Cody Bellinger had a game to remember as the red-hot Los Angeles Dodgers used a devastating first inning to crush the St Louis Cardinals 14-3.
Dodgers star Bellinger hit a grand slam and finished with six RBIs for the MLB World Series champions, who routed the Cardinals thanks to 11 runs in the opening inning on Wednesday.
The 11-run first inning marked the Dodgers' highest-scoring inning in regular-season play since the franchise relocated to Los Angeles in 1958.
Bellinger fuelled the Dodgers, firstly by scoring a two-run single to give the team a 3-1 lead before hitting his sixth career grand slam.
He became the first Dodgers player to drive in six-plus runs in one inning since the team's move to LA.
Cubs conquer Padres
Javier Baez's two-run homer guided the Chicago Cubs to a comprehensive 6-1 victory over the San Diego Padres for a three-game series sweep.
Yan Gomes hit a go-ahead homer in the eighth inning as the Washington Nationals overcame the Atlanta Braves 5-3. Juan Soto's two-run homer in the fifth gave the Nationals a 3-1 advantage. Since 2018, Soto has the most home runs (12) of 430-plus feet by a Nationals player.
Flexen endures difficult outing
Chris Flexen struggled as the Seattle Mariners were blanked 6-0 by the Oakland Athletics. Seattle starter Flexen conceded a two-run double and finished with seven hits, five runs and a homer against his name through six innings.
As the Dodgers celebrated a monster inning, Cardinals ace Carlos Martinez could not leave the field soon enough. He went two-thirds of an inning, facing 12 batters as he allowed 10 runs on six hits with four walks and a strikeout.
Blue Jays complete comeback in walk-off fashion
The Toronto Blue Jays rallied with three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to top the Miami Marlins 6-5. Joe Panik's sacrifice fly allowed Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to score the winning run after Bo Bichette had levelled proceedings with a two-run triple.
Wednesday's results
Chicago Cubs 6-1 San Diego Padres
New York Mets 7-6 Arizona Diamondbacks
Baltimore Orioles 6-3 Minnesota Twins
New York Yankees 4-3 Tampa Bay Rays
Toronto Blue Jays 6-5 Miami Marlins
Washington Nationals 5-3 Atlanta Braves
Houston Astros 2-1 Boston Red Sox
Colorado Rockies 6-3 Texas Rangers
Los Angeles Dodgers 14-3 St Louis Cardinals
Oakland Athletics 6-0 Seattle Mariners
Philadelphia Phillies-Cincinnati Reds (postponed)
Chicago White Sox-Cleveland Indians (postponed)
Tigers at White Sox
The lowly Detroit Tigers (23-32) will visit the high-flying White Sox (33-22) on Thursday. In an all-American League (AL) Central showdown, leaders the White Sox will look to snap a two-game skid with Dallas Keuchel on the mound. Casey Mize starts for the Tigers.
Donaldson hits 10th-inning walk-off slam to rescue Yankees, Ohtani stars but Angels lose
Josh Donaldson produced a remarkable 10th-inning walk-off grand slam to snap the New York Yankees' slump with an 8-7 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday.
Trailing 7-4 in the 10th inning after losing 11 of their past 13 games, Donaldson had his signature moment with bases loaded, blasting Jalen Beeks with a high fly ball deep right over Randy Arozarena's head into the stands.
The victory from the jaws of defeat, was the 10th walk-off grand slam win in Yankees history and first since 2016.
The win also comes amid the Yankees recent offensive struggles, with the slam marking Donaldson's 12th home run of the season.
The Rays had appeared destined for victory after Francisco Mejia's three-run double at the top of the 10th inning, but the Yankees responded by filling the bases before Donaldson's blast.
The result snapped the Yankees' third-game losing streak and ensures they avoided their first sweep at home this season, improving their record to 73-45.
Shohei's one-man show not enough
Shohei Ohtani starred with a two-run homer among his feats but it was not enough to prevent the Los Angeles Angels from being swept by the Seattle Mariners, losing 11-7 on Wednesday.
Ohtani had four hits, four RBIs, with a run-scoring triple in the seventh inning and his two-run blast in the ninth inning, marking his 27th home run of the season.
But the Mariners moved into the top American League Wild Card slot led by two homers from Cal Raleigh, along with two-run shots from Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker each.
Baty's dream major league debut
Rookie Brett Baty homered in front of his family in a fairytale MLB debut as the New York Mets won 9-7 over the Atlanta Braves.
Baty struck a two-run homer out of the yard in his first major league at-bat from the second pitch he faced from Jake Odorizzi. He becomes the fifth Met to homer in their first at-bat.
The Mets withstood a late Braves push after Max Scherzer had eight strikeouts across six-and-one-third innings.
Texas Rangers dismiss president of baseball operations Daniels following Woodward firing
The changes continue at the Texas Rangers with president of baseball operations Jon Daniels the latest to be shown the door effective immediately.
Daniels was informed by owner Ray Davis on Wednesday that his contract will not be renewed at the end of this season.
The Rangers fired manager Chris Woodward on Monday with less than 50 games to go in a season that will almost certainly end with the team missing the playoffs for a sixth year in a row.
The pair of dismissals comes following a season with raised expectations in Texas after the team spent more than $500million in free agency, headlined by the additions of All-Star infielders Corey Seager and Marcus Semien.
"Bottom line is we're not good, and we haven't been good for six years," Davis said.
"To be competitive going forward, I felt that we needed to make a change."
Chris Young, who was brought in as the team's general manager in December 2020, will step into Daniels' role and lead the baseball operations department.
The Rangers have not reached the postseason since 2016 when they won the American League West division. Texas played in the World Series in 2010 and 2011, losing both.
Daniels had been with the Rangers since 2002, appointed as general manager in October 2005 and promoted to president of baseball operations in March 2013.
All-Star Votto to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery
The Cincinnati Reds have announced six-time All-Star first baseman Joey Votto will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery.
The 38-year-old, who won the 2010 National League MVP, revealed the issue had been lingering for a while, dating back to the 2015 season.
Votto will have surgery on Friday, which will repair his torn left rotator cuff.
"I don't know how to explain what exactly happened, but it's been lingering for a while," he said.
"I've had a difficult time with it. Only the past maybe three months or so has it been painful to the point where it's difficult to lift [and] hurts to sleep.
"I'm not sure it's affected my performance. … I can't say that. I don't want to make an excuse."
Votto has batted .205 with 11 homers and 41 RBIs across 91 games this season for the Reds who have a 46-70 record.
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