History-maker Aaron Judge admits finally breaking Roger Maris' American League single-season home run record is a "big relief" after launching his 62nd blast against the Texas Rangers on Tuesday.

Judge's lead-off homer for the New York Yankees surpassed Maris' 61-year record, having matched the mark last Wednesday, going five games without a homer leading up.

The Yankees outfielder's 62nd home run for the season came in their penultimate regular season game, putting him seventh all-time for homers in a single season.

Judge had already exceeded Babe Ruth's mark from 1927 of 60 home runs in a season, before getting past Maris with 61 from 1961.

"It's a big relief," Judge said. "I think that everyone can sit back down in their seats and watch the ball game, you know? But it's been a fun ride so far.

"Getting a chance to do this, with the team we've got, the guys surrounding me, the constant support from my family whose been with me through this whole thing, it's been a great honor.

"Getting a chance to have my name next to someone as great as Roger Maris, Babe Ruth, those guys, is incredible."

Judge's pursuit of his 62nd home run has felt like a circus with the anticipation surrounding him every time he was at bat, from both the dugout and the stands.

The outfielder's teammates gathered at the home plate after his historic home run to congratulate him, before receiving a standing ovation from the Texas crowd.

"Pretty surreal," Judge said. "Just like in Toronto, it was pretty awesome, having their support. I think, in Texas, they were a little more excited, they could finally exhale.

"At home, in the dugout, I can see right in and see all the guys sitting at the top steps. Here on the road, they are behind me, so I didn't see the 40-plus people sitting in the dugout.

"To finally see them run out on the field, and get a chance to hug them all, that's what it's about for me."

Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole, who made his own history with a franchise record 257th strikeout in a single season, was glowing in praise of Judge.

"Even just to tie the record, let alone break it is a bit surreal," Cole said. "And obviously, on a night like tonight, it's just like, 'Woah'… It's hard to put into words."

Judge has hit the most home runs in a single season of any center fielder in MLB history, previously 56 held by Hack Wilson (1930) and Ken Griffey Jr (1997 and 1998).

The Yankee's latest blast means he is 16 homers ahead of the MLB's next best, Kyle Schwarber with 46. Judge's 16-homer lead is the largest since Jimmie Foxx's 17-homer margin over Ruth from 1932.

Judge's 62 home runs have totaled a distance of 25,520 feet which is nearly five miles, and a single-season record since Statcast started tracking that in 2015, exceeding teammate Giancarlo Stanton's 2017 mark of 24,641 feet.

Aaron Judge is officially the home run king after blasting his 62nd homer to break Roger Maris' long-standing mark for the American League's (AL) single-season record.

The New York Yankees outfielder crushed the historic homer into left field in the first inning of Tuesday's game on the road against the Texas Rangers, their penultimate regular-season game.

Judge had matched Maris' 61-homer AL and Yankees record last Wednesday with a blast against the Toronto Blue Jays.

However, the Yankee had endured 23 plate appearances or five games since without a home run but he broke the drought early from Rangers pitcher Jesus Tinoco.

Maris' record had stood since 1961, edging Babe Ruth's previous record of 60 in 1927.

Only three players have scored more homers in a single season for any franchise than Judge; Barry Bonds (73 in 2001), Mark McGwire (70 in 1999 and 65 in 1999) and Sammy Sosa (66 in 1998, 64 in 2001, 63 in 1999). Those three players all achieved the feat during the steroid era.

Luis Severino was pulled from the New York Yankees' 3-1 win against the Texas Rangers seven innings through a no-hitter.

Severino finished with 94 pitches, giving up no hits and one walk with seven strikeouts. The strong performance means he will finish this season with an ERA of 3.18, which is his best return since 2017 after only pitching in seven games across the past two seasons.

The Rangers broke up the no-hitter two outs after Severino was removed, but their one run was not enough after both Marwin Gonzalez and Giancarlo Stanton hit solo home-runs for the Yankees in the eighth inning.

Stanton's was particularly impressive, connecting on a monstrous 457-foot bomb to left-center for his 30th homer of the season. He is tied for 20th in the majors for home runs, and no other member of the top-20 has played in fewer than Stanton's 109 games.

Still one home run away from the American League and Yankees' single-season record, Aaron Judge remained on 61 as he finished one-for-four at the plate with an infield single. He has three more games to hit one homer if he is to break Roger Maris' 61-year-old record set back in 1961.

Pujols hits 703rd career home run

It appeared incredibly unlikely Albert Pujols would reach the magical 700 home run mark at the midpoint of this season, but he has comfortably sailed past that figure and knocked number 703 in the St Louis Cardinals' 3-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Pujols' two-run homer in the sixth inning was responsible for all of the Cardinals' runs in the game, giving him his 24th of the season – his highest tally since 2016. With his two RBIs, he passed Babe Ruth for the second most in the history of the league, trailing only Hank Aaron.

After a combined four home runs in the first three months of the season, Pujols has caught fire and hit 19 in the last four months.

Luzardo pitches a gem for the Marlins

Miami Marlins starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo struck out 12 batters in six scoreless innings to help his side to a 4-0 win against the Atlanta Braves.

Luzardo gave up four hits and no walks, getting through the sixth inning in 101 pitches. He was then backed up with terrific work from the bullpen, not allowing a single baserunner in the final three innings.

With the bat, Bryan De La Cruz drove in three of the Marlins' four runs, with an RBI double in the first inning and a two-run home run in the third.

Not satisfied with ending the longest playoff drought in American sports, Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais is now targeting World Series success.

The Mariners are set to return to the MLB postseason on Friday after moving just one win away with a typically chaotic 10-9 walk-off victory over the Texas Rangers in the 11th inning on Thursday.

Defeat for the Baltimore Orioles at the New York Yankees or a Mariners win against the Oakland Athletics would now clinch a Wild Card berth ahead of the final weekend of the regular season.

The city of Seattle has not seen playoff baseball since the 2001 season, with the subsequent 21 years representing the longest active drought in MLB or indeed any of the four major sports in the United States.

While ending that wait has consumed Servais and his players, they have already changed their focus.

The Mariners are the only team in the major leagues never to reach the World Series – the Washington Nationals in 2019 were the last franchise to make their World Series debut – but Servais believes this group of players are capable.

"We've got a really good team – that's why it's exciting," he said after the Rangers win.

"We can pitch, we have clutch hitting, we can defend, we can run the bases. We check a lot of the boxes that you need to have that team to get deep in the playoffs, into the World Series and win it.

"I know everybody is exhausted; we've got to end the drought, end the drought – I've heard it for seven years. Every day, when I get up in the morning and I drive to work, that's what's on my mind.

"But the goal is to win the World Series; it's not just to end the drought. We will end the drought tomorrow. We're going to."

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

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

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

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

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

Blue Jays clinch playoff spot despite not taking field

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

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

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

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

Garcia grand slam dents Brewers' Wild Card hopes

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

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

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

Rookie right-hander Spencer Strider made history with a franchise-record 16 strikeouts in the Atlanta Braves' 3-0 win over the Colorado Rockies on Thursday.

The 23-year-old's 16 K's was the most ever by a Braves pitcher in a nine-inning game, bettering John Smoltz's previous record of 15, coming in only his 17th career Major League start.

Strider, who had 79 strikes from 106 pitches, allowed two hits and did not walk a batter, with a mix of fastballs and sliders across eight innings.

The 16 strikeouts were the most in the majors since Walker Buehler had 16 against the Rockies in June 2019.

"I lost track after five [innings]," Strider said about his strikeouts count. "I came out of the game and Kyle [Wright] was telling me something about John Smoltz or whatever. It didn't make any sense.

"It's pretty wild, the guys who've thrown in this organization, it's a long, incredible list. I'm just grateful to be here and having success."

Austin Riley and Michael Harris II hit solo home runs for the Braves, who improve to 81-51 to be three games behind the New York Mets (84-48) in the National League East.

Kershaw shakes off the rust in Dodgers defeat

Clayton Kershaw returned from the injured list with an efficient display but he could not inspire the Los Angeles Dodgers to victory, losing 5-3 to the New York Mets.

After a rusty start, Kershaw had six strikeouts across five innings, allowing one hit, one earned run while walking three batters.

Francisco Lindor was the hero with a tying RBI double in the sixth inning before scoring the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh, while Edwin Diaz struck out Gavin Lux to escape a jam in the eighth.

Red Sox rally wth Refsnyder career-first walk-off

Rob Refsnyder's single clinched a walk-off win for the Boston Red Sox who rallied with a four-run ninth inning to win 9-8 over the Texas Rangers.

The Red Sox, who had been behind 8-3 in the eighth, trailed 8-5 entering the ninth with Rafael Devers hitting a two-run double to narrow the deficit before Kike Hernandez's RBI single tied it up.

Refsnyder walked it off for the first time in his career with a line shot that drove home Devers.

Aaron Judge stole the show in the New York Yankees' 7-4 win against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday, blasting yet another home run as he pushes for Roger Maris' 61-year-old record.

Maris hit 61 home runs in the 1961 season, setting a new record for a Yankees player, and with 32 games remaining, Judge is now up to 51. It is the second straight day he has hit a home run, and he has five in his past eight games.

His long-ball proved to be the difference between the two teams, with his three-run shot in the fourth inning extending his side's lead from 4-2 to 7-2.

It was the third Yankees home run of the night after Andrew Benintendi connected as the second batter of the game, giving him his second home run since being traded to New York at the deadline.

Anthony Rizzo followed suit in the second inning with his own solo homer to make it 2-0, before Los Angeles' Max Stassi tied things up later in the frame with a two-run home run.

Judge now has 15 more home runs than second-placed Kyle Schwarber from the Philadelphia Phillies as he makes his case as the AL MVP, while his biggest competitor for the award – the Angels' Shohei Ohtani – finished two-for-four at the plate with a double. 

The Yankees are seven games clear of the Toronto Blue Jays for the AL East lead.

Valdez dishes up another quality start

Houston Astros pitcher Framber Valdez produced a terrific start on the mound to help his side to a 4-2 road win against the Texas Rangers, collecting his league-leading 23rd quality start of the season.

From Valdez's 25 starts this season, 23 have been considered quality starts, meaning at least six innings pitched with no more than three earned runs, and he did it in style.

Valdez ended up pitching eight full innings, striking out eight batters while only allowing two runs, while future Hall-of-Fame teammate Jose Altuve provided run support with his 22nd home run of the campaign.

No other starting pitcher has more than 19 quality starts, with five players on that number – including Valdez's Astros teammate Justin Verlander.

Vladdy stars for the Blue Jays

Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr went three-for-four at the plate with a home run in his side's 5-3 home win against the Chicago Cubs.

Guerrero batted in the Blue Jays' first run with an RBI single in the fifth inning, and after a three-run homer to Teoscar Hernandez in the sixth, Guerrero added a final insurance score with a solo blast in the seventh frame.

On the mound, Kevin Gausman was strong for Toronto, striking out nine batters in his six innings while giving up two runs.

The Los Angeles Dodgers made sure to put Monday's sorry home defeat to the Milwaukee Brewers well and truly behind them with another emphatic victory.

Having been blanked for the first time at home in 2022 in the first game of the series, the Dodgers hit back on Tuesday with a 10-1 rout of the Brewers, and they followed that win up in style a day later.

There was more resistance from Milwaukee this time around, but the Dodgers - who have the best record in Major League Baseball (86-37) and hold a huge 19.5-game lead in the National League West - still cruised to a 12-6 victory.

Pitcher Andrew Heaney appeared in his first win since April and was key as he struck out 10, one off his season best, while he has back-to-back 10 strikeout outings for the first time in over three years.

"It seems like he's got 10 punchouts every game and you don't know it until you look up at the scoreboard," Trea Turner said of Heaney. "There's always one guy that gets no run support and one that gets runs on every team. I guess he's been the lucky one."

"Feeling better, trying to get deeper in games and get more pitch efficient and stay away from a couple of mistakes that have cost me big-time the last couple games," Heaney said.

The Dodgers' emphatic win, which sees them clinch their season series against the Brewers 4-3, came on the back of huge victories for the Atlanta Braves and the Texas Rangers.

World Series champions Atlanta made light work of the Pittsburgh Pirates, winning 16-2, with Kyle Wright recording 21 outs from 73 pitches as he tied with Justin Verlander and Tony Gonsolin for the most victories in the majors. The Rangers, meanwhile, hammered the Colorado Rockies 16-4.

Quantrill does the damage in San Diego

Cal Quantrill returned to haunt his old team as the Cleveland Guardians stormed to a 7-0 victory over the San Diego Padres.

Playing in San Diego for the first time since he was traded to Cleveland in 2020, Quantrill struck out six and walked one.

"Apparently I really did care a lot. It just felt important," Quantrill told reporters of facing his former side. "I wanted that game to be clean. I didn't want to trail off."

Cubs and Cardinals set for series decider

The Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals will face off on Thursday with everything on the line in their five-game series.

That is after Zach McKinstry homered and drove in three runs to help the Cubs to a 7-1 triumph that ties the series at 2-2.

Elsewhere, the Tampa Bay Rays claimed a fifth straight win by edging out the Los Angeles Angels 4-3, while the Philadelphia Phillies are in line for a four-game clean sweep of their series with the Cincinnati Reds after a 7-5 success.

The changes continue at the Texas Rangers with president of baseball operations Jon Daniels the latest to be shown the door effective immediately.

Daniels was informed by owner Ray Davis on Wednesday that his contract will not be renewed at the end of this season.

The Rangers fired manager Chris Woodward on Monday with less than 50 games to go in a season that will almost certainly end with the team missing the playoffs for a sixth year in a row.

The pair of dismissals comes following a season with raised expectations in Texas after the team spent more than $500million in free agency, headlined by the additions of All-Star infielders Corey Seager and Marcus Semien.

"Bottom line is we're not good, and we haven't been good for six years," Davis said.

"To be competitive going forward, I felt that we needed to make a change."

Chris Young, who was brought in as the team's general manager in December 2020, will step into Daniels' role and lead the baseball operations department.

The Rangers have not reached the postseason since 2016 when they won the American League West division. Texas played in the World Series in 2010 and 2011, losing both.

Daniels had been with the Rangers since 2002, appointed as general manager in October 2005 and promoted to president of baseball operations in March 2013.

The Texas Rangers fired manager Chris Woodward on Monday with less than 50 games to go in a season that will almost certainly end with the team missing the playoffs for a sixth year in a row. 

Expectations were raised in Texas this past offseason after the team spent more than $500million in free agency – most notably the additions of All-Star infielders Corey Seager and Marcus Semien – but at 51-63 the team is headed towards a sixth straight sub-.500 season. 

The third-place Rangers begin play on Monday 23 games back of the first-place Houston Astros in the AL West and 9.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for the league's final wild card spot. 

The 46-year-old Woodward was in his fourth season as manager of the Rangers and received a contract extension last November, which ran through the 2023 season and included a club option for 2024. 

He is expected to be replaced by an interim manager. 

Despite falling short of their lofty expectations, the Rangers' offense has seen some improvement this season – ranking fourth in the AL in runs per game (4.48) after finishing last a year ago (3.86) – and the team has only been outscored by two runs on the season after owning a dreadful minus 190 run differential in 2021. 

The inability to close out close games, however, has been their ultimate undoing as they are 6-24 in games decided by a single run. In the live-ball era, the only team to finish a season with a lower winning percentage in one-run games than Texas' .200 was the 1935 Boston Braves at 7-31 (.184). 

Aaron Judge homered for the 46th time this season to bring up his 100th RBI, but the New York Yankees lost again, beaten 3-2 by the Boston Red Sox in extras on Friday.

Judge cleared the green monster at the top of the third inning with a 429-foot blast to put the Yankees up 2-0.

The home run was 46th for the season, meaning he is equal with Babe Ruth (1921) for homers in the first 113 team games in MLB history. Barry Bonds is the only player to better both, with 48 in 2001.

J.D. Martinez brought in Alex Verdugo to make it 2-1 in the fourth inning, before Martinez sent the game to extras with a ninth-inning RBI with Xander Bogaerts scoring.

In extras, Tommy Pham was the hero for the Red Sox at the bottom of the 10th inning with a shot down the third-base line allowing Christian Arroyo to score.

The result means the Yankees' recent woes continue, sitting 71-42 at the top of the American League (AL) East, with the Red Sox last in that division with a 56-58 record.

Soto returns to D.C. to rousing reception

Juan Soto returned to the capital for the first time since his trade from the Washington Nationals to the San Diego Padres earlier this month, receiving a heroes' welcome.

Soto registered his first hit against his former team in the fifth inning, before the Padres piled on seven runs in the frame to open up an 8-0 lead.

Jefferson Profar and Soto scored from Manny Machado's two-run RBI. Soto, who went 2-6, drove in an RBI in the fifth as the Padres ran away 10-5 winners.

Mets' winning run halted by walk-off Phillies

The presence of Max Scherzer was not enough to prevent the Philadelphia Phillies from snapping the New York Mets' six-game win streak in a 2-1 walk-off defeat.

Scherzer pitched across seven innings with six strikeouts and nine hits, his second most this season. The Mets right-hander did not walk anyone and only allowed one earned run.

The game went to extras, before Bryson Stott got home from Alec Bohm's sacrifice fly to right fielder Starling Marte, who thundered in a throw but catcher Tomas Nido could not complete the out on the hop.

Framber Valdez threw seven shutout innings as the Houston Astros moved a half-game ahead of the New York Yankees in the race for top seed in the American League (AL) with a 7-3 win over the Texas Rangers.

Martin Maldonado and Alex Bregman both homered for the Astros as manager Dusty Baker returned to the dugout after missing five games due to COVID-19.

Valdez had eight strikeouts across seven innings, allowing only four singles and a walk, earning his third win.

The result improved the Astros to 72-41, sitting ahead of the slumping Yankees who did not play on Thursday and possess a 71-41 record.

"It was outstanding to be back, especially when you come back with the win and come back with Framber throwing the game that he threw," Baker said.

"He pitched an outstanding game. He's very serious about his work and was very composed."

Surging Orioles slip in Wild Card race

The in-form Baltimore Orioles missed a chance to surge into the AL Wild Card spots after going down 4-3 to the Boston Red Sox.

The O's were off to a 7-1 start in August and looked to preserve that with a three-run sixth-inning to square up the game, before Eric Hosmer's decisive go-ahead RBI double.

With the win, the Red Sox snap a four-game losing streak, while it leaves the O's at 58-53, behind the Tampa Bay Rays (58-52) for the third AL Wild Card spot.

Goldschmidt and Arenado fire but Cards beaten

The battle for top spot in the National League (NL) Central division rages on after the St Louis Cardinals were toppled 8-6 by the Colorado Rockies.

The Rockies piled on six runs in the seventh inning, headlined by back-to-back home runs from Brendan Rodgers and Ryan McMahon, while Paul Goldschmidt had three hits including his 27th home run of the season.

Nolan Arenado also homered for the Cards, who hold a 61-50 record, marginally ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers at 60-50 in the NL Central. The Cards have won eight of their past 10.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Twins stars go deep against Padres

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

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

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

Shohei puts on a show

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

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

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

The 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.

Despite missing a pair of National League MVP candidates, the St Louis Cardinals rode a big performance from future Hall-of-Famer Albert Pujols to a 6-1 away win against the Toronto Blue Jays.

With both Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado unavailable for their side's trip to Toronto due to their vaccination status, it was a combination of new blood and a blast from the past as they made it look easy.

40-year-old starting pitcher Adam Wainwright was at the peak of his powers, giving up just five hits and no walks for one earned run in seven innings, striking out eight batters. 

While Wainwright controlled the contest with the ball, 42-year-old Pujols made noise with the bat, knocking a single in his first at-bat, a double in his second try, and then a massive 439-foot, three-run homer with his third trip to the plate. It was longer than any home run Pujols hit in this year's Home Run Derby.

Rookie Nolan Gorman – 20 years younger than Pujols – also went deep with a solo home run, while he and 24-year-old Lars Nootbaar were two of five Cardinals to collect multiple hits.

Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr finished two-for-four at the plate, while ace pitcher Kevin Gausman struggled in one of his worst performances of the season. 

Gausman gave up five runs in less than five innings, allowing eight hits and a walk with his six strikeouts.

Mets walk-off against Yankees

The New York Mets threatened to waste a spectacular start from pitcher Max Scherzer, but ultimately got the job done in the bottom of the ninth inning to defeat the New York Yankees 3-2 in walk-off fashion.

Pete Alonso's solo home run in the second inning and Francisco Lindor's RBI single in the third frame were the only runs before Max Scherzer was withdrawn, having pitched seven shut-out innings.

As soon as Scherzer was removed, the Yankees came back with a two-run homer from Gleyber Torres, but Eduardo Escobar led off the ninth inning with a double, setting up Starling Marte to be the hero and drive him in with a base hit.

J-Rod does it again for the Mariners

Rookie All-Star Julio Rodriguez showed once again why he is one of the most exciting young talents in all of baseball, blasting a three-run home run to give his Seattle Mariners a 4-2 home win against the Texas Rangers.

Rodriguez, 21, stepped up to the plate in the seventh inning with two runners on base, trailing 2-1, and he connected on a 419-foot no-doubter over the left-field wall to snatch back the lead.

This season, Rodriguez leads all rookies in hits (96), runs (54), home runs (17), RBIs (53), and stolen bases (21).