Mookie Betts went 2 for 4 with a homer and three RBIs in a dazzling return from the injured list that sparked the Los Angeles Dodgers to a key 5-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday.

In his first game since fracturing his left hand on June 16, Betts hit a two-run homer that broke a scoreless tie in the third inning and later added a run-scoring single to lead Los Angeles in the opener of this four-game series between National League division leaders.

Shohei Ohtani also had a two-run homer, his NL-leading 36th of the season, to help Clayton Kershaw earn his first win since September in the three-time Cy Young Award winner's best start of the season.

Kershaw (1-2) held the Brewers to one run and three hits through 5 2/3 innings in his fourth start since returning from offseason shoulder surgery.

The Dodgers have now won four straight and moved a half-game ahead of the East-leading Philadelphia Phillies in the race for the NL's best record. Milwaukee dropped to 2 1/2 games behind Los Angeles and has lost two in a row following a five-game winning streak.

Betts stepped to the plate with Teoscar Hernandez aboard in the third inning and drove a 2-1 pitch from Milwaukee starter Freddy Peralta over the left field wall to stake Kershaw to a 2-0 lead. 

Ohtani made it 4-0 two innings later by following a Kevin Kiermaier single with an opposite-field homer off Peralta (7-7), who was tagged for four runs on five hits in six innings.

Kershaw departed with two out and a runner on in the sixth in favour of Joe Kelly, who was greeted by a home run by William Contreras that brought the Brewers within 4-2.

Betts struck again in the seventh, however, with a two-out single that plated Ohtani, who drew a walk and advanced to second with his 33rd stolen base of the season.

Three Dodger relievers then combined to keep the Brewers scoreless over the final three innings, with Daniel Hudson working a perfect ninth to notch his ninth save. 

Valdez stars again as Astros win sixth straight

Framber Valdez and the Houston Astros both extended their unbeaten runs as the American League West leaders opened a three-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays with a 6-1 victory.

Valdez (12-5), who lost a no-hit bid with two outs in the ninth inning in his previous outing, struck out nine while yielding just one run and three hits over 5 2/3 innings to improve to 7-0 with a 2.68 ERA over his last nine starts. The Astros have won all of those appearances.

Yainer Diaz supplied the big blow in Houston's sixth consecutive win with a three-run homer in the third inning. Alex Bregman added a solo shot to help the Astros move a half-game ahead of the Seattle Mariners for sole possession of the AL West lead.

Bregman's blast off Taj Bradley in the first inning put Houston ahead quickly, and the Astros broke the game open with four runs in the third.

After Bradley walked Chas McCormick and gave up a single to Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez drove in McCormick with a two-out hit to increase the margin. Diaz then belted the first pitch he saw into the left field seats for a 5-0 advantage.

The Rays got on the board in the bottom of the third when Taylor Walls tripled and scored on Jose Caballero's sacrifice fly, but managed just two hits off Valdez and two Houston relievers the rest of the way en route to their fifth loss in seven games.

Houston tacked on one more run in the fifth as Alvarez doubled, advanced to third on Jeremy Pena's infield single and scored on a fielder's choice groundout off the bat of Jake Meyers.

Bradley (6-7) lost his third straight start after allowing six runs and eight hits over 4 1/3 innings.

Braves score in 10th to win duel of aces with Giants

Travis d'Arnaud drove in the game's lone run with a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning as the Atlanta Braves earned a needed 1-0 win over the San Francisco Giants in the opener of a four-game series.

The game featured a matchup of standout pitchers that lived up to its advanced billing, as both Atlanta's Chris Sale and the Giants' Blake Snell turned in dominant performances despite neither factoring in the final outcome.

Sale racked up a season-high 12 strikeouts while permitting just three hits over seven scoreless innings, while the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Snell fanned 11 Braves and surrendered two hits in 6 1/3 shutout innings.

The Braves finally broke the deadlock with Orlando Arcia placed as the designated runner to start the 10th. Sean Murphy then singled off Taylor Rogers to move the go-ahead run to third before d'Arnaud's fly ball to right was deep enough to enable Arcia to score.

Raisel Iglesias was able to strand the Giants' designated runner in the bottom of the inning by recording two strikeouts before getting Patrick Bailey to fly out and end the game. The Atlanta closer also pitched a scoreless ninth to keep the contest at 0-0.

The lack of run support prevented Sale from becoming the majors' first 14-game winner this season, though his outstanding effort helped the Braves increase their lead over the rival New York Mets to one game for the NL's final wild card spot.

Atlanta entered the series having gone 7-14 over its previous 21 games to fall out of the top spot in the wild-card race.

The Giants have now dropped two straight following a 12-3 stretch that got them back into the play-off picture. San Francisco is now 2 1/2 games behind Atlanta in the standings.

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.