Cal Raleigh homered twice and drove in a career-high six runs to lead a 15-hit outburst by the scorching Seattle Mariners, who rolled to a 14-2 rout of the Chicago White Sox on Monday to extend their winning streak to seven games.
Raleigh went 3 for 5 with three runs scored and accounted for half of the Mariners' four homers as Seattle won for the 15th time in 18 games. Teoscar Hernandez and Dominic Canzone added solo shots with Hernandez finishing with two hits and three RBIs.
The Mariners' surge has moved them past the Toronto Blue Jays for the AL's final wild card and within two games of slumping Texas for first place in the American League West. The Rangers twice blew late leads in a 4-3, 11-inning loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday.
Seattle also received strong pitching from ace Luis Castillo, who struck out nine while holding the White Sox to one run in seven innings to win his third consecutive start.
Chicago starter Touki Toussaint was tagged for five first-inning runs and seven overall before being removed with none out in the fifth.
Diamondbacks rally twice late to stun struggling Rangers
Tommy Pham's walkoff two-run double in the 11th inning capped a second late rally that catapulted the resurgent Arizona Diamondbacks to a stunning 4-3 win over the reeling Texas Rangers to open a key two-game series.
After forcing extra innings on Ketel Marte's solo homer in the ninth inning, the Diamondbacks trailed 3-2 with two outs in the 11th when Pham drove Rangers closer Will Smith's pitch into the gap in right-center field to plate Marte and Geraldo Perdomo and give Arizona an improbable eighth win in 10 games.
The Diamondbacks closed within a half-game of the San Francisco Giants for the National League's final wild card spot.
Texas, meanwhile, was dealt a season-high fifth straight loss and saw its lead over second-place Houston in the AL West reduced to 1 1/2 games after the Astros recorded a 9-4 win over the Boston Red Sox on Monday.
The Rangers got eight shutout innings from Jordan Montgomery and a solo homer from Adolis Garcia to carry a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth, but couldn't hold it as Marte homered off reliever Aroldis Chapman with one out.
Texas regained the upper hand on Nathaniel Lowe's two-run double in the top of the 11th, but Smith intentionally walked Marte to put two on in the bottom of the frame before Perdomo delivered an RBI double to trim the lead to 3-2.
Montgomery yielded just four hits and a walk while striking out six in a tough-luck no-decision.
Harper's inside-the-park home run highlights Phillies' rout of Giants
The Philadelphia Phillies hit four home runs, including an inside-the-park shot from Bryce Harper, in a 10-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants that opened a three-game series between National League playoff contenders.
Edmundo Sosa, Alec Bohm and Kyle Schwarber also went deep to back seven strong innings from Aaron Nola as the Phillies strengthened their hold on the NL's top wild card spot. The defending NL champions now own a 2 1/2-game advantage on the Chicago Cubs, who moved past San Francisco by a half-game for the No. 2 wild card with Monday's 7-6 win over the Detroit Tigers.
Sosa gave Philadelphia a 3-1 lead with a two-run homer off Sean Manaea in the second inning, and the Phillies increased the margin with a two-run fifth highlighted by Harper's second career inside-the-park homer. The two-time NL MVP raced around the bases to extend the advantage to 5-2 before Bryson Stott doubled home Bohm for a four-run cushion.
Schwarber's 33rd homer of the season followed Johan Rojas' two-run triple in the seventh to give Philadelphia a commanding 10-2 lead.
Nola surrendered solo homers to Joc Pederson and Lamonte Wade Jr. over his first three innings before shutting out the Gians over the remainder of his stint. The standout right-hander scattered seven hits and one walk while striking out five.
MLB: Paddack pitches Twins to 11th straight victory
Chris Paddack pitched two-hit ball over six scoreless innings and Edouard Julien and Ryan Jeffers each drove in two runs to lead the Minnesota Twins to their 11th straight win, 5-2 over the Boston Red Sox on Friday.
The Twins matched win streaks in 2003 and 2006 for their third-longest ever, trailing the club record of 15 straight during their last World Series championship season in 1991. They also won 12 in a row in 1980.
Paddack walked one and struck out six to win his third consecutive start. Jhoan Duran fanned two in the ninth for his second save.
The Red Sox struck out 13 times and lost their second straight following a four-game win streak.
The Twins opened the scoring in the third on Julien’s RBI single and extended to a 5-0 lead with four runs in the seventh.
A throwing error by catcher Reese McGuire scored a run, Julien walked with the bases loaded and Jeffers followed with a two-run double.
Bohm, Marsh lead surging Phillies
Alec Bohm had an RBI single to extend his hitting streak to 16 games and Brandon Marsh drove in two runs as the Philadelphia Phillies remained hot with a 4-3 win over the San Francisco Giants.
Trea Turner added a pair of hits and scored from second on a passed ball for the Phillies, who have won 14 of 17 and lead the majors with 22 victories.
Turner injured his left hamstring running the bases between third and home. He will have further tests on Saturday but said he expects to miss at least a couple of days.
Philadelphia took the lead for good with three runs in the third against Jordan Hicks on Bohm’s RBI single and Marsh’s two-run hit.
Bohm is 30 for 60 with three home runs, 10 doubles and 21 RBIs during his hitting streak.
Sears pitches Athletics to fifth straight victory
JP Sears pitched into the seventh inning and Brent Rooker hit a two-run homer to propel the surprising Oakland Athletics to their fifth consecutive win, 3-1 over the Miami Marlins.
Sears allowed four hits over 6 1/3 scoreless innings with one walk and six strikeouts. Austin Adams and Michael Kelly each got two outs before Lucas Erceg gave up one run over the final 1 1/3 innings for the save.
Oakland improved to 16-17 after it didn’t pick up its 16th win last season until June 10 in the 66th game.
After Rooker’s two-run shot in the fourth inning opened the scoring, Max Schuemann led off the fifth with a double and scored on Esteury Ruiz’s single.
The Marlins, who dropped to 9-25, are working to trade second baseman and reigning NL batting champion Luis Arrez to the San Diego Padres.
MLB: Lindor overcomes illness to lift Mets to walk-off win
Francisco Lindor overcame illness to deliver a walk-off, two-run double in the 11th inning in the New York Mets’ 7-6 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Thursday.
After Nick Madrigal gave the Cubs a 6-5 lead in the top of the 11th with a run-scoring double, Daniel Palencia began the bottom half by hitting Harrison Bader to put two runners on.
Lindor, who didn’t start after leaving Wednesday night’s game with flu-like symptoms, ripped a sharp grounder inside third base and down the left-field line to score automatic runner Brett Baty and Bader.
Lindor also had a two-run double in the sixth inning to forge a 5-5 tie and right fielder Starling Marte made two rocket throws in extra innings to cut down Cubs runners at the plate to end the 10th and 11th.
Brandon Nimo drove in two runs for the Mets, who overcame a 4-0 deficit to salvage a split of the four-game series.
Christopher Morel hit a three-run homer and had one of Chicago’s six stolen bases.
Orioles hit three home runs to beat Yankees
Ryan Mountcastle, Jorge Mateo and Ryan McKenna homered and Kyle Bradish pitched well in his season debut to lead the Baltimore Orioles to a 7-2 win over the New York Yankees.
Bradish allowed one run over 4 2/3 innings with two walks and five strikeouts after he began the season on the injured list with a UCL strain. Four relievers combined to limit the Yankees to one run and two hits over the final 4 1/3 innings.
Mountcastle, Mateo and Jordan Westburg each knocked in two runs as the Orioles took three of four in the series between the top teams in the AL East.
Baltimore’s pitchers allowed just six runs in the four games for a 1.50 ERA.
Carlos Rodon had his worst start of the season, yielding seven runs on eight hits in four-plus innings.
Gleyber Torres hit his first home run of the season for the Yankees but also made the team’s third error of the series to help extend Baltimore’s four-run fifth.
Singleton leads Astros past Guardians
Jon Singleton homered and drove in three runs as the Houston Astros rallied for their fourth win in five games, 8-2 over the Cleveland Guardians.
Singleton’s two-run homer in the sixth gave Houston a 3-2 lead and the Astros broke open the game with five runs in the seventh.
Jose Altuve singled home a run and scored when Jeremy Pena was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Yainer Diaz delivered a two-run single and Singleton’s sacrifice fly capped the outburst.
Spencer Arrighetti had the best of his four major league starts, allowing two runs and four hits over 5 2/3 innings with three walks and six strikeouts.
Will Brennan had three of Cleveland’s seven hits as the Guardians completed a six-game road trip with four losses.
MLB: Twins beat White Sox again for 10th straight victory
Max Kepler and Jose Miranda delivered run-scoring singles in the seventh inning and the Twins added four runs in the ninth to win their 10th straight game, 10-5 over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday.
Alex Kiriloff had a solo home run, Will Castro and Miranda each finished with three hits and Ryan Jeffers contributed a two-run double for the Twins, whose winning streak is their longest since June 2008.
Minnesota has beaten the major league-worst White Sox seven times during the streak, with the other three wins coming against the 11–20 Angels.
Tommy Pham and Kory Lee homered for Chicago, which lost its third straight to fall to 6-25.
Twins center fielder Byron Buxton left in the second inning with right knee soreness after an unsuccessful attempt to steal second base.
Imanaga sharp again as Cubs hold off Mets
Shota Imanaga continued his historic start with seven scoreless innings and the Chicago Cubs completed a perfect relay for the game’s final out to hold off the New York Mets, 1-0.
Imanaga limited the Mets to three singles with one walk and seven strikeouts to improve to 5-0 with a 0.78 ERA in his first six major league starts.
He is the first pitcher since 1901 to go 4-0 with a sub-1.00 ERA and at least 28 strikeouts in his first five starts.
The Mets put runners at second and third with one out in the bottom of the ninth against Hector Neris before Jeff McNeil hit a flyball to medium left field. Ian Happ made the catch and relayed to third baseman Nick Madrigal, who threw home to get Pete Alonso for the final out.
Chicago scored the game’s only run in the fifth, when Matt Mervis led off with a double, moved up on a wild pitch and scored on rookie Pete Crow-Armstrong’s sacrifice fly.
Red-hot Lugo wins again
Seth Lugo pitched seven strong innings for his fifth win and Michael Massey hit a three-run homer to lift the Kansas City Royals to a 6-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.
Lugo allowed just one hit until giving up Danny Jansen’s home run with two outs in the seventh. The right-hander walked two and struck out eight to improve to 5-1 and lower his ERA to 1.60.
Bobby Witt Jr. had two hits, scored once and had an RBI to help the Royals take two of three in the series.
Salvador Perez had an RBI single and extended his career-best streak of reaching base safely to 21 games. He leads the AL with a .355 batting average and 27 RBIs.
Kansas City gave Lugo all the support he needed with a three-run sixth. Kyle Isbel led off with a double, moved up on a sacrifice and scored on Witt’s single. Vinnie Pasquantino then doubled, and Perez’s hit plated Witt before Massey’s groundout made it 3-0.
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