Salvador Perez drove in a career-high six runs on a pair of homers, including a grand slam, as the Kansas City Royals moved within a game of the first-place Cleveland Guardians in the American League Central with Monday's 9-4 victory that capped a doubleheader sweep.

The surging Royals, winners of nine of their last 12 games, won the opener by a 4-3 score on Bobby Witt Jr.'s tie-breaking solo homer in the eighth inning.

Kansas City trailed 3-0 early in the nightcap but battled back to take a 5-4 lead on Perez's first homer of the game, a solo blast off Cleveland starter Logan Allen in the fifth inning. The All-Star catcher put the contest out of reach an inning later with a grand slam off Tim Herrin that marked his 17th career multi-homer outing, tied with Hall of Famer George Brett for the most in Royals' history.

Perez, who went 3 for 3 in the opener, also knocked in a run with a third-inning groundout that plated Maikel Garcia, who led off with a single and took third on a double by Witt.

Garcia and MJ Melendez each had three hits for Kansas City in the second game, while Paul DeJong went 2 for 4 with a solo homer.

The scuffling Guardians lost for the eighth time in 11 games despite three doubles and an RBI from Jose Ramirez in the nightcap. Daniel Schneemann had two hits for Cleveland, including a solo homer.

Cleveland is now 0-8 in doubleheader games this season.

In the opener, Witt drove a pitch from reliever Hunter Gaddis into the left field seats to give the Royals a 4-3 edge in the top of the eighth inning. John Schreiber and Lucas Erceg protected the one-run lead from there, with Schreiber earning the win and Erceg recording his eighth save with a scoreless ninth.

The Royals had taken a 3-2 lead on Melendez's three-run homer in the fourth inning, but the Guardians pulled even when Ramirez doubled in the seventh and later scored on Josh Naylor's single.

Jansen makes history, plays for the Blue Jays and Red Sox in same game

Danny Jansen became the first player in MLB history to appear for both teams in the same game when the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox completed a previously suspended contest.

Jansen was a member of the Blue Jays when a June 26 matchup with the Red Sox was suspended in the second inning due to rain. He was traded to Boston on July 27 and inserted into the Red Sox's lineup when the game resumed Monday to accomplish the unprecedented feat.

The catcher's old team got the better of his current one, however, as Toronto posted a 4-1 win in the suspended game before dealing the reeling Red Sox a 7-3 defeat in Monday's regularly scheduled contest.

George Springer homered in both games, including a three-run shot in the fifth inning that erased a 1-0 deficit for Toronto in the nightcap.

Springer followed a double by Leo Jimenez and a walk to Steward Berroa with an opposite-field blast off Brad Keller to give the Blue Jays a 3-1 lead. Toronto scored twice more in the fifth on an RBI single from Addison Barger and a run-scoring double by Ernie Clement.

The big inning helped Jose Berrios (13-9) win his fourth straight start after the Toronto hurler held the Red Sox to three runs - two earned - and struck out six over 7 2/3 effective innings. Brendon Little relieved Berrios and tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings for his first major league save.

Toronto has now won five straight in addition to the suspended game, while Boston has dropped four in a row along with the makeup game and is now five games out of a play-off spot in the AL.

Jarren Duran also homered in both games for Boston. The All-Star outfielder accounted for the Red Sox's lone run in the suspended game with a solo homer, then went 3 for 4 with a two-run shot in the follow-up meeting.

Springer's solo homer off Nick Pivetta in the suspended game snapped a scoreless tie in the seventh inning, and the Blue Jays scored three more times in the eighth on Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s two-run double and an RBI double from Barger.

Pivetta (4-5) took the loss despite striking out 10 in six innings. The Boston right-hander allowed three runs - two earned - and just four hits.

Harper's hit in 10th puts Phillies over Astros

Bryce Harper's run-scoring single off Josh Hader in the 10th inning lifted the Philadelphia Phillies to a 3-2 comeback win over the Houston Astros in the opener of a three-game interleague series between division leaders.

After Philadelphia center fielder Johan Rojas made a diving catch with a runner at third to keep the game at 2-2 in the top of the 10th, Harper stepped to the plate with runners at first and second in the bottom of the inning and sent a ground ball through the infield. Kyle Schwarber beat the throw home from Houston right fielder Ben Gamel to score the deciding run and give the National League East-leading Phillies their third straight win.

Philadelphia trailed 2-0 after four innings, but closed the gap on Brandon Marsh's solo homer in the fifth and tied it in the sixth when Harper doubled and later scored on a Nick Castellanos single.

The Astros had gone ahead with two runs in the fourth. Victor Caratini drew a walk against Philadelphia ace Zack Wheeler and Gamel followed with a single, and both runners came home when Shay Whitcomb delivered a two-out double to left.

That was the only rough inning for Wheeler, who permitted two runs and struck out six over six frames.

Ronel Blanco worked 5 2/3 innings for Houston and also surrendered two runs while striking out five.

The Astros lost for the fifth time in seven games and had their lead atop the AL West shrink to 3 1/2 games after the second-place Seattle Mariners recorded a 5-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday.

 

 

Aaron Judge continued his torrid home run pace with his major league-leading 48th and Gerrit Cole allowed one hit over six innings as the New York Yankees rolled to a 6-0 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday.

Judge homered for the third straight game and is on pace to finish with 61, two years after hitting 62 to break Roger Maris’ single-season AL record. Judge homered for the sixth time in seven games, seventh time in 10 games and 13th time in 23 games.

Judge had 49 homers through his first 128 games in 2022 and is the only Yankee with at least 48 through that point in multiple seasons. He joined Sammy Sosa (1998, 1999, 2001) and Mark McGwire (1998, 1999) as the third player in baseball history with at least 48 homers through 128 games in multiple seasons.

Cole allowed a single to Steven Kwan on his second pitch and tied a career worst with five walks. He struck out two and got eight outs on the ground, including a double play by rookie Jhonkensy Noel to end the sixth.

Cole became the fourth active pitcher to reach 150 wins, joining Justin Verlander (260), Max Scherzer (216) and Clayton Kershaw (212).

Giancarlo Stanton added a three-run homer for the Yankees, who moved 1 ½ games ahead of Baltimore for the AL East lead.

Cleveland lost for the fifth time in six games. The Guardians scored once and had five hits in the final two games of the series after scoring six times in the 12th in a 9-5 win on Tuesday.

Braves take series from Phillies

Rookie Spencer Schwellenbach retired 19 straight batters and Adam Duvall went 3 for 3 with a home run as the Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 to take two of three in the series.

After Schwellenbach surrendered a one-out single to Bryce Harper in the first, he didn't allow another hitter to reach safely until Bryson Stott's infield hit off the pitcher's glove with two outs in the seventh.

 J.T. Realmuto followed with a run-scoring double to the gap in right-center, cutting into Atlanta's 3-1 lead and ending Schwellenbach’s night. Pierce Johnson struck out Brandon Marsh to end the threat and worked around two walks in the eighth, retiring Trea Turner on an inning-ending double play.

Raisel Iglesias struck out the side in the ninth for his 28th save in 30 chances.

Schwellenbach gave up two runs and three hits over 6 2/3 innings with one walk and nine strikeouts – all swinging.

Duvall hit his 11th home run leading off the sixth to extend Atlanta’s lead to 3-1. His three-hit night came after he entered the game mired in a 1-for-29 slump.

Arrighetti pitches Astros to 9th straight road win

Spencer Arrighetti pitched three-hit ball over six scoreless innings and the Houston Astros extended their lead in the AL West to a season-high 5 ½ games with a 6-0 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

Arrighetti walked one and struck out six before departing after throwing 94 pitches. He outpitched Orioles ace Corbin Burnes, who allowed five earned runs over 5 2/3 innings.

Ben Gamel drove in two runs in his Astros debut as they won their ninth straight road game, Houston’s longest run since an 11-game streak in 2018.

Gamel, acquired off waivers from the New York Mets, delivered RBI singles in the fourth and sixth, when Houston did all its scoring. The Astros are 62-39 since their 7-19 start, and they've opened a comfortable lead over second-place Seattle in the AL West. Houston was 10 games behind after losing to the Chicago White Sox on June 18.

The Orioles have lost five of seven to fall 1 1/2 games behind the AL East-leading Yankees.

Aaron Civale pitched six stellar innings and Willy Adames hit a three-run homer in the first inning as the Milwaukee Brewers ended the Cleveland Guardians’ five-game winning streak with a 5-3 victory in a matchup of division leaders on Friday night.

Civale, who began his career with Cleveland in 2019, gave up four hits with one walk and four strikeouts.

After going 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA in his first five appearances with Milwaukee, he’s 2-0 with a 1.46 ERA over his last two starts.

The Brewers jumped on Gavin Williams for three runs in the first.

Ty Black reached on a fielder’s choice with one out and William Conteras walked before Adames sent a 431-foot drive over the wall in right-center.

It was Adames’ franchise record 10th three-run homer – the most in the majors this season.

Jose Ramirez and David Fry homered in the eighth to draw the Guardians within 5-3, but Joel Payamps retired the side in order in the ninth for his sixth save with regular closer Devin Williams unavailable.

Lowly White Sox end Astros’ win streak

Luis Robert Jr. had two home runs among his four hits and drove in four runs as the major league-worst Chicago White Sox snapped the Houston Astros’ eight-game winning streak with a 5-4 victory.

Robert hit a two-run homer in the third and added a solo shot in the fifth as the White Sox built a 4-1 lead. It’s the seventh career two-homer game for Robert and his first since March 30 against Detroit.

Jake Meyers and Jon Singleton homered for the Astros, who struck out a season-high 16 times in their first loss since Aug. 5.

The White Sox (30-93) are 3-5 in their last eight games following 21 consecutive losses.

Garrett Crochet allowed one run on four hits over four innings with nine strikeouts. Chad Kuhl gave up Singleton’s homer in the ninth but fanned Jose Altuve for his first save of the season.

Witt continues surge as Royals win

Bobby Witt Jr. homered, doubled and singled to raise his major league-leading average to .352 and Michael Lorenzen pitched into the sixth inning to lift the Kansas City Royals to a 7-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds.

Witt hit a four-seam fastball from Nick Martinez 430 feet into the upper deck for his 25th homer in the fourth inning. He doubled and scored on a fielder’s choice in the sixth and had an infield single in the seventh.

The Reds intentionally walked him with two outs in the ninth, just before he scored on Vinnie Pasquantino's 18th homer.

Witt is batting .422 (27 for 64) with seven homers and 19 RBIs in his last 16 games. He became the third Royals player to hit 25 homers and steal 25 bases in consecutive seasons.

Lorenzen, acquired by the Royals from Texas on July 29, allowed a run and two hits in 5 2/3 innings and left after 83 pitches.

Salvador Perez, Adam Frazier and Freddie Fermin also drove in runs for Kansas City, helping snap Cincinnati's four-game win streak.

Matt Wallner hit a go-ahead three-run homer and Minnesota’s bullpen pitched four perfect innings as the Twins completed a doubleheader sweep of the reeling Cleveland Guardians with a 6-3 win on Friday night.

In the first game, Bailey Ober pitched six shutout innings and Carlos Santana and Ryan Jeffers each hit solo home runs to give the Twins a 4-2 victory.

The Twins’ seventh win in nine tries moved them within 1 ½ games of the Guardians, who have lost a season-high seven in a row.

That's the closest defending division champion Minnesota has been since May 13 to Cleveland, which has held first place for all but seven days in April.

The Guardians, who hadn't lost more than three games in a row all season until this skid started last weekend, went hitless against relievers Cole Sands, Caleb Thielbar and Trevor Richards after tagging Twins starter Louie Varland for eight hits and three runs in 4 2/3 innings.

Richards recorded his first save, after Jhoan Duran notched his 16th save in the opener by striking out the side in the ninth inning.

Sizzling Padres rally past Marlins

Manny Machado highlighted a four-run 10th with a two-run double and drove in three runs as the red-hot San Diego Padres rallied for their sixth straight win, 6-2 over the Miami Marlins.

The Padres trailed 2-0 entering the eighth but Jurickson Profar doubled with one out and scored on Machado’s double. Jackson Merrill, who finished with three hits, led off the ninth with a 400-foot homer to center, his 16th to tie it.

Machado’s double off Brett De Geus scored former Marlin Luis Arraez, who had singled, and Jake Cronenworth. Tyler Wade broke the 2-2 tie when he beat the throw home on a Cronenworth grounder to shortstop Xavier Edwards.

Martin Perez allowed two runs on three hits over seven innings and Bryan Hoeing and Jason Adam each worked a hitless inning before Tanner Scott worked the 10th against his former team.

San Diego has won 15 of its last 17 games and is 2 ½ games behind the NL West-leading Dodgers.

Jake Burger and Jonah Bride hit back-to-back homers in the fourth for the last-place Marlins, who have lost eight of 12.

Diamondbacks win on Del Castillo’s walk-off homer

Adrian Del Castillo hit a walk-off home run in the ninth inning for his first career blast to lift the surging Arizona Diamondbacks to a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Phillies rallied from a 2-0 deficit, tying it in the eighth on a two-out RBI double from Johan Rojas that scored Nick Castellanos from first.

That set up Del Castillo's ninth-inning heroics. He jumped all over a 97 mph fastball from Jeff Hoffman, launching it deep into the right-field seats for his first big league homer. Del Castillo was called up this week after starting catcher Gabriel Moreno went down with a groin injury in Cleveland.

Arizona has won 13 of 16 to strengthen its hold on an NL wild-card spot.

After Sean Murphy tied the game with a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning, the Atlanta Braves scored once in the 11th to rally for a 5-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday in a clash of 2023 National League play-off teams.

Marcell Ozuna drove in the eventual winning run with a sacrifice fly in the 11th that plated designated runner Austin Riley, who had advanced from second to third on an infield single by Matt Olson.

Riley homered earlier in the game and Murphy went 2 for 4 as the Braves took the opener of this four-game series and won their third consecutive contest.

Atlanta's bats were largely quiet for much of the night thanks to an impressive MLB debut by Arizona starter Yilber Diaz, but came alive against struggling closer Paul Sewald with the Braves trailing 3-1 in the ninth.

Sewald retired the first two hitters in the inning before Eddie Rosario extended Atlanta's chances with a single. Murphy then drove a 1-1 pitch over the wall in right center field to hand Sewald a third blown save in his last three appearances.

Diaz was in line for the victory after allowing just one run on four hits through six innings.

Both teams scored once in the 10th, with the Braves getting a sacrifice fly from Ozzie Albies and the Diamondbacks the same from Luis Perdomo.

Ozuna's fly ball in the 11th put Atlanta back ahead, and Joe Jimenez stranded the tying run in the bottom of the inning to record his second save of the season. 

Atlanta closer Raisel Iglesias earned the win after working two innings and permitting one unearned run.

Riley's 12th homer of the season gave the Braves an early edge in the first inning, and the Diamondbacks were held scoreless by Bryce Elder through the first five innings before breaking through in the sixth.

Perdomo led off the bottom of the sixth with a bloop single and took second when Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia mishandled the ball on the play, then scored on Corbin Carroll's single to tie the game at 1-1.

Elder then walked the next two batters to load the bases before being relieved by Grant Holmes, who walked Christian Walker on four pitches to give Arizona the lead. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. followed with a sacrifice fly to provide the Diamondbacks a two-run cushion.

Elder was charged with three runs allowed on four hits over five-plus innings.

Late error allows Tigers to edge Guardians

Jake Rogers scored the game's lone run on a Cleveland error in the eighth inning as the suddenly surging Detroit Tigers came through with a 1-0 victory over the American League Central-leading Guardians to open a four-game series.

Rogers greeted reliever Scott Barlow with a double to open the eighth and took third on Wenceel Perez's second hit of the night. Two batter later, Mark Canha hit a grounder that eluded the glove of Guardians' shortstop Brayan Roccio to allow the Detroit catcher to cross the plate and break the scoreless tie.

The Guardians couldn't mount a baserunner after the seventh inning, as Tyler Holton retired all five batters he faced to record the win and Shelby Miller threw a perfect ninth to close out the Tigers' fourth consecutive victory.

Detroit went 8-18 from June 5-July 4 before sweeping a three-game series on the road from the Cincinnati Reds this past weekend.

The game featured a strong duel between starting pitchers that didn't factor in the decision. Detroit's Keider Montero allowed just three hits over 6 1/3 scoreless innings in his third career major league start, while Cleveland's Gavin Williams struck out five over 5 1/3 scoreless innings in his second start back from an elbow injury that had sidelined him since spring training.

Cardinals stay hot with shutout of Nationals

Alec Burleson homered and drove in three runs to back a sharp start from Miles Mikolas as the St. Louis Cardinals recorded a series-clinching 6-0 win over the Washington Nationals.

Paul Goldschmidt added a solo homer among his two hits to help the Cardinals take three of four meetings of the wraparound series. St. Louis improved to 33-18 since May 12, the best record in the National League over that stretch.

MIkolas (7-7) scattered six hits without a walk over 6 1/3 innings before relievers Andrew Kittredge and JoJo Romero finished the shutout by working 1 1/3 innings each.

Washington starter Mitchell Parker (5-5) was hung with the loss despite yielding two runs - one earned - and striking out six over seven innings.

The Cardinals' first run off Parker came courtesy of an error by Washington shortstop CJ Abrams, who threw wildly to first base on a double-play attempt to allow Nolan Gorman to score from second in the third inning. Gorman and Michael Siani had opened the frame with back-to-back infield singles.

Goldschmidt's homer off Parker in the fourth extended the lead to 2-0, and Burleson increased it further with a solo shot off Jacob Barnes in the eighth. Goldschmidt reached on an error later in the inning and came home on Brendan Donovan's two-out double for a 4-0 St. Louis advantage.

Donovan finished 2 for 4 and extended his streak of reaching base safely to 21 straight games.

The Cardinals tacked on two more runs in the ninth when Gorman and Siani each singled before both later scored on Burleson's base hit.

 

 

Shohei Ohtani hit a leadoff homer for the second straight game and extended his RBI streak to a franchise-record 10 consecutive games in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 4-0 win over the lowly Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night.

Ohtani took Erick Fedde deep on a full-count fastball for his National League-best 25th home run. It was his third leadoff homer of the season and his eighth home run in the last 10 games.

He is batting .310 (27 for 87) with 11 homers and 23 RBIs in 23 games this month.

Gavin Stone shut down the White Sox on four hits in his first career complete game. He struck out seven and walked none to improve to 8-1 with a 2.03 ERA in his last 11 starts.

Los Angeles (51-31) won its fourth straight and has won eight of 10 to move a season-best 20 games over .500.

The major league-worst White Sox (21-61) have lost seven of eight to fall 40 games under .500. They were shut out for the 12th time this season and were 1 for 21 with runners in scoring position while totalling three runs and 17 hits in the three-game series.

Streaking Astros roll Rockies

Spencer Arrighetti struck out a season-high 10 over seven scoreless innings and was backed by Yainer Diaz’s three hits as the Houston Astros won their season-high seventh straight, 7-1 over the Colorado Rockies.

Arrighetti limited the Rockies to three hits and didn’t walk a batter for the first time in the longest start of his rookie season.

Houston (40-40), which opened 7-19, reached .500 for the first time this season and is batting .320 while averaging 6.9 runs during the seven-game streak.

The Astros broke open the game with a four-run seventh to take a 6-0 lead. Cesar Salazar had a sacrifice fly before Jose Altuve hit a soft grounder to shortstop Ezequiel Tovar and his throw home was high, allowing another run to score.

Alex Bregman then grounded into a forceout, but a throwing error by second baseman Brendan Rogers sent another run home. Yordan Alvarez hit a ground-rule double and Diaz’s single stretched the lead to 6-0.

The Rockies are 0-4 against the Astros this season and have dropped 11 in a row at Minute Maid Park, dating to Aug. 15, 2018.

Orioles end skid, cool Guardians

Cedric Mullins snapped a tie with a seventh-inning home run and Gunnar Henderson belted his 26th of the season as the Baltimore Orioles snapped the Cleveland Guardians’ seven-game winning streak with a 4-2 victory.

Ryan O’Hearn also went deep for the Orioles, who had lost five in a row since a 17-5 pounding of the Yankees on June 20. It was their longest losing streak since May 2022.

Mullins connected off Xzavion Curry to lead off the seventh, putting Baltimore ahead 3-2.

Grayson Rodriguez surrendered solo home runs to Jhonkensy Noel and Gabriel Arias but not much else. He gave up three other hits over seven innings without a walk and struck out four.

Cionel Perez pitched a perfect eighth and Craig Kimbrel struck out the side in the ninth for his 17th save and 434th of his career.

Noel was recalled from Triple-A Columbus and became the fourth Cleveland player to homer in his first major league at-bat. The last Cleveland player to go deep in his first at-bat in the majors was Kevin Kouzmanoff in 2006.

Jose Ramirez hit a three-run homer and Gabriel Arias had three hits and three RBIs as the Cleveland Guardians won their seventh straight, 10-8 over the struggling Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night.

Bo Naylor fell a home run shy of the cycle and scored three runs as Cleveland collected 14 hits and went 7 for 11 with runners in scoring position.

Ramirez’s drive to center capped a five-run fourth that extended Cleveland’s lead to 8-4. With 237 homers, he’s now in sole possession of third place on the franchise’s career list.

The major league-leading Guardians used five relievers after Logan Allen was tagged for six runs and nine hits over three-plus innings.

Emmanuel Clase pitched the ninth for his AL-best 25th save.

Jordan Westburg went 4 for 4 and Gunnar Henderson, Colton Cowser, James McCann and Anthony Santander homered for the Orioles, who lost their season-high fifth straight.

Santander’s home run was his 12th this month, tying the club record for June shared by Boog Powell (1964), Rafael Palmeiro (1998), Albert Belle (2000) and Chris Davis (2013).

Surging Mets rough up Cole

Mark Vientos homered twice off Gerrit Cole and the New York Mets took the New York Yankees’ ace deep four times before holding on for a 9-7 victory in the first Subway Series matchup of the season.

Reed Garrett gave up Aaron Judge’s grand slam – his major league-leading 29th home run – in the eighth inning but worked a perfect ninth to preserve the Mets’ 10th win in 12 games.

Vientos led off the second with his first home run of the night and Harrison Bader connected against his former teammate one out later.

Vientos opened the fourth with another longball to extend the Mets’ lead to 4-0 and Brandon Nimmo’s two-run shot off Cole in the inning made it 6-0.

Cole allowed six runs on seven hits in four innings with four walks and no strikeouts in his second start of the season.

He surrendered a career-high five home runs at Minnesota on June 9, 2022.

Juan Soto also went deep for the Yankees, who have lost seven of nine but maintain a two-game lead over Baltimore in the AL East.

Padres’ Profar hits grand slam after benches empty

Jurickson Profar broke open the game with a grand slam after he was the focal point of a benches-clearing dustup and Manny Machado had a two-run homer as the San Diego Padres defeated the Washington Nationals 9-6.

With one out in the first inning, Washington catcher Keibert Ruiz jawed at Profar and put a hand on his shoulder just before his at-bat. Machado, who was on deck, then put a hand on Ruiz’s shoulder as he got in between them, and players and coaches from both teams swarmed onto the field.

Plate umpire Brian Walsh warned both teams, and Nationals pitcher MacKenzie Gore hit Profar with a pitch but wasn’t ejected.

Machado followed by taking Gore deep for a 2-0 lead.

Profar’s fourth career grand slam and second this season came in the sixth off Derek Law and extended the lead to 9-4.

The Nationals apparently felt Profar trolled them after hitting a walk-off, two-run single in the 10th inning in Monday’s 7-6 win.

Aaron Judge completed a torrid month with his major league-leading 19th and 20th home runs and Marcus Stroman pitched into the eighth inning as the New York Yankees defeated the San Francisco Giants, 6-2 on Friday night.

Judge singled in the first inning, then erased New York’s 1-0 deficit with a three-run homer in the third off starter Jordan Hicks and led off the sixth with a solo shot to make it 4-1.

Judge, who grew up about 100 miles away in Linden, California, was heavily recruited by the Giants in free agency in December 2022, but decided to remain with the Yankees and signed a nine-year, $360 million contract.

He finished May with a .371 average, 14 home runs, 12 doubles and 27 RBIs in 28 games. Judge’s 26 extra-base hits are the most by any Yankees player in a month since Joe DiMaggio had 31 in July 1937, and this is just the eighth time since the end of World War II that any player in the majors had that many extra-base hits in any month.

The Yankees have won 14 of 18 and are just the fourth team ever to reach 40 wins before June 1.

Stroman allowed two runs and six hits over 7 1/3 innings. New York tied a franchise record set in 1981 with its 18th straight start with a pitcher going at least five innings and allowing three runs or fewer.

Yelich’s big night powers Brewers

Christian Yelich had five of the Brewers’ 23 hits and drove in five runs in Milwaukee’s 12-5 rout of the lowly Chicago White Sox.

Yelich, who had a career-high six hits on Aug. 29, 2018, had a two-run single in the fourth, a two-run double in the seventh and an RBI single in the eighth. He had a career-high six hits at Cincinnati on Aug. 29, 2018.

Brice Turang, William Contreras and Sal Frelick each had three hits for the NL Central-leading Brewers, who have won four of five.

Paul DeJong homered for the White Sox, who lost their ninth straight to fall to a major league-worst 15-43.

Bibee sharp in Guardians’ win

Tanner Bibee took a shutout into the seventh and Davis Fry hit a three-run homer as the Cleveland Guardians won their eighth straight at home, 7-1 over the Washington Nationals.

Bibee gave up one run and three hits in 6 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts and one walk. He has a 1.82 ERA in his last five starts.

Cleveland broke open the game with a four-run seventh. Josh Naylor knocked in a run with a force out grounder and Fry followed with his eighth home run, a blast to left-center field off Robert Garcia.

Fry is batting .455 (15 for 33) with five homers, 15 RBIs and 13 runs in his last 11 games.

Guardians leadoff hitter Steven Kwan had three hits, two runs and a walk in his return after being activated from the injured list before the game. He raised his batting average to .365 in 33 games.

Patrick Bailey hit a go-ahead grand slam and third baseman Matt Chapman made a game-saving defensive gem as the San Francisco Giants overcame another big deficit to beat the reeling New York Mets, 8-7 on Friday.

The Giants rallied from a 6-2 hole in the eighth to join the 1932 St. Louis Cardinals as the only teams since 1900 to win three straight road games in which they trailed by at least four runs.

Just two other teams have accomplished the feat at home: the 1999 Florida Marlins and the 1961 Boston Red Sox.

Jorge Soler and Mike Yastrzemski also homered for the Giants, who have won seven of eight to reach .500 for the first time since they were 2-2 on March 31.

Thairo Estrada’s RBI double with two outs in the eighth drew San Francisco within 6-3 and Chapman walked to load the bases before Bailey took Reed Garrett deep for his first career grand slam.

The Mets rallied in the bottom of the ninth trailing 8-6 and got an RBI single from Francisco Lindor before loading the bases with one out. But J.D. Martinez struck out and Chapman fielded Mark Vientos’ grounder barehanded on a do-or-die play and fired off balance to first, where LaMonte Wade Jr. made a difficult pick of an in-between hop for the final out.

The Mets have lost 11 of 14 to drop to 21-29, their worst 50-game start since 2013.

Lugo wins again as Royals stay hot

Seth Lugo became the American League’s first eight-game winner and Bobby Witt Jr. and Michael Massey homered to lead the Kansas City Royals to their seventh straight win, 8-1 over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Lugo limited the Rays to one run on four hits to lower his AL-best ERA from 1.79 to 1.74. Philadelphia’s Ranger Suarez leads the majors with nine victories.

The Royals (33-19) moved a season-best 14 games over .500. They were 15-37 after 52 games last season and didn’t reach 33 wins until Aug. 1.

Tampa Bay has scored 10 runs during a season-high five-game losing streak.

Massey’s three-run shot off Tyler Alexander in the fifth gave Kansas City a 5-1 lead, but he left an inning later with lower back tightness.

Streaking Guardians hit 3 straight home runs

Jose Ramirez went deep twice and started a run of three consecutive homers in the fourth inning as the Cleveland Guardians pushed their winning streak to seven with a 10-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.

Ramirez belted two-run shots in the third and fourth innings for his 24th multihomer game and first since July 30 against the White Sox. Ramirez’s four RBIs gave him a major league-leading 49.

Josh Naylor and David Fry also went deep in the fourth as the Guardians became the first team this season to go back-to-back-to-back.

Luis Rengifo, Jo Adell and Logan O’Hoppe homered for the Angels, who dropped to 6-17 at home.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Streaking Indians beat Mets

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

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

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

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

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

Royals’ Ragans dominates Tigers

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jose Alvarado pitched the ninth for his ninth save.

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

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

Witt leads streaking Royals

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

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

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

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

Guardians edge Mets to stay hot

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

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

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

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

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

Rafael Devers set a Red Sox record by homering in his sixth consecutive game, and Tanner Houck threw seven dominant innings as Boston cruised to a 5-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in Monday's opener of a three-game series between American League East rivals.

Devers cracked a two-run shot off Taj Bradley in the fourth inning to become the first player in franchise history to put together six straight games with at least one home run. The star third baseman had shared the record with six other players, including Hall of Famers Ted Williams and Jimmie Foxx. 

Houck (4-5) lowered his season ERA to 1.94 by limiting the Rays to two hits and a walk. The right-hander halted a personal three-start losing streak in which he received a combined three runs of support.

He got more help in this one as the Red Sox broke out for three runs in the fourth, which Jarren Duran opened with a triple in front of Wilyer Abreu's double that staked Boston to a 1-0 lead.

Two batters later, Devers launched an 0-1 pitch into the seats in left field for his historic homer.

Boston extended the margin on Ceddanne Rafaela's two-run homer in the fifth.

Bradley (1-2) fanned eight of the first nine Red Sox hitters and finished with 10 strikeouts in seven innings, but allowed all five runs to take the loss.

The Rays mustered just three hits for the game and were dealt a second straight loss following a four-game winning streak.

Mariners score four in ninth inning to end Yankees' streak

Ty France knocked in the go-ahead run with a single as the Seattle Mariners scored four times in the ninth inning to halt the New York Yankees' seven-game winning streak with a stunning 5-4 win.

Seattle's offence managed just three hits through eight innings before coming to life against New York closer Clay Holmes while down 4-1 in the ninth. 

Julio Rodriguez began the rally with a one-out single and Cal Raleigh drew a walk before Luke Raley reached on an infield hit, in which Yankees' second baseman Gleyber Torres threw wildly to first to allow Rodriguez to score on the error.

After Mitch Haniger followed with a single that plated Raleigh, Raley crossed the plate on Dominic Canzone's sacrifice fly to tie the game at 4-4. France then shot a single to right that brought home Haniger to put Seattle ahead.

Andres Munoz then struck out two in the bottom of the ninth to earn his ninth save as the Mariners took the opener of this four-game series.

Holmes' struggles ruined a terrific outing from New York starter Marcus Stroman, who yielded just one run on three hits while striking out six over 7 1/3 innings.

Alex Verdugo went 3 for 5 for the Yankees and had three RBIs, two of which came on a first-inning double that opened the scoring. New York had put two aboard on a hit batter and Aaron Judge's one-out double. 

Verdugo struck again in the fifth by following back-to-back singles from Juan Soto and Judge with a base hit of his own that increased the lead to 3-0. 

Stroman took a shutout into the eighth that was broken up by Canzone's solo homer with one out. The Yankees countered in their half of the inning, however, when Torres drew a walk and later scored on Jon Berti's single.

Seattle starter Logan Gilbert worked six innings and allowed three runs on eight hits.

Guardians down Mets in Lindor's return to Cleveland

Ben Lively allowed one run over 5 2/3 sharp innings as the Cleveland Guardians remained hot with a 3-1 win over the New York Mets in Francisco Lindor's return to Progressive Field.

Lindor was playing in Cleveland for the first time since the Guardians traded the four-time All-Star shortstop to New York in January 2021. Lindor spent his first six MLB seasons with the Guardians and was an integral part of four play-off teams during his tenure.

The former fan favourite went 0 for 4 in his return as the Mets got little going against Lively (3-2), who struck out seven and scattered six hits to help the AL Central leaders win for the seventh time in eight games. 

Lively got all the support he would need via David Fry's two-run single in the first inning off Tylor Megill. The hit brought in Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor, both of whom singled and advanced a base on a fielding error by New York left fielder Brandon Nimmo.

Tomas Nido brought the Mets within 2-1 with a solo homer off Lively in the third inning, though Cleveland restored its two-run advantage in the fourth when Fry drew a walk and later scored on Kyle Manzardo's double.

Lively and the Cleveland bullpen successfully protected the lead as four relievers combined for 3 1/3 scoreless innings. Emmanuel Clase retired the side in order in the ninth to register his 14th save, tied with St. Louis' Ryan Helsley for the major league lead.

Megill (0-2), activated from the injured list prior to the game, struck out seven over five innings while giving up three runs, two of which were earned. 

Pete Alonso had two of the Mets' six hits as New York lost for the eighth time in 11 games. 

 

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stott the hero as Phillies rally past Mets in 10 innings

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ramirez's four RBIs helps Guardians extend Rangers' skid

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

 

Tyler Freeman and Bryan Rocchio delivered RBIs in the seventh inning and Jose Ramirez homered to lift the Cleveland Guardians to their fifth straight victory, 4-1 over the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday.

The Guardians improved the majors’ best record to 17-6, matching their best start through 23 games. Cleveland also was 17-6 in 1999 and 1966.

Ben Lively allowed one run and five hits over 6 1/3 innings in his Progressive Field debut. He walked one and struck out seven.

Scott Barlow and Hunter Gaddis got the next five outs before Emmanuel Clase struck out the side in the ninth for his seventh save.

Tanner Houck, who threw a three-hit shutout against Cleveland last week, held the Guardians scoreless through six innings before Freeman singled home Will Brennan and Rocchio’s sacrifice fly in the seventh put Cleveland ahead.

Rob Refsnyder had three hits as Boston had a three-game winning streak snapped.

Fried dominates Marlins

Max Fried pitched a three-hitter for Atlanta’s first complete game since 2022 and Adam Duvall belted a two-run homer as the surging Braves blanked the Miami Marlins for the second straight night, 5-0.

Fried didn’t walk anyone and struck out six, needing just 92 pitches to become the first Braves pitcher to complete nine innings since Bryce Elder in an 8-0 win over Washington on Sept. 26, 2022.

Fried notched his fourth career shutout and fifth career complete game as Atlanta won its eighth in nine games.

The Marlins have gone 20 innings without scoring a run and dropped to 6-19.

Duvall’s second home run of the season capped a three-run sixth and extended the lead to 5-0.

Cubs keep Astros reeling

Mike Tauchman hit his first two home runs of the season and the Chicago Cubs scored five first-inning runs in a 7-2 win over the Houston Astros, who dropped 10 games under .500 for the first time since 2016.

Cody Bellinger had a two-run blast in the first inning off J.P. France and Tauchman capped the fast start with a three-run shot. He added a solo home run in the eighth.

Houston has lost three straight and six of seven and, at 7-17, is 10 games under .500 for the first time since an 18-28 start in 2016.

Jordan Wicks limited the Astros to two runs and five hits over a season-best six innings with no walks and four strikeouts.

Juan Soto’s three-run homer backed a stellar season debut by Cody Poteet and the New York Yankees rolled to an 8-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians for a doubleheader sweep on Saturday.

With a 3-2 victory in the opener, the Yankees are 12-3 for the seventh time in their history and first since 2003. They have won eight of nine road games.

Poteet allowed one run and six hits over six innings to earn his first win since 2021 with Miami. He did not pitch in the majors last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2022.

Soto’s three-run homer came off starter Triston McKenzie and was preceded by Anthony Volpe’s RBI single.

Josh Naylor and Estevan Florial homered for Cleveland, which is 1-9 in its last five doubleheaders.

In the opener, Oswaldo Cabrera hit a two-run homer and Clay Holmes survived a shaky ninth inning.

 

Brewers slug way to another win

Jake Bauers snapped a tie with a three-run homer and the Milwaukee Brewers scored at least seven runs again in an 11-5 win over the Baltimore Orioles.

Rhys Hoskins also homered and Willy Adames and Brice Turang each added three hits for the Brewers, who have scored 58 runs in their last six games, with at least seven in each. That streak ties a franchise record set in 1982 and 1989.

Ryan Mountcastle, Jordan Westburg and Adley Rutschman went deep for Baltimore, which has allowed 22 runs in the first two games of this series.

Milwaukee went 6 for 10 with runners in scoring position and is 33 for 69 (.478) over the last six games.

 

Cubs’ Imanaga continues strong start

Shota Imanaga allowed one unearned run over 5 1/3 innings and Michael Busch homered in his third straight game to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 4-1 win over the Seattle Mariners.

Imanaga has thrown 15 1/3 innings in his first three major league starts without giving up an earned run. He scattered five hits, struck out four and walked two.

Mark Leiter Jr., Yency Almonte, Hector Neris and Adbert Alzolay surrendered just two baserunners in 3 2/3 innings of relief.

Seiya Suzuki and Miguel Amaya added solo home runs as the Cubs improved to 2-3 on a nine-game road trip.

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