1-1 after Amed Rosario hit his own home run to begin the game for the Guardians, and Mancini's second home run of the game came with bases loaded in the third frame for the first grand slam of his career.

Arguably the best hitter in baseball this season Yordan Alvarez went two-for-five and notched his 73rd RBI for the season – the seventh most in the league – and his future Hall-of-Fame teammate Jose Altuve tallied one RBI from his three hits.

On the mound, Framber Valdez secured his 18th consecutive 'quality start' – defined by a pitcher going at least six innings while conceding three or fewer runs – finishing with three earned runs from seven hits and three walks in his six-and-a-third innings.

He now leads the league with 19 quality starts, and his streak of 18 consecutive is the longest since Jacob deGrom rattled off 26 in a row beginning in May 2018.

The win moves the Astros' record to 70-38 – one game behind the New York Yankees for the best record in the American League.

Yankees, Holmes blow late lead 

The New York Yankees led nearly the entire game before eventually falling 4-3 to the St Louis Cardinals, courtesy of a blown save from All-Star reliever Clay Holmes.

Josh Donaldson drove in a pair of runs for the Yankees, while AL MVP favourite Aaron Judge collected two hits and came home to score twice, giving their side a 3-2 lead heading into the eighth inning.

Determined to take no risks, the Yankees brought in Holmes an inning early to try and get to the ninth inning with their lead still in tact, but it was not to be as Holmes conceded a walk and two hits, the second being a two-run double from Paul deJong to steal the lead.

Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley made no such mistakes, closing the door and collecting the save.

Gibson produces near-perfect start for the Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Kyle Gibson had a perfect game through six innings in his side's 7-2 win against the Washington Nationals.

Gibson retired the first 18 batters he faced, striking out three as he relied on strong fielding behind him to accumulate quick outs. His bid for a perfect game was eventually broken up by a hit-by-pitch to begin the seventh frame, and a single from the next batter ended the no-hitter.

He finished with one earned run from two hits and one walk in eight complete innings, while Kyle Schwarber hit his 34th home run of the season to help on the offensive side of the ball. Only Judge has more home runs this season than Schwarber.

Seeking to end the longest active postseason drought of any National League team, the Philadelphia Phillies acquired a pair of former All-Star pitchers in Noah Syndergaard and David Robertson at Tuesday’s MLB trade deadline.

Syndergaard’s acquisition was one of two separate trades the Phillies struck with the Los Angeles Angels, as the teams agreed to a swap earlier in the day that sent young outfielder Brandon Marsh to Philadelphia.

The Phillies were among the most aggressive teams at the deadline as they attempt to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2011. Only the Seattle Mariners, whose last postseason appearance came in 2001, have a longer active streak of missing the playoffs.

Philadelphia entered the day a game ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals for the NL’s third and final wild card spot, and are 33-18 since Rob Thomson replaced Joe Girardi as manager on June 3, the third-highest winning percentage in MLB over that period.

"I think we’re a lot better ballclub," Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told MLB.com. "We’ve got a tough division and tough people who are in the race, but I think we’re better.

"We tried to address certain areas, knowing that we’re getting [second baseman Jean] Segura back soon. And [2021 NL MVP Bryce] Harper is making progress, which is very encouraging."

Dombrowski sent outfielder Mickey Moniak – the number-one overall pick of the 2016 draft – and minor league outfielder Jadiel Sanchez to the Angels for Syndergaard, an All-Star with the New York Mets in 2016 who has had a bounce-back year after missing nearly the entire 2020 and 2021 seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery.

The hard-throwing right-hander has remained healthy this season and has posted a solid 3.83 ERA and 1.21 WHIP in 15 starts. Syndergaard signed a one-year, $21 million contract with the Angels in November.

Robertson, obtained from the Chicago Cubs for Double-A pitcher Ben Brown, has put together a strong comeback season of his own at age 37. The veteran reliever has held opposing hitters to a .162 average while going 3-0 with a 2.23 ERA and 14 saves in 36 appearances.

The 2011 AL All-Star previously pitched in seven games for the Phillies in 2019 before undergoing Tommy John surgery and missing all of the following season. Robertson began the 2021 campaign out of the majors before signing with the Tampa Bay Rays last August.

Philadelphia traded catcher Logan O’Hoppe – the organisation’s No. 3 overall prospect according to MLB.com – to the Angels in exchange for Marsh, who could take over as the Phillies’ center fielder.

The 24-year-old has hit just .226 with eight home runs and eight stolen bases in 93 games this season, but has received high marks for his defensive abilities.

"He is one of the best defenders in baseball in center field," Thomson said. "Obviously, that’s an upgrade. He can run. He’s just a grinder, gamer type of guy. He’s hit in the past. He hasn’t hit lately, but I think there’s some stuff that [hitting coach] Kevin [Long] can do to help him out."

Odubel Herrera, who has started a team-high 43 games in center field, was designated for assignment following Marsh’s addition. Herrera was hitting just .215 with a .550 OPS since June 1.

The Philadelphia Phillies rode a strong starting pitching performance from Zack Wheeler to an 8-4 road victory against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday.

All nine Phillies batters finished with at least one hit – racking up 15 total hits as a team – and it got started in the first inning as Darick Hall made it a 2-0 game with his two-run triple. Nick Castellanos then drove in Hall with a base hit to make it 3-0 in the opening frame.

Wheeler never gave the Pirates a chance to fight back into the contest, holding the home side scoreless until late in the seventh inning. He finished with two earned runs from three hits and three walks, striking out eight.

After Alec Bohm's base hit to make it 4-0 in the second inning, there was a lull in the action until Kyle Schwarber made his presence known in the sixth frame.

With two runners on base, Schwarber connected on his 32nd home run of the season, trailing only Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees.

The Pirates rallied hard in the last inning, scoring five runs from four hits off Jeurys Familia, but there was not much to cheer about up until that point, except for an exciting showing from rookie Cal Mitchell.

Mitchell delivered the only runs for his side in the first eight innings with his towering 414-foot, two-run homer to center-field off Wheeler. He finished three-for-four at the plate, also adding a pair of singles.

Judge does it again for the Yankees

Aaron Judge won the New York Yankees another game off his bat as he blasted the game-winning, walk-off home run to defeat the Kansas City Royals 1-0 at home.

Both sides pitched beautifully, with Royals starter Brady Singer giving up just one hit while striking out 10 in seven innings, while Yankees starter Jameson Taillon struck out eight batters in six scoreless frames.

The home run was Judge's league-leading 39th of the season – seven more than any other player.

Angels blow another Ohtani gem

The Los Angeles Angels wasted another terrific starting pitching performance from two-way All-Star Shohei Ohtani, going down 2-0 at home to the Texas Rangers.

Ohtani struck out 11 batters in six innings, giving up two runs from eight hits in his 10th quality start (meaning at least six innings pitched and three or fewer earned runs) of the season. He now has 145 strikeouts for the season – the sixth most in the majors, and the five players ahead of him have all started at least two more contests.

Only Atlanta Braves rookie Spencer Strider (13.4) has a higher strikeouts-per-nine-innings stat than Ohtani's 13.1.

The Philadelphia Phillies rode an improbable five-RBI night from struggling young shortstop Bryson Stott to defeat the reigning champion Atlanta Braves 6-4 on Monday.

Both starting pitchers performed well, with Braves ace Max Fried striking out eight batters in six innings, allowing three earned runs, while Phillies starter Ranger Suarez gave up no earned runs in five frames.

However, despite Suarez's effectiveness on the mound, the Braves still scored three unearned runs in the second inning, with a fielding error allowing two runs to score, and then a wild pitch bringing home the third.

Later in the second inning, Stott put the Phillies on the board with a clutch two-out, two-run double, and then catcher J.T. Realmuto tied the game at 3-3 in the third frame with his RBI single.

The Braves edged back in front in the sixth through Marcel Ozuna's RBI hit – one of three hits on the night for the left-fielder – and that lead would hold until the bottom of the eighth inning.

With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Alec Bohm and Yairo Munoz knocked singles to get on base, bringing Stott to the plate for his big moment. He connected on a 378-foot home run to right field, making him responsible for five of the Phillies' six runs.

24-year-old Stott is having a rough season so far – with a batting average of .196 – but this was his fourth multi-hit outing from his last 10 starts, batting .355 over that stretch.

Despite the loss, it was still a strong showing from Braves power bat Austin Riley, who hit a pair of doubles to bring his doubles total to 25 this season – good for 10th in the majors.

India's grand slam lifts Reds 

Jonathan India's first career grand slam was the highlight of a dominant 11-2 win for the Cincinnati Reds against the Miami Marlins.

The Reds led narrowly 3-2 in the fourth inning, but the game got out of hand quickly after Brandon Drury blasted a three-run home run – continuing his vastly improved season that could see him traded to a contender.

An inning later, India blew things out with his 409-foot, no-doubt grand slam for the designated hitter's sixth long-ball of the season.

Soto show rolls into LA

The man being discussed as arguably the most valuable trade asset in MLB history, Juan Soto, flashed the skills that have put him in the position to turn down a $440million contract.

Soto batted in a pair of runs from his two hits in the Washington Nationals' 4-1 win away against the Los Angeles Dodgers, only a week after winning the Home Run Derby in the same stadium.

He did not send any balls over the fence in this one, but he hooked a two-run triple down the right-field line to give his side some breathing room in the fifth inning.

New York Mets star pitcher Max Scherzer appeared back to his best in Monday's 4-1 win against the reigning champion Atlanta Braves in his second game back from injury.

Scherzer, who struck out 11 batters against the Cincinnati Reds last week in his return from six weeks on the sidelines, was a match-winner against the Braves, striking out nine while only allowing three hits and no walks in seven innings.

The Mets jumped out to a lead in the third inning through Pete Alonso's RBI double, before Alonso came around to score and make it 2-0 off Luis Guillorme's ground-out.

Those would be the only two runs from the first six innings, with Atlanta's one and only run coming from a solo homer in the seventh inning from Austin Riley as Scherzer approached 90 pitches, ultimately finishing his day with 93.

Guillorme drove home his second run in more emphatic fashion in the eighth inning, with his solo home run giving the Mets a 3-1 buffer, before Alonso collected an RBI ground-out in the last frame to seal the win.

Alonso's two RBIs give him a league-leading 72 for the season – six more than any other player – with Colorado Rockies first-baseman C.J. Cron and Cleveland Guardians third-baseman Jose Ramirez tied for second on 66.

With the win, the Mets move to 54-33 for the season, giving them the second-best record in the National League, three games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Mikolas deals on the mound for Cardinals

The St Louis Cardinals came from some early adversity to comfortably defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-1 at home, with Miles Mikolas pitching a strong seven innings.

Mikolas' day started in bumpy fashion, giving up a first-inning home run to Rhys Hoskins, but the Phillies would score no more runs the rest of the way as Mikolas found his footing. He finished with seven-and-a-third innings pitched, giving up six hits and no walks while striking out five.

With the bat, Edmundo Sosa, Andrew Knizner and Corey Dickerson drove in a run each with three consecutive hits in the fifth inning, before Dickerson launched a two-run homer in the seventh and Lars Nootbaar completed the rout with a solo shot in the eighth.

Bobby Witt Jr makes history for Royals

Highly touted rookie Bobby Witt Jr had a spectacular day for the Kansas City Royals as they took both games of their double-header against the Detroit Tigers.

Witt went two-for-four at the plate in the Royals' 3-1 win in the first game, before going four-for-five with a double and a home run in his side's 7-3 victory later in the day.

He became the first player in MLB history to ever have at least six hits, three RBIs and three stolen bases in a double-header sweep.

Los Angeles Angels superstars Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout went a combined six-for-10 from the plate on Friday, but their side still went down 5-4 on the road to the Baltimore Orioles after a ninth-inning collapse.

There were three runs scored in the opening six innings, and all three came from one Mike Trout swing in the third frame, sending a 376-foot shot to left-field to open up a 3-0 lead.

Angels starting pitcher Reid Detmers was spectacular, allowing just two hits and one walk in six scoreless innings, striking out seven batters.

But when Detmers was withdrawn, the Orioles finally found their offense, with Ramon Urias getting them on the board with his RBI single in the seventh inning.

Ryan Mountcastle's RBI base hit an inning later trimmed the lead 3-2, but the game appeared to be put to bed in the top of the ninth inning when Ohtani connected on a 418-foot blast to center-field.

Trailing by two, with two outs in the last inning, the Orioles were able to reduce the margin to one run when rookie Adley Rutschman delivered a clutch RBI double into the gap at right-center.

As the very next batter, Cedric Mullins tied the game when his base hit brought Rutschman in to score, and after a wild pitch put Mullins into scoring position, the comeback was completed as Trey Mancini came through with the Orioles' third consecutive hit to win the game.

Raisel Iglesias takes the loss and the blown save for the Angels, giving up four hits and three earned runs in two-thirds of an inning.

For Ohtani, it was his 19th home run of the campaign – only 12 players have more this season. Trout is one of those 12 players, with his long-ball registering as his 24th, good for fourth in the majors.

Phillies pitchers dominate in St. Louis

Zack Wheeler and Alec Bohm put on a show as the Philadelphia Phillies made some unique history in their 2-0 shutout win against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Wheeler pitched seven rock-solid innings, giving up five hits and one walk without conceding a run, with Seranthony Dominguez and Brad Hand also delivering a scoreless frame each to close it out.

With the bat, Bohm scored both of the Phillies' runs with a solo home run in the sixth inning, and then another in the eighth inning.

It was the first time in MLB history that a team has won 2-0 with a multi-homer game by a player eighth or ninth in their side's batting order.

Yankees smack the Red Sox

The New York Yankees have won the first two fixtures of their four-game road series against the Boston Red Sox, hammering the home side 12-5.

Despite a poor outing from Yankees starter Nestor Cortes, where he was withdrawn in the fourth inning after giving up eight hits and two walks for four runs, the Yankees' bats were able to pick up the slack.

Aaron Judge went a disappointing zero-for-five at the plate, but Matt Carpenter and Josh Donaldson were able to hit home runs, and the Yankees racked up 14 hits as a team, although the Red Sox also had 13.

D.J. LeMahieu, Carpenter, Gleyber Torres, Aaron Hicks and Jose Trevino all finished with multi-hit games for the pinstripes as they extended their league-leading record to 61-23 – six games clear of the second-placed Houston Astros.

Reigning National League MVP Bryce Harper has vowed to return this season but declined to commit to a timeframe following a thumb injury.

The Philadelphia Phillies star was ruled out indefinitely late last month after fracturing his left thumb against the San Diego Padres when struck by a 97mph fastball from pitcher Blake Snell.

Harper, 29, has since had three pins put in the thumb, with his hand in a cast.

"I don't want to give anybody a timetable because I don't know," Harper told reporters on Tuesday.

"If I knew a specific date that I'd be back, I'd tell you. I just don't think it's fair to anybody.

"I'll be back when I'm ready to go."

There is hope that Harper can return as a designated hitter for the Phillies, who are currently 43-38 in the NL East.

"I don't want to hope or think about anything," Harper said.

"I just want to go day by day and be back when I can, whenever I feel healthy, whenever that is to help this team win.

"Granted, if we're out of it, I'm going to come back and play no matter what, just so I know that I can go out there and play the game. I don't want that to be my last day playing this year.

"No matter what the outcome, I'm going to come back and I'll be playing."

Harper is hitting .318 with 15 home runs, 48 RBIs and a .984 OPS this season.

Nolan Arenado sparked a record string of home runs and hit the game-winning drive for the St. Louis Cardinals, in their 7-6 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday.

With two outs in the first inning, Arenado, Nolan Gorman, Juan Yepez and Dylan Carson sent Phillies starting pitcher Kyle Gibson deep, making it the first time in MLB history a team connected for four straight home runs in the opening frame.

The game was tied at 6-6 in the ninth inning when Arenado hit another home run, this time sending Seranthony Dominguez over left field.

Arenado's game-winning performance from four at-bats was impressive enough in isolation, before considering it was backing up from hitting for cycle in Friday's 5-3 defeat to the Phillies.

The Cardinals moved to within a game of the National League Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers, moving their record for the season to 44-36.

Yankees sweep Guardians in double-header 

The New York Yankees are running away with the American League East, taking both games in a double-header against the Cleveland Guardians.

Matt Carpenter homered twice in the opening 13-4 win, before Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton hit consecutive home runs and Nestor Cortes shut the Guardians down for six innings, for the 6-1 win in the later game.

The Yankees are 25-6 since May 31, holding a seven-game lead over the Houston Astros in the AL and at 58-21, hold the franchise's second-best record over 79 games.

Freeman leads Dodgers to victory

Freddie Freeman continued his strong form for the Los Angeles Dodgers, hitting the first of three home runs in the opening inning of their 7-2 victory over the San Diego Padres.

Freeman, who leads the Dodgers for OBP at .391 for the season, hit his sixth home run since the start of June after sending Yu Darvish deep. Will Smith and Justin Turner then followed up with solo shots off Darvish to set up the victory.

The Dodgers are now one off 50 wins for the season, moving to 49-28 and extending their lead in the NL over the New York Mets to 1.5 games.

Nolan Arenado sparked a record string of home runs and hit the game-winning drive for the St. Louis Cardinals, in their 7-6 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday.

With two outs in the first inning, Arenado, Nolan Gorman, Juan Yepez and Dylan Carson sent Phillies starting pitcher Kyle Gibson deep, making it the first time in MLB history a team connected for four straight home runs in the opening frame.

The game was tied at 6-6 in the ninth inning when Arenado then hit another home run, this time sending Seranthony Dominguez over left field.

Arenado's game-winning performance from four at-bats was impressive enough in isolation, before considering it was backing up from hitting for cycle in Friday's 5-3 defeat to the Phillies.

The Cardinals moved to within a game of the National League Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers, moving their record for the season to 44-36.

Yankees sweep Guardians in double-header 

The New York Yankees are running away with the American League East, taking both games in a double-header against the Cleveland Guardians.

Matt Carpenter homered twice in the opening 13-4 win, before Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton hit consecutive home runs and Nestor Cortes shut the Guardians down for six innings, for the 6-1 win in the later game.

The Yankees are 25-6 since May 31, holding a seven-game lead over the Houston Astros in the AL and at 58-21, hold the franchise's second-best record over 79 games.

Freeman leads Dodgers to victory

Freddie Freeman continued his strong form for the Los Angeles Dodgers, hitting the first of three home runs in the opening inning of their 7-2 victory over the San Diego Padres.

Freeman, who leads the Dodgers for OBP at .391 for the season, hit his sixth home run since the start of June after sending Yu Darvish deep. Will Smith and Justin Turner then followed up with solo shots off Darvish to set up the victory.

The Dodgers are now one off 50 wins for the season, moving to 49-28 and extending their lead in the NL over the New York Mets to 1.5 games.

St Louis Cardinals star Nolan Arenado hit for the cycle on Friday, but it was not enough to get his side over the line as they went down 5-3 against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Both Arenado and teammate Paul Goldschmidt are viewed as MVP candidates this season, and they combined early on to give the Cardinals an early lead. 

In the first inning, Goldschmidt got on base with a single and was driven home by an Arenado triple as the next batter, and then in the third inning after Goldschmidt doubled, Arenado drove him in again with a home run, making it 3-0.

From that point on it would be all Phillies, allowing no runs from just two hits and two walks in the last six innings. The Phillies bullpen would also strike out 10 batters from the Cardinals' last 15 outs as five different relief pitchers collected two strikeouts each.

The fifth inning was the turning point of the contest as Mickey Moniak was able to finally put the Cardinals on the scoreboard with an RBI double, with a Kyle Schwarber RBI ground-out and a Rhys Hoskins sacrifice-fly manufacturing another couple of runs to tie it at 3-3.

Phillies designated hitter Darick Hall maintained an improbable stat, hitting his third home run of the season with a solo shot in the sixth frame. Incredibly, he only has three hits for the season, with all three travelling over the fence.

Arenado also collected the third leg of his cycle in the sixth inning, with a double, meaning he needed a single from his final at-bat to complete the feat. He did so, albeit it with the help of a friendly scoring decision as the third-baseman sailed his throw on Arenado's ground-ball, but it was ruled a hit due to how firmly it was struck.

Hoskins gave the Phillies some breathing room in the seventh with a 406-foot home run, setting up Brad Hand to come in and collect the save.

Brewers beat up the Pirates

The Milwaukee Brewers pounded the Pittsburgh Pirates 19-2 on the road in a game where the visitors had two separate innings with at least seven runs.

Rowdy Tellez finished with five RBIs, Willy Adames collected four RBIs on one swing with his grand slam, while five other Brewers drove in at least one run.

Pirates starter Roansy Contreras was only able to get five outs before he was withdrawn in the second inning, having given up seven earned runs from 52 pitches.

Willy's setting off fireworks in Pittsburgh.

MLB x @DairyQueen pic.twitter.com/55vlZFuPBA

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) July 2, 2022

Ohtani bangs in sole Angels run

Shohei Ohtani hit his 18th home run of the season, but it would be the only run his Los Angeles Angels would score in an 8-1 beating by the Houston Astros.

Ohtani's deep shot came in the very first inning, giving the Angels a 1-0 lead as the third batter of the game, but they would only collect one more hit the rest of the way as Astros starter Cristian Javier produced a career-best performance.

Javier only gave up one hit in his seven innings, while handing out no walks and striking out 14 batters, which ties the league-wide record for most strikeouts in a single game this season. 

Nine years after being selected as the number one pick in the MLB Draft, Mark Appel finally made his major league debut.

Four days after being promoted from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to the Philadelphia Phillies, Appel took the mound on Wednesday, pitching a scoreless ninth inning in a 4-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves.

"It's pretty surreal," Appel said. "I was trying to hold back the tears. It was emotional. It was special."

The right-hander, who turns 31 on July 15, became the oldest top overall pick to make his major league debut when he stepped foot on the rubber to face Marcell Ozuna at Citizens Bank Park.

He got Ozuna to line out to first baseman Rhys Hoskins on his first pitch for his first out.

"Having perspective and remembering even just two, three years ago," Appel said. "Even if I was just trying to come back, it's never been a straight line for me.

"Even in that whole process, I was lost. I felt like there were times when I was hopeless, that this dream would never happen. So yeah, I was choking back tears."

A native of suburban Houston, Appel was selected first overall by the Astros in the 2013 draft and spent three years in the Astros system before being traded to the Phillies in a multi-player deal in December 2015.

He struggled on the mound and battled through injuries in the minors before announcing in early 2018 that he was retiring, saying he was at peace with the decision to step away.

Three years later, Appel returned to the Phillies organisation but again scuffled at Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley in 2021, posting a 6.06 ERA in 23 appearances – 15 starts.

He came out again this past spring and this time excelled – as a full-time reliever. In 19 appearances out of the bullpen for the Iron Pigs, Appel went 5-0 with a 1.61 ERA and 24 strikeouts over 28 innings.

"This whole year has been so special for me," Appel said. "I was coming in, trying to figure out: where do I fit? What's my role going to be?

"The fact I got to go to Lehigh and learn how to be a reliever and have some success, that was fuel to my fire. I didn't need a call-up for it to be a successful year.

"In that sense, this is all just extra. I'm just really thankful for it. And I'm glad that I'm able to go out and do my best and get to face the world champions from last year. It's pretty surreal."

The second batter Appel faced, William Contreras, singled to centre, but on the next batter, Appel notched his first major league strikeout on a 97 mph fastball to Aam Duvall.

After umpire Quinn Wolcott called strike three, catcher J.T. Realmuto tossed the ball to the Phillies dugout for Appel to keep as a memento of his first major league strikeout.

The inning ended one batter later when Appel got Phil Gosselin to hit into a fielder's choice – a grounder to shortstop Didi Gregorius, who tossed it to Bryson Scott.

Appel threw 10 pitches in all – six for strikes – and when he reached the Phillies dugout upon the completion of the inning, he was congratulated by interim manager Rob Thompson and his team-mates.

"It almost felt like I was being brought into this fraternity of Major League Baseball players," Appel said.