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in the second inning and Francisco Lindor's RBI single in the third frame were the only runs before Max Scherzer was withdrawn, having pitched seven shut-out innings.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

The Houston Astros started their second half of the MLB season in positive fashion, claiming a double-header sweep over the New York Yankees on Thursday.

The two best records in the American League (AL) faced off and the Astros bested the Yankees once again, moving to a 5-2 head-to-head record for the season with respective 3-2 and 7-5 wins at Minute Maid Park.

After splitting a four-game series in the Bronx in June, Yordan Alvarez and Alex Bregman both homered and combined for five RBIs to hand the Astros the third win at home this season over the AL leaders.

In the earlier game, Bregman, Korey Lee and rookie JJ Matijevic combined for RBIs while Cristian Javier struck out three but only gave up two hits over 99 pitches in five innings.

With the sweep coming out of the All-Star Game, the Astros suddenly moved to within three games of the AL-leading Yankees, who have now lost seven of their past 10 games.

Gray gets Rangers rolling

Jon Gray led the way for the Texas Rangers as they commenced an 11-game road trip, shutting the Miami Marlins out for an 8-0 win.

Gray struck out five and conceded only four hits over 94 pitches in six innings, while Adolis Garcia homered and drove in three runs.

The Marlins slipped further away from the National League's wild card race with the defeat, now six games back with a fourth consecutive defeat and extending their scoreless streak to 34 innings.

Betts denies Giants comeback

Mookie Betts saved the day for the Los Angeles Dodgers after they almost squandered a big lead, eventually claiming a 9-6 win over their rivals in the San Francisco Giants.

Things were looking good early for the Dodgers, taking a 5-0 lead after the opening three innings off star Giants pitcher Carlos Rodon, with Freddie Freeman scoring a solo home run in the first inning with two out.

The Giants fought back in the seventh through Evan Longoria and Darin Ruf, though, with the two scoring home runs to set up a five-run inning.

A Trayce Thompson triple drove Gavin Lux home to tie after Thair Estrada was walked in the eighth, before a three-run shot from Betts off Jarlin Garcia gave the Dodgers the eventual win.

Betts confirmed the win with a great defensive play in the following inning, making a spectacular sliding catch deep in right-field to retire Joc Pederson.

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.

The Seattle Mariners set a new record on Sunday as they defeated the Texas Rangers 6-2 for their 14th consecutive win – the longest winning streak entering the All-Star break in MLB history.

Prior to this season, the longest winning streak heading into the All-Star break was 10 games, set by the 1935 Detroit Tigers, the 1945 Chicago Cubs and the 1975 Cincinnati Reds. All three teams ended up making the World Series.

It was a great showing from the Mariners' top hitters as their two All-Stars drove in a pair of runs each. 

A late addition to the American League All-Star roster, Ty France connected on the longest drive of the game with his 432-foot solo home run in the fifth inning, extending the Mariners' lead to 3-1.

Rookie of the Year favourite – and the only rookie All-Star – Julio Rodriguez then drove in a pair of runs with his double in the seventh inning, and Rodriguez was brought home by a France RBI base hit as the very next batter.

Of all rookies in the majors this season, Rodriguez leads in hits (93), home runs (16), RBIs (50), runs (52) and stolen bases (21).

The Mariners are now 51-42 for the season, giving them the fourth-best record in the American League. They are also one game away from tying their longest winning streak of all time, with 15-in-a-row set in 2001.

Soto homers in Nationals win

Washington Nationals star Juan Soto showed why he is expected to fetch one of the largest trade hauls in the history of the league as he connected on his 20th home run of the season in his side's 7-3 win over the Atlanta Braves.

Soto is reportedly on the trade block after turning down a 15-year, $440million contract extension, with the 23-year-old considered one of the purest hitters in the game.

He connected on his homer in the eighth inning to put the finishing touches on the win and continue his barnstorming July. After an uncharacteristically poor start to the season, Soto is 17-of-40 at the plate this month, with an on-base percentage of .589 while slugging .850.

Cease pitches a gem

Chicago White Sox ace Dylan Cease was at the top of his game as his team hammered the Minnesota Twins 11-0.

Cease, arguably the best pitcher not to be named an All-Star this season, showed his quality with seven scoreless innings, giving up just one hit and two walks while striking out eight.

Nine of the 10 White Sox batters collected at least one hit, with elite first baseman Andrew Vaughn hitting a home run among his three knocks, and their lone offensive All-Star Tim Anderson had a two-RBI single to open the scoring.

It was a unique day at the ballpark as the Milwaukee Brewers treated their home fans to a 5-2 extra-innings win against the Chicago Cubs on Independence Day.

Pitchers dominated the early stages, with the only run in the first six innings coming from Cubs center-fielder Nelson Velasquez, who sent a ball 418 feet for the first home run of his career.

Cubs starter Justin Steele retired 20 batters before finally conceding his only run as Pedro Severino collected an RBI double in the seventh inning, tying things at 1-1.

Steele finished his day with nine strikeouts in six-and-two-thirds innings, with his one earned run coming from two hits and four walks. 

Milwaukee's Eric Lauer was just as impressive, pitching six full innings for one earned run from two hits and two walks, also striking out nine.

With scores tied in the top of the ninth inning, in his return from over a month on the sidelines due to injury, Seiya Suzuki sent a ball to deep center-field. It bounced awkwardly off the wall to evade the outfielders, allowing the Japanese rookie star to round the bases for an inside-the-park home run and give the Cubs a 2-1 lead.

But David Robertson could not complete the save for Chicago, giving up a single, a double, a hit-by-pitch and a walk to drive in the tying run, sending the game to extra innings.

The Cubs were unable to put a run on the board in the top of the 10th, setting up the Brewers for a walk-off win.

After Rowdy Tellez was intentionally walked, putting two men on base, Victor Caratini blasted a 411-foot, walk-off home run to finish the contest.

It was the first time in MLB history there had been a player hit his first career home run, another hit an inside-the-parker, and another hit a walk-off homer in the same game.

Alvarez delivers in the clutch

The breakout star of the Houston Astros, Yordan Alvarez, capped off a big comeback on Monday with a walk-off home run to defeat the Kansas City Royals 7-6 at home.

It was the Royals who started hot, jumping out to a 5-0 lead after M.J. Melendez's solo home run in the third inning, and that is when the Astros would begin their fightback.

The Astros pulled back three runs through RBIs to Kyle Tucker, Jose Altuve and Mauricio Dubon, and after Melendez's second home run of the game made it 6-3, Tucker drove in another two runs in the eighth inning.

Lourdes Gurriel tied things at 6-6 in the eighth frame, before with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Alvarez completed the comeback with a no-doubt, 444-foot solo home run to center-field.

Mateo takes one for the team in Orioles win

The Baltimore Orioles took a gutsy 7-6 home win against the Texas Rangers as shortstop Jorge Mateo wore a hit-by-pitch in the botttom of the 10th inning for an unconventional walk-off.

A pair of clutch hits in the ninth inning – first a solo home run from Texas' Marcus Semien to put his side up 6-5, and then an RBI double from Baltimore's Adley Rutchsman to tie it at 6-6 – forced extra innings in the back-and-forth contest.

The Rangers were unable to put on a run on the board in the 10th, allowing the Orioles to escape with the result after a bunt single, an intentional walk and finally Mateo's hit-by-pitch drove in the winning run.

In a battle between two of the best teams and best pitchers in the majors, Nestor Cortes' New York Yankees prevailed 4-3 at home against Shane McClanahan's Tampa Bay Rays.

McClanahan is the current favourite to win the AL Cy Young Award while Cortes is close behind, and they both put on spectacular performances in Wednesday's top fixture.

It was a rocky start for McClanahan, who was punished in the very first inning by American League MVP favourite Aaron Judge, connecting on his league-leading 25th home run of the season to make it 1-0. Nobody else has hit more than 18 home runs.

That was the only earned run McClanahan would give up, although a fielding error in the fifth inning and an intentional walk set up a three-run Kyle Higashioka blast to give the Yankees a 4-0 lead.

McClanahan finished with seven strikeouts in six complete innings, allowing three hits and two walks.

Cortes held the Rays scoreless through five innings, eventually getting pulled in the sixth after the visitors finally got their first run on the board via a Manuel Margot RBI double.

Choi Ji-man's RBI base hit in the eighth inning cut the margin to 4-2, and Rene Pinto followed suit as the very next batter to make it 4-3. Clay Holmes was able to hold his nerve in the ninth frame to secure the save and the win for the Yankees.

After their performances, McClanahan (1.84 ERA) and Cortes (1.94 ERA) are two of only seven starting pitchers this season to allow fewer than two runs per nine innings.

The win moves the Yankees' league-leading record to 46-16 – six games clear of the New York Mets in second (41-23).

Astros' immaculate showing

The Houston Astros pitched two immaculate innings in their 9-2 road win against the Texas Rangers to retain the fourth-best record in the majors at 39-24.

After the Astros piled on six runs in the opening frame, including two-run doubles from both Yordan Alvarez and Martin Maldonado, Houston starter Luis Garcia took control.

In the second inning, Garcia struck out all three batters, throwing just nine pitches, with all being strikes, for a rare immaculate inning.

Incredibly, the feat was repeated in the seventh frame by Astros reliever Phil Maton, who also collected his three strikeouts in nine pitches. It is the first time in MLB history that a team has thrown two immaculate innings in the same game.

Phillies win in last-gasp walk-off

Philadelphia Phillies catcher Garrett Stubbs was the hero in his side's 3-1 home victory against the Miami Marlins.

Kyle Gibson was terrific on the mound for the Phillies, giving up one run from seven hits and no walks, pitching eight full innings and striking out six – but his team trailed 1-0 going into the ninth frame.

After a lead-off strikeout, Alec Bohm singled, and J.T. Realmuto walked, but another strikeout meant Stubbs was the last chance to make something happen – and he duly responded.

From the fifth pitch of his at-bat, with two strikes, Stubbs connected on a hanging slider and sent it over the fence for a game-winning three-run homer. It is the Phillies' 11th win from their past 13 games.

St Louis Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas fell agonisingly short of a career-first no-hitter as his side won 9-1 over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday.

Mikolas came within one strike of the rare feat, achieved only 10 times in Cardinals' history, with two outs and two strikes against the Pirates in the ninth inning.

It was Cal Mitchell who denied Mikolas in his no-no bid with a center-field hit that eluded Harrison Bader by inches and bounced over the wall.

Mikolas tossed down a season-high 129 pitches throughout the game, with six strikeouts.

"It kinda stinks to not finish that out," Mikolas said after the game. "I don’t have one yet. I've got friends who have one, it would’ve been nice to join that conversation but I can't say enough about our defense. I kinda feel like I let them down."

Mikolas overshadowed Mike Goldschmidt who had a four-hit, two-homer and five-RBI display in the second game of the double-header.

Goldschmidt sits atop the National League (NL) rankings for batting average (.349) and on-base plus slugging (1.073). He is second in the NL for RBIs (56) and tied for second for home runs (16).

The Cardinals won both games, triumphing 3-1 in the earlier match-up, with Yadier Molina reaching 14,865 putouts which is the most by a catcher in MLB history.

Voit leads Padres' turnaround against Cubs

The Chicago Cubs' slide continued despite boasting a 5-0 lead heading into the sixth inning as Luke Voit turned things around for the San Diego Padres in a 12-5 win.

Willson Contreras enjoyed his 10th career multi-home run game to help the Cubs lead 5-0 before Voit's two-run blast narrowed the gap, followed by another two runs in the sixth for the Padres.

Voit emptied the bases in the seventh inning, finishing the game with five RBIs along with his two hits and two runs from six at-bats.

Astros launch with eighth-inning rearguard

The Texas Rangers blew their shot at a fourth consecutive win after poor fielding cost them in the eighth inning, losing 4-3 to the Houston Astros.

The Rangers were leading 3-0 in the eighth when third baseman Ezequiel Duran misplayed, allowing Jose Altuve to get home despite a mix-up between bases from Alex Bregman's hit.

Two batters later, with Michael Brantley having added a second run, Kyle Tucker hit a two-run blast to clinch a 4-3 victory for the Astros. Tucker extended his active hitting streak to 13 games.

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Nick Pivetta rebounded from a disappointing start to throw a complete game, beating the Houston Astros 5-1.

Pivetta was put on the back foot straight away, as Houston's lead-off hitter, Jose Altuve, forced him to throw nine pitches before sending the 10th over the 'Green Monster' for a home run to left-field.

The Astros would only register one more hit in the entire game as Pivetta found his footing, though, retiring 18 consecutive batters until a double in the seventh inning, and then another nine consecutive batters to close out the contest.

Despite conceding so early, the Red Sox reclaimed the lead later in the first frame, as Rafael Devers was brought home after his triple, before Xander Bogaerts hit a solo home run to make it 2-1.

Another extra-base hit from Devers in the third inning brought home Boston's third run, and the home side then manufactured another two tallies in the fourth, never allowing the Astros back into the contest.

The win moves the struggling Red Sox to 15-22 for the season, while the Astros are in a much stronger position, tied for the third-best record in the majors at 24-14.

Hiura the hero for Brewers

Keston Hiura crushed a massive walk-off home run to give the Milwaukee Brewers a 7-6 win against the Atlanta Braves in extra innings.

The Braves led 4-0 after three innings, but the Brewers were able to fight back, tying the game with a two-out triple in the bottom of the ninth and final frame to keep the game alive.

After both teams scored a run each in the 10th, the Braves added another in the top of the 11th, before Hiura's two-run, 447-foot blast to center-field closed the show.

Lowe sends one high for the win

After Jared Walsh tied things up for the Los Angeles Angels at 4-4 with a ninth-inning home run, Nathaniel Lowe came back to bomb a two-run walk-off to give the Texas Rangers a 6-5 win in extra innings.

It was a solid start on the mound for Angels star Shohei Ohtani, pitching six full innings for two earned runs and seven strikeouts, but the Rangers capitalised once he exited with solo home runs in the seventh and eighth frames.

Walsh's two-run homer sent the game to extra innings, and the Angels scored first at the top of the 10th, but Lowe wasted no time ending things, leading off the bottom of the 10th and blasting the first pitch over the wall to win it.

The Cleveland Guardians pulled off a spectacular comeback to beat the Chicago White Sox 12-9 on the road in extra innings, as Josh Naylor finished with a remarkable eight RBIs.

After an action-packed first inning, highlighted by Gavin Sheets' three-run home run for Chicago, the White Sox led 4-1.

There would be no more runs over the next five innings as Cleveland's Zach Plesac and Chicago's Michael Kopeck found a nice rhythm, with both starters withdrawn at the beginning of the seventh inning.

This also happened to be when the action picked back up, with the White Sox adding another run via a Tim Anderson double to make it 5-1 going into the eighth.

Naylor collected his own RBI double in the eighth to peg back one run, but the game appeared to be done when the White Sox's AJ Pollock blasted a three-run homer to make it 8-2 with one inning to play.

The Guardians had other ideas, as Andres Gimenez led off the inning with a solo home run, and a pair of errors first allowed Amed Rosario to advance from first base to third, and then brought him home, making it 8-4 with no outs.

After the next two batters were retired, a walk and a single loaded the bases for Naylor to be the hero. Naylor blasted the first pitch he saw over the right-centre wall for a grand slam, tying the game and sending it to extra innings.

Gimenez added a run in the top of the 10th inning, which was matched by Reese McGuire's RBI in the bottom of the frame, forcing an 11th innings.

With two outs, capping off an outrageous day at the plate, Naylor hit a three-run home run, giving him eight RBIs with three hits and a walk from six at-bats.

Stars shine in Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Angels' two MVP hopefuls put on a show in their 11-3 win against the Tampa Bay Rays.

After a fourth-inning solo home run for Tampa Bay's Randy Arozarena, Angels stars Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout collected back-to-back hits later in the inning, setting the table for Jared Walsh to blast a three-run homer.

There was more back-to-back magic in the sixth inning, as Trout stepped up and blasted a two-run home run, before Ohtani came out next and sent a 407-foot shot over the wall at left-centre.

Trout would drive in another run an inning later with his bases-loaded walk, before Ohtani once again followed him in style, bombing a 413-foot grand slam.

Yankees no-hitter broken up late

New York Yankees starting pitcher Nestor Cortes took his no-hit bid into the eighth inning as his side beat the Texas Rangers 1-0.

Through seven complete innings, the score was tied at 0-0, with the Rangers' four base-runners for the game all reaching via walk.

After the first batter of the eighth inning was struck out, Texas' Eli White finally broke up the no-hitter with a base hit to centre-field, before New York's Anthony Rizzo drove in the one and only run for the contest later in the same frame. Cortes finished with 11 strikeouts from his seven-and-a-third innings.

Pete Alonso and Bryce Harper were the stars in the batters' box as the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies split their double-header on Sunday.

In the first game, which the Phillies won 3-2, Harper crushed a first-inning home run against Mets ace Max Scherzer, before driving in a second run with a base hit in the third frame.

The Mets grabbed two runs back in the sixth inning through a James McCann ground-out and a Francisco Lindor double, but it was not enough.

Scherzer pitched six full innings for seven strikeouts and three earned runs but took the loss. Kyle Gibson was credited with the win, giving up two runs in his six innings from six hits and no walks, striking out three.

Just hours later, it was Alonso's turn to be the game-winner in the Mets' 6-1 win, driving in five runs.

Alonso blasted a first-inning two-run homer, and then topped that with a 426-foot, three-run bomb in the fifth frame.

Chris Bassitt continued his terrific season on the mound for New York, conceding just one run from five-and-two-thirds innings, moving his ERA for the season to 2.45 from six starts.

Alfaro's dream come true

San Diego Padres catcher Jorge Alfaro lived every young baseball fan's dream in his side's 3-2 home win against the Miami Marlins.

After the Marlins pitching staff controlled the entire contest, holding the Padres scoreless through eight-and-two-thirds innings, the home side worked two runners on base, trailing 2-0 with two outs in the last inning.

Needing a hero, the Padres called on Alfaro to come off the bench and pinch-hit – and he delivered. He blasted the first pitch he saw 449 feet over the center-field wall for a walk-off, three-run home run.

Torres delivers walk-off for Yankees

Gleyber Torres made sure the New York Yankees did not waste a gem of a performance from ace pitcher Gerrit Cole, beating the Texas Rangers 2-1.

After Cole struck out 10 batters in six-and-a-third innings, conceding just one run from five hits and one walk, the Yankees were tied at 1-1 heading into the last inning.

Torres, in the lead-off spot, made sure the home fans did not have to wait long, ending the game with one swing of the bat as he sent a home run over the short right-field wall with an opposite-field blast.

After seven consecutive road games to start their season, the New York Mets put on a show for their home crowd at Citi Field in a 10-3 win against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Making his second start of the season, Chris Bassitt was lights out again for the Mets, pitching six full innings for six strikeouts while only giving up one run and four total baserunners.

After Pete Alonso drove in the first two runs through two sacrifice-fly balls, Robinson Cano delivered the first big shot of the day with a solo home run in the third inning, before Francisco Lindor bombed a two-run jack in the fifth frame.

Starling Marte would get in on the action in the eighth inning, connecting on a 391-foot three-run homer, before Lindor added his second long ball of the day in the very next at-bat.

Orioles walk-off with a walk

The New York Yankees went down 2-1 in extra innings against the Baltimore Orioles as the winning run was gifted home plate with a walk.

Giancarlo Stanton was the lone bright spot for the Yankees on the offensive side of the ball, getting three hits from five at-bats and driving in New York's only run.

The two starting pitchers – Jordan Montgomery for the Yankees and Jordan Lyles for the Orioles – combined for 10 innings of work for only one earned run.

The Milwaukee Brewers rode a quality start from Brandon Woodruff to a 5-1 home win against the St Louis Cardinals.

After a horrible first showing where he conceded seven runs in less than four innings, Woodruff was terrific in a bounce-back performance on Thursday, pitching five scoreless frames and allowing only four baserunners.

Milwaukee was always in control of the contest, leading 4-0 after three innings thanks to a big home run from Omar Narvaez and RBI hits to Andrew McCutchen and Hunter Renfroe.

However, the best hit of the game belonged to the Cardinals, as Tommy Edman blasted a big 423-foot consolation home run in the eighth inning for the visiting side's only score.

After going one-for-four with a double, Brewers star Christian Yelich now has hits in five of his past six games as he looks to return to form following two down seasons by his standards.

Ohtani gets grand-slammed

Reigning AL MVP Shohei Ohtani was on the receiving end of a Jonah Heim grand slam as the Los Angeles Angels lost to the Texas Rangers 10-5.

Ohtani, who was the Angels' starting pitcher and lead-off hitter, was disappointing on the mound on Thursday, giving up six runs in less than four innings, and finished the game one-for-four in the batter's box after a ninth-inning double.

It was a frustrating game for the Angels after it started so well, as Mike Trout hit one of the biggest home runs of his career in the first inning, travelling 472 feet.

Yankees get out of a jam

Leading 3-0 heading into the ninth inning, the New York Yankees found themselves in a sticky situation when closer Aroldis Chapman walked three consecutive Toronto Blue Jays batters to load the bases with no outs.

Chapman was pulled from the game and replaced with Michael King, who struck out George Springer. 

King then got Bo Bichette to line out to second base for a game-ending double play as Matt Chapman got caught too far away from first base when the catch was made.

Juan Soto made history with his 100th career home run in the Washington Nationals' 16-4 loss to world champions, the Atlanta Braves, on Tuesday.

Soto, 23, became the youngest player in franchise history to reach 100 career home runs with a moon shot at the top of the sixth inning.

The homer, which travelled 451 feet according to Statcast to right-center field, was the fourth longest of his career.

"It just comes to me. I never tried to hit a homer, or anything like that," Soto told reporters. "I’m one of the guys who just tries to hit singles every day. So for me to become consistent hitting homers, it’s just impressive and it tells how good I’ve been working on my body and everything."

Soto is the seventh active player to blast 100 homers at age 23 or younger, having first homered as a 19-year-old in 2018.

The Braves ultimately got the win after 10 runs in three innings to open up a 10-1 lead after four innings, but Soto finished with two hits, one run, one walk and one RBI.

Ozzie Albies, who finished with three hits, two runs and three RBIs, blasted his first homer of the 2022 season in the fourth inning.

Giancarlo Stanton continued his remarkable home-run hitting form against the Boston Red Sox as the New York Yankees won 4-2 on Saturday.

Yankees slugger Stanton homered for the sixth consecutive game against the Red Sox, hitting the go-ahead two-run homer to left center field in the sixth inning.

Boston had gone ahead in the second inning from Alex Verdugo's two-run homer, before Anthony Rizzo equalled the feat in the fourth inning to level the game up.

The victory means the Yankees have begun the new season with a 2-0 start, ahead of the third and final game of their series against the Red Sox on Sunday.

"I can’t say it’s the rivalry or anything," Stanton said about his record against the Red Sox. "I’m doing my homework and getting the ball over the plate."

Dodgers offense shut down

The Los Angeles Dodgers struggled on offense as they slumped to a 3-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies, who were sparked by an eighth-inning Connor Joe homer.

Rockies closer Daniel Bard shut down the Dodgers in the ninth inning to round out the win, striking out Justin Turner, Edwin Rios and Cody Bellinger.

Austin Barnes had two hits and an RBI for the Dodgers, while Mookie Betts had an eighth-inning RBI single to tie the game up, before Joe's go-ahead blast.

Alonso hits career-first grand slam

Pete Alonso clubbed a fifth-inning grand slam to lead the New York Mets past the Washington Nationals 5-0. That marked 27-year-old's first career grand slam and comes after Alonso had been left with a bloodied lip after being struck by a Mason Thompson fastball earlier in the series.

The benches cleared in the Chicago Cubs' 9-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers after tempers flared between the division rivals when right-hander Keegan Thompson hit Andrew McCutchen in the hip with a fastball.

Dylan Cease stepped in for the Chicago White Sox with eight strikeouts across five innings in their 5-2 win over the Detroit Tigers. Cease remarkably boasts a 9-0 record against the Tigers in 10 starts.

Saturday's results

Tampa Bay Rays 5-3 Baltimore Orioles
Chicago White Sox 5-2 Detroit Tigers
Seattle Mariners 4-3 Minnesota Twins
St Louis Cardinals 6-2 Pittsburgh Pirates
Chicago Cubs 9-0 Milwaukee Brewers
Toronto Blue Jays 4-3 Texas Rangers
Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 Oakland Athletics
Miami Marlins 2-1 San Francisco Giants
New York Yankees 4-2 Boston Red Sox
Kansas City Royals 1-0 Cleveland Guardians
New York Mets 5-0 Washington Nationals
Atlanta Braves 2-1 Cincinnati Reds
Colorado Rockies 3-2 Los Angeles Dodgers
San Diego Padres 5-2 Arizona Diamondbacks
Los Angeles Angels 2-0 Houston Astros

Astros at Angels

The Los Angeles Angels take on the Houston Astros in the final game of their thrilling four-game series, with Shohei Ohtani potentially back on the mound after being rested for the past two games.

The Texas Rangers rolled out an expensive but exciting new era with mega deals for star duo Corey Seager and Marcus Semien on Wednesday.

Texas mean business heading into the 2022 MLB season after splashing out $500million to lure championship winner and World Series MVP Seager, and All-Star Semien to the franchise.

The Rangers gave free agent Seager – a two-time All-Star and Silver Slugger with the Los Angeles Dodgers – a 10-year contract worth $325million.

After finishing third in the American League (AL) MVP race following his exploits for the Toronto Blue Jays, Semien signed a seven-year, $175m deal in Texas.

"How can you not be excited about that?" Seager said. "Not only the elite player, but he's an elite person who carries himself well. He's a great team-mate. There's not a bad word that you can say about Marcus.

"To be able to learn from somebody who's that talented and to take little things that he does in this game that I might not and be able to bounce off each other and to be up the middle here for a long time, it’s all very exciting."

Seager led the Dodgers to World Series glory in 2020 with a slash line of .328/.425/.746, while he was .297/.367/.504 as the Los Angeles franchise reached the National League Championship Series (NLCS) before losing to eventual winners the Atlanta Braves in 2021.

The 27-year-old shortstop finished the season with 16 homers and 54 runs on 108 hits, and 57 RBIs.

Semien enjoyed a stunning campaign for the Blue Jays, where he played all 162 games and slashed .265/.334/.538 en route to his first All-Star appearance, Silver Slugger and Gold Glove Awards.

The 31-year-old hit 45 homers – a single-season record for a primary second baseman, to go with 102 RBIs and 15 stolen bases in Toronto.

Semien finished third in AL MVP voting, behind winner Shohei Ohtani and former Blue Jays team-mate Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

"Marcus' reputation around the game is impeccable. He's a leader in every clubhouse he steps into, respected for the way he goes about his work and how he treats others," said Rangers president of baseball operations Jon Daniels.

"There are few players in the game who garner the level of respect that he does from team-mates and opponents alike. We're thrilled to add a player of his calibre to the organisation."

"We feel that Marcus is an excellent fit for the Rangers organisation from a talent, culture, and leadership standpoint," said Rangers executive vice president and general manager Chris Young. "Beyond his ability as a player, Marcus is an outstanding person who leads by example both on and off the field."