The Tampa Bay Rays made MLB history with all nine hitters in their starting line-up being Latin American for the first time in their 11-0 blowout win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday.

The feat occurred on Roberto Clemente Day, the official annual date the MLB holds to coincide with the start of Hispanic Heritage Month. The late Clemente is a Hall of Fame outfielder from Puerto Rico, who was a two-time World Series winner and National League MVP.

The Rays hitters did not let him down either, with Yandy Diaz blasting a three-run homer at the top of the second inning to open up a 4-0 lead. Isaac Paredes launched a solo home run in the seventh inning, while he also had an RBI single.

Rays manager Kevin Cash claimed that he did not realise that he had made history with his side's line-up until halfway through the game.

Meanwhile, the defeat is the Blue Jays' second biggest blowout loss this season, leaving them 81-63 but still well placed in the American League Wild Card race.

Carrasco stars as Mets sink Pirates

Clemente's former side, the Pittsburgh Pirates, were brushed aside 7-1 by the New York Mets, for whom Carlos Carrasco starred.

The Mets 35-year-old right-hander tossed down 11 strikeouts across six innings, allowing only four hits, one earned run and two walks. The win was Carrasco's 15th of the season.

Francisco Lindor crushed a two-run homer into the upper deck for his 24th blast of the season, setting a Mets' single-season record for a short-stop.

Pujols' 700 chase stalls with sac fly

The cameras and phones came out with bases loaded in the ninth inning searching for history, but Albert Pujols could only deliver a sacrifice fly in the St Louis Cardinals' 3-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.

Pujols is three runs shy of becoming only the fourth player in majors' history to blast 700 homers, but he could not add to his tally, although his sac fly to right allowed Brendan Donovan to get home to halve the margin in the ninth.

Corey Dickerson ground out to end the game as the Reds snapped their six-game losing run, with solo blasts from Nick Senzel and Aristides Aquino.

Two-time All-Star Justin Turner hit a pair of home runs to help his Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the San Diego Padres 11-2 on Sunday, giving them three consecutive series wins against their California rivals.

It was a bright start for the Padres, who led 2-0 through four innings of action as Joe Musgrove was pitching well and Jake Cronenworth hit a home run – before it all unravelled.

Turner got the first run on the board for the Dodgers with a solo home run in the fifth inning, before Chris Taylor followed suit two batters later to tie the game at 2-2.

A two-RBI, bases loaded single in the next frame from Max Muncy was the end of Musgrove, who finished with four earned runs from six hits and a walk.

But it was just the beginning for the Dodgers, who added six more runs in the seventh inning, capped off with a grand slam from Turner for his second homer of the game and 13th of the season.

Dodgers starter Andrew Heaney gave another good showing as he finished with two earned runs in five innings, striking out six.

After going four-for-five at the plate on Saturday and two-for-three on Sunday, Freddie Freeman now leads the majors in batting average at .331, and he has hit four more doubles (45) than any other player.

The Dodgers are 7-2 in their nine games against the Padres since the All-Star break, opening up a 20-game lead in the NL West.

Ohtani homers again in Angels loss

Shohei Ohtani is now tied for the fifth-most home runs in the league, with his 34th of the campaign coming in a 12-4 loss against the Houston Astros.

Ohtani – who is also seventh in the league for strikeouts as a pitcher (188 in 24 starts) – connected on his big two-run blast as the second batter of the game, but after teammate Andrew Velazquez put the Angels up 3-0 in the second inning, it would be all downhill from there.

The Astros rattled off the next 12 runs in a row, with home runs to Mauricio Dubon, Alex Bregman, Trey Mancini, Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker, extending their lead atop the American League to five-and-a-half games.

Pujols moves into fourth place on all-time home run list

Albert Pujols inched closer to the magical 700 home run mark on Sunday as he launched number 697 to help his St Louis Cardinals come from behind in the last inning to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3.

Trailing 2-0 in the last inning, a Corey Dickerson RBI double cut the margin to one, before Pujols drilled a high fastball 403 feet over the center-field wall.

Retiring at the end of the season, the 42-year-old seemed incredibly unlikely to reach 700 at the All-Star break, but he has since posted one of the best second halves to a season of his career, hitting 11 home runs in 99 at-bats while slashing .343/.400/.737.

Albert Pujols blasted his 696th career home run to move into equal fourth on the all-time homers list as the St Louis Cardinals defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-5 on Saturday.

Pujols levelled the game at the top of the sixth inning with his two-run blast, which moved him closer to the 700-homer mark, but also tied him up with Alex Rodriguez in fourth all-time behind only Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714).

The 42-year-old is in his final season in the majors, but was less concerned about records and more focused on the win.

"I don't care who I tied," Pujols said. "At the end of the day, it's about tying [the game] for the team and giving them an opportunity to pick up a win... It's pretty special. I think I'm aware of where I am in the history of the game. But at the end of the day, 21 years ago when I make the ballclub, that wasn't something that I was chasing."

Pujols also had a double and a single to round out a strong game, with Nolan Arenado breaking the tie with a three-run double with two outs in the ninth inning.

The National League (NL) Central-leading Cardinals improve their record to 82-58, to remain eight games clear of the Milwaukee Brewers who won 5-1 over the Cincinnati Reds.

Trout makes Angels franchise history

Mike Trout set a franchise record after homering in a sixth consecutive game as the Los Angeles Angels won 6-1 over the Houston Astros.

Trout passed Bonds' mark with a three-run homer at the top of the second inning, bringing up his 34th blast of the season.

Shohei Ohtani was hot on the mound for the Angels, with seven strikeouts, yielding one run on six hits across five innings before exiting early due to a "blister on his right index finger".

Ohtani's 101.4 mph fastball to strike out Kyle Tucker was the fastest strikeout pitch by an Angels pitcher since 2008.

Harper breaks home run drought

Bryce Harper snapped a career-worst run of 102 plate appearances without a home run in the Philadelphia Phillies 8-5 victory over the Washington Nationals.

Harper, who had not homered since June 5, slugged an opposite-field game-tying two-run home run in the third inning.

Kyle Schwarber blasted his 37th homer of the year, topping the NL charts, and bringing up his first since August 29.

Albert Pujols blasted his 696th career home run to move into equal fourth on the all-time homers list as the St Louis Cardinals defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-5 on Saturday.

Pujols levelled the game at the top of the sixth inning with his two-run blast, which moved him closer to the 700-homer mark, but also tied him up with Alex Rodriguez in fourth all-time behind only Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714).

The 42-year-old is in his final season in the majors, but was less concerned about records and more focused on the win.

"I don't care who I tied," Pujols said. "At the end of the day, it's about tying [the game] for the team and giving them an opportunity to pick up a win... It's pretty special. I think I'm aware of where I am in the history of the game. But at the end of the day, 21 years ago when I make the ballclub, that wasn't something that I was chasing."

Pujols also had a double and a single to round out a strong game, with Nolan Arenado breaking the tie with a three-run double with two outs in the ninth inning.

The National League (NL) Central-leading Cardinals improve their record to 82-58, to remain eight games clear of the Milwaukee Brewers who won 5-1 over the Cincinnati Reds.

Trout makes Angels franchise history

Mike Trout set a franchise record after homering in a sixth consecutive game as the Los Angeles Angels won 6-1 over the Houston Astros.

Trout passed Bonds' mark with a three-run homer at the top of the second inning, bringing up his 34th blast of the season.

Shohei Ohtani was hot on the mound for the Angels, with seven strikeouts, yielding one run on six hits across five innings before exiting early due to a "blister on his right index finger".

Ohtani's 101.4 mph fastball to strike out Kyle Tucker was the fastest strikeout pitch by an Angels pitcher since 2008.

Harper breaks home run drought

Bryce Harper snapped a career-worst run of 102 plate appearances without a home run in the Philadelphia Phillies 8-5 victory over the Washington Nationals.

Harper, who had not homered since June 5, slugged an opposite-field game-tying two-run home run in the third inning.

Kyle Schwarber blasted his 37th homer of the year, topping the NL charts, and bringing up his first since August 29.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Benches clear as O's edge Jays

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

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

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

Mets NL setback as Cruz blasts

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yankees go down at Fenway Park

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

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

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

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

Estrada walks it off for the Giants

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pirates win after a three-run Cruz missile

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

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

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

Jacob deGrom returns in Mets loss

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

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

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

The 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.

Trayce Thompson drove in two runs and helped break the game open for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who claimed a four-game series sweep with a 7-4 win against the rival San Francisco Giants on Sunday.

Scores were tied at 4-4 following Darin Ruf's two-run homer off Clayton Kershaw in the fifth inning, as the Giants looked to deny their first sweep at Dodger Stadium since 1995.

Kershaw was ultimately pulled in the fifth, giving up five hits and striking out six over 94 pitches, before Craig Kimbrel eventually came in for his 17th save and the Dodgers' eighth consecutive win.

Jake Lamb's double drove in the go-ahead run the game up for grabs in the seventh inning, before Thompson's drive deep to right-centre scored Max Muncy with his brother and Golden State Warriors star Klay in attendance.

The Dodgers maintained their six-game lead over the New York Mets atop the National League standings, extending their record to 64-30 with the victory.

Judge goes deep again in Yankees win

Aaron Judge hit his fourth home run from his past four games as he continues his outlier season, extending his league-leading home run tally to 37 in the New York Yankees' 6-0 away win against the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday.

After starting the series against the Orioles with two home runs, and following it with four hits and two RBIs yesterday, Judge stayed hot as he connected on a 456-foot blast in the third inning. He now leads the MLB for home runs with 37, seven more than the next best in Kyle Schwarber.

On the mound, Nestor Cortes was at his best for the Yankees, giving up six hits and no walks in six scoreless innings, striking out seven. Clarke Schmidt then came in for the unconventional three-inning save.

Alcantara strikes out 10 for Marlins

Arguably the best pitcher in all of baseball this year, Sandy Alcantara struck out 10 batters as his Miami Marlins defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-5 in extra innings.

In his six innings of work, Alcantara gave up two earned runs from just two hits and three walks, earning his 15th quality start of the season, one off the MLB lead held by Houston's Framber Valdez and Toronto's Alek Manoah.

According to Baseball Reference's Wins Above Replacement (WAR), Alcantara has been the most valuable player in all of baseball this season, and he is the only pitcher in the top-five.

The New York Mets were in the market for a power bat and made a move Friday to acquire left-hander Daniel Vogelbach from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for relief pitcher Colin Holderman.  

Vogelbach, 29, has spent most of his seven-year career as a first baseman, but has primarily served as Pittsburgh's designated hitter this season.  

He is batting .228 with 12 home runs, 38 RBIs and 29 runs in 75 games. His 11 homers from the DH position are tied for the second-most in the National League behind Philadelphia’s Bryce Harper. 

Vogelbach has been especially effective against right-handed pitching, with an .896 OPS, 12 home runs and 27 RBIs.  

His best season came with Seattle in 2019, when he hit 30 home runs with 76 RBIs in 144 games.  

The Mets had to part with Holderman, who is 4-0 with a 2.04 ERA and 18 strikeouts over 17 2/3 innings during an impressive rookie season.  

The Baltimore Orioles took Oklahoma high school shortstop Jackson Holliday with the first overall pick of a 2022 MLB Draft that went top-heavy on sons of former standout players.

Holliday, the son of seven-time All-Star Matt Holliday, went one spot ahead of Georgia prep outfielder Druw Jones, taken by the Arizona Diamondbacks at pick two. Jones’ father, Andruw, made five All-Star teams and earned 10 Gold Gloves over a 17-year career spent mostly with the Atlanta Braves.

With the third overall pick, the Texas Rangers made onetime Vanderbilt hurler Kumar Rocker the first pitcher selected in an unexpected move, with most predictions having him in the teens at the earliest. Rocker was taken 10th overall by the New York Mets last year, but did not sign and spent this season in the independent Frontier League.

Holliday hit .685 in 41 games as a senior at Stillwater High School while setting a national prep record with 89 hits in a season, breaking the mark previously held by Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound left-handed hitter also won two national Gold Glove awards and was named Baseball America’s 2022 High School Player of the Year.

Matt Holliday hit .299 with 316 home runs in 16 major league seasons, mostly spent with the St. Louis Cardinals and Colorado Rockies, winning four Silver Slugger awards and capturing the National League batting title in 2007.

Jackson Holliday has verbally committed to Oklahoma State, where his uncle, Josh Holliday, is the head coach. However, the 18-year-old is expected to sign and enter the pro ranks.

Jones hit .570 with 13 home runs and 32 stolen bases as a senior at Wesleyan High in Peachtree Corners, Ga. The six-foot-four, 180-pound Vanderbilt commit was ranked as this year’s number-one overall draft prospect, one spot ahead of Holliday, by MLB.com.

Rocker, who helped Vanderbilt win the College World Series as a star freshman in 2019, is the second straight former Commodores pitcher taken by the Rangers in the first round. Texas selected Jack Leiter, son of former All-Star pitcher Al Leiter and close friend of Rocker, with the second overall pick of the 2021 draft.

Rounding out the top-five, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected powerfully built high school second-baseman Termarr Johnson at fourth overall, before the Washington Nationals selected IMG Academy outfielder Elijah Green with pick five.

Framber Valdez and Jeremy Pena starred as the Houston Astros claimed their sixth consecutive win on Sunday, defeating the Los Angeles Angels 4-2 on Sunday.

Helping the Astros secure the sweep in a three-game series of divisional ball in the American League West, Valdez struck out a career-high 13 batters in six innings, allowing two runs on three hits and five walks over 107 pitches.

Meanwhile, Angels star Mike Trout did not claim a hit from four at-bats on Sunday, finishing the three-game series on zero-for-11 on nine strike outs.

Astros rookie Pena homered twice on the other hand, with a two-run shot with two outs in the ninth inning off Ryan Tepera walking his side off.

The Astros moved to 51-27 for the season and took full advantage of the AL-leading New York Yankees' loss, moving to within six games.

Guardians combine for one-hitter

The Yankees were kept scoreless by the Cleveland Guardians, who bounced back from Saturday's double-header sweep to win 2-0 on Sunday.

Guardians starting pitcher Triston McKenzie shut the AL-leaders down over seven innings, striking out seven over 92 pitches, with Eli Morgan and Emmanuel Clase cleaning up for a combined one-hitter.

Franmil Reyes drove in both runs for Cleveland, with a solo home run off Jordan Montgomery in the fourth inning before an RBI single in the eighth.

Narvaez nails Thompson for Brewers win

Omar Narvaez propelled the Milwaukee Brewers to their seventh win in the last 10, as they defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-0.

The 2021 All-Star proved the difference in an otherwise tight game, giving the Brewers their two runs with a two-run shot off Zach Thompson in the fifth inning.

Brandon Woodruff was solid on the mound, striking out eight despite six hits to keep the Pirates scoreless over his six innings, as the National League Central leaders moved to 46-35.

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. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Guardians walk it off

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

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

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

Astros beat the Yankees again

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

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

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