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• MLB: Dodgers star Betts breaks hand in win

  Shohei Ohtani homered twice to help the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 3-0 win over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday, though the National League West leaders were dealt another injury to a key player when shortstop Mookie Betts exited the game with a broken hand.

  Betts left the game after being struck on the hand by a fastball from Dan Altavilla in the seventh inning. The Dodgers later announced the 2018 American League MVP suffered a fracture but will not need surgery, though he's still expected to miss several weeks.

  “It’s a big blow," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said afterward. "I feel bad for Mookie because he's having an MVP-type season."

  Betts entered the game fourth in the NL with a .307 average while producing 10 home runs, 40 RBIs and nine stolen bases in 72 games.

  The seven-time All-Star's injury comes one day after pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto exited Saturday's start against the Royals after two innings due to a strained rotator cuff. The Dodgers placed the former Japanese league star on the injured list prior to Sunday's contest.

  Los Angeles did get stellar pitching in Sunday's finale of this three-game series, as Tyler Glasnow (7-5) held the Royals to three hits and a walk while striking out nine over seven innings.

  Ohtani supplied the offence with his 18th and 19th homers of the season, a solo blast in the third inning and another in the sixth.

  Both homers came off Kansas City starter Brady Singer, who also surrendered a solo shot to Freddie Freeman in the sixth inning that followed Ohtani's second of the day.

  Singer (4-4) lasted six innings and allowed five hits while striking out four.

  Freeman finished 2 for 4 to help the Dodgers take two of three from Kansas City, which has now lost six of its last eight games.

   

  Orioles take series from Phillies behind four homers

  Jordan Westburg went 2 for 4 and hit one of four Baltimore home runs off Zack Wheeler as the Orioles powered their way to an 8-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies in the finale of a three-game interleague series between top contenders.

  Westburg's three-run blast off Wheeler in the fifth inning was the final blow as the Orioles tagged Philadelphia's ace for eight runs to earn their second win over the NL leaders in as many days. Baltimore also moved within 1 1/2 games of the Yankees for first place in the AL East after New York was dealt a 9-3 loss by the Boston Red Sox on Sunday.

  Gunnar Henderson had the first of Baltimore's long balls, a lead-off shot in the first inning for his 22nd homer of the season. Wheeler also gave up a two-run homer to Colton Cowser in the second that put the Orioles up 3-0, and Adley Rutschman extended the lead further with a solo blast in the third.

  The power surge helped Corbin Burnes (8-2) win his fourth consecutive start with a solid six-inning stint in which he allowed two runs and struck out seven.

  Burnes' only damage came in the top of the fifth inning, during which the Phillies threatened on a single by Garrett Stubbs and a Kyle Schwarber double that put two on with one out. Stubbs scored on a groundout and Alec Bohm drove in Schwarber with a single two batters later to bring Philadelphia within 4-2.

  The Orioles answered with four runs in their half of the fifth, however, to knock Wheeler out of the game.

  Ryan Mountcastle led off the inning with a single and Wheeler walked Ryan O'Hearn before Anthony Santander plated Mountcastle with a single. Westburg then drove Wheeler's pitch over the wall in right center field to put Baltimore up comfortably at 8-2.

  Wheeler (8-4) lasted just 4 1/3 innings and surrendered nine hits while serving up the most homers in a game in his 10-year MLB career.

  Bohm finished 3 for 4 and knocked in the Phillies' final run with a seventh-inning double that scored Bryce Harper, who also reached base on a double.

   

  Alonso drives in five runs as Mets win fifth straight

  Pete Alonso knocked in a season-high five runs and had one of two first-inning homers that propelled the resurgent New York Mets to an 11-6 win over the San Diego Padres and a three-game series sweep.

  Francisco Lindor also homered in the opening inning and drove in two runs to help the Mets to a fifth straight victory and ninth in 11 games. Brandon Nimmo recorded three of New York's 14 hits, including a run-scoring single.

  The Padres were handed a seventh consecutive road loss despite taking an early 1-0 lead when Manny Machado's two-out single in the first inning brought home Jurickson Profar.

  Lindor quickly pulled the Mets even with a lead-off homer in the bottom of the inning, however, and the Mets scored three more times in the first off San Diego starter Dylan Cease.

  Nimmo followed with a single and Cease walked J.D. Martinez before Alonso launched a pitch well over the wall in left center field for his 15th homer of the season.

  Cease briefly settled down until the fourth, when Luis Torrens singled and came home on Harrison Bader's double to extend the Mets' lead to 5-1. Bader later scored on a Lindor sacrifice fly and Martinez doubled in Nimmo to cap the three-run inning.

  Back-to-back doubles from Luis Campusano and Luis Arraez got the Padres a bit closer in the fifth, and San Diego closed the gap further with four runs off the Mets' bullpen in the top of the eighth.

  After the Padres loaded the bases on a Profar single, an error and a walk, New York's Jake Diekman walked Jackson Merrill to force in a run. San Diego got another run on a fielder's choice groundout that preceded Ha-Seong Kim's RBI double which cut the lead to 7-5. Campusano followed with a sacrifice fly to get the Padres within a run.

  The Mets responded with four runs of their own in the bottom of the inning, however, which Torrens began with a lead-off homer.

  Jeff McNeil then doubled in front of Bader's single and a walk to Lindor that loaded the bases for Nimmo, who singled in a run to increase New York's advantage to 9-6. Two batters later, Alonso's single drove in Bader and Lindor for a five-run cushion.

  Cease (6-6) was charged with seven runs on seven hits over 3 2/3 innings, his shortest outing of the season. Counterpart Tylor Megill (2-3) picked up the win for New York by limiting the Padres to two runs through five innings.

   

   

   

   

• MLB: Nationals rookie Herz strikes out 13 in 6 innings

  DJ Herz was masterful in his third career start, striking out 13 and allowing one hit over six stellar innings to lead the Washington Nationals to a 4-0 win over the Miami Marlins on Saturday.

  Herz, a 23-year-old left-hander who made his major league debut on June 4, struck out eight of the first 10 batters and his total was the second-highest by a rookie for the Nationals since the team moved to Washington for 2005, surpassed only by Stephen Strasburg’s 14 in his debut on June 8, 2010.

  Herz did not make it out of the fifth inning in his first two starts but didn’t allow a runner in this one until Jake Burger’s leadoff single in the fifth. He struck out the side in the third and sixth innings and was lifted after throwing 84 pitches.

  He joins Strasburg as the only pitchers in major league history to strike out at least 13 without a walk in one of their first three career outings.

  Herz also is just the third pitcher since 1988 to fan at least 13 on fewer than 85 pitches. The others are Clayton Kerhsaw (2022) and Greg Maddux (2000).

  Dylan Floro, Hunter Harvey and Kyle Finnegan finished the four-hitter to seal Washington’s seventh win in eight games.

  The Marlins lost their fourth straight and dropped to 2-10 in June.

   

  Yamamoto leaves early in Dodgers’ loss

  Seth Lugo became the second 10-game winner in the majors and MJ Melendez hit a grand slam after Yoshinobu Yamamoto exited early in the Kansas City Royals’ 7-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

  Yamamoto left after two innings due to triceps tendinitis following two scoreless innings. This is Yamamoto’s first year in the majors after he signed a record $325 million, 12-year contract in December.

  He had thrown over 100 pitches in four consecutive starts entering Saturday and his scheduled start on Thursday against Texas was pushed back for extra rest.

  Lugo limited the Dodgers to two runs and six hits in six innings to join Philadelphia’s Ranger Suarez as the only 10-game winners in the majors.

  The Royals got all the offence they needed in the sixth to erase a 2-1 deficit. Vinnie Pasquantino, Nelson Velazquez and Freddy Fermin all drew one-out walks off Blake Treinen, who struck out pinch-hitter Adam Frazier before Melendez connected on the 12th pitch of his at-bat for his first career grand slam.

   

  Santander powers Orioles past Phillies

  Anthony Santander hit a pair of home runs and drove in four to back Grayson Rodriguez’s strong start as the Baltimore Orioles defeated the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-2 in a matchup of two of baseball’s top teams.

  Santander hit a tying solo homer in the fourth inning and his two-run blast in the eighth extended the lead to 5-2. He also added a sixth-inning sacrifice fly.

  Santander leads the majors with eight home runs in June.

  Rodriguez allowed two runs on seven hits over seven innings with one walk and six strikeouts to win his third straight start.

  Edmundo Sosa hit a solo homer for the NL-best Phillies, who have lost three of four.

• MLB: Yankees' Verdugo homers, drives in 4 against former team

  Luis Gil won his ninth straight decision and Alex Verdugo homered and drove in four runs against his former team as the New York Yankees became the first team to 50 wins with an 8-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Friday night.

  Gil allowed one run and four hits over five innings with four walks and six strikeouts in a season-high 104-pitch outing. The rookie is 9-0 with a 1.64 ERA in 11 starts since a loss at Toronto on April 15.

  New York’s bullpen pitched one-hit ball with eight strikeouts over the final four innings.

  Verdugo, who spent the previous four seasons with Boston before he was traded to the Yankees in December, hit the first pitch he saw from Brayan Bello for a two-run homer in the first inning, doubled home a run in the fifth and added an RBI single in the ninth.

  Verdugo matched a career high with four RBIs, done twice earlier this season and three times with the Red Sox.

  Bello was tagged for five runs and six hits in 4 2/3 innings.

  Jose Trevino also homered for the major league-best Yankees (50-22), who won for the 13th time in 16 games. 

  Bohm lifts Phillies over Orioles in 11th

  Alec Bohm ripped a two-run double in the top of the 11th inning shortly after a 71-minute rain delay, and the Philadelphia Phillies topped the Baltimore Orioles, 5-3.

  After the Orioles intentionally walked Bryce Harper to put runners at first and second with one out, Bohm followed with a drive to left-center that eluded Austin Hays that scored both runners.

  Kyle Schwarber led off the game with a home run and Rafael Marchan hit his first of the season for the NL East-leading Phillies, who bounced back from consecutive losses at Boston to take the opener of a three-game series between two of baseball's top teams.

  Anthony Santander hit a tying home run in the eighth, but the Orioles went 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position in their second straight loss following a six-game winning streak.

  Baltimore’s Kyle Bradish allowed two runs in five innings before exiting due to elbow pain. He missed the first month of the season with a sprained UCL and will have further tests.

  Garver, Castillo keep Mariners surging

  Mitch Garver hit a two-run homer to back a strong start by Luis Castillo and the Seattle Mariners extended their AL West lead with a 3-2 win over the Texas Rangers.

  Castillo gave up two runs – both in the first inning - on four hits in six innings with one walk and seven strikeouts. He improved to 4-0 with a 1.69 ERA in his last five home starts.

  Mike Baumann and Andres Munoz each pitched a hitless inning before Ryne Stanek worked around a hit in the ninth for his sixth save.

  Seattle took the lead for good in the third when J.P. Crawford scored on a fielder’s choice. Julio Rodriguez hit a grounder to third with runners at the corners and Crawford trotted home to make it 3-2.

  The Mariners have won five of six and 14 of 19 to open a 6 ½-game lead over Texas in the West.