George Springer hit his first home runs for the Toronto Blue Jays, who rallied to a 6-5 walk-off win against the Atlanta Braves.

Springer was lured to Toronto on a six-year, $150million contract from the Houston Astros via free agency – the largest deal in Blue Jays history – ahead of the 2021 MLB season and only made his long-awaited debut against the Washington Nationals on Wednesday due to injuries.

The prized recruit – still playing as a designated hitter – fuelled the Blue Jays with a pair of homers against the Braves on Saturday.

Toronto trailed 4-0 and 5-2 but Springer, who hit a two-run home run in the third inning and a 470-foot shot in the seventh to level the game at 5-5, helped the Blue Jays rally.

Randal Grichuk completed the comeback against the visiting Braves with an RBI single in the 10th inning.

There was also a walk-off win in Milwaukee, where the Brewers took down struggling World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-5.

Travis Shaw homered and hit a game-winning single for the Brewers, who scored three runs in the 11th inning to beat the Dodgers for a third consecutive game.

 

Taillon celebrates first win in two years

It was a game to remember for Jameson Taillon. For the first time in two years, Taillon earned his first victory after the New York Yankees outlasted the Detroit Tigers 6-4. Taillon allowed one run, three hits and struck out eight batters over five innings.

The Colorado Rockies crushed the Arizona Diamondbacks 14-6 behind Dom Nunez's grand slam and a two-run homer via Trevor Story.

Blake Snell – a World Series participant with the Tampa Bay Rays and 2018 American League (AL) Cy Young Award winner – registered his first win for the San Diego Padres since arriving in the offseason. Snell gave up one earned run and five hits across five innings, striking out six as the Padres beat the San Francisco Giants 6-2. Manny Machado added a three-run homer.

Tim Anderson's grand slam – second of his career – guided the Chicago White Sox to a 7-3 victory over the Cleveland Indians.

 

Cahill's costly start

While Trevor Cahill regained his composure and control, it was too late for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who were beaten 12-5 by the St Louis Cardinals. Cahill gave up four runs in the opening inning and the Pirates never recovered. Cahill allowed seven hits, five runs and a homer in just over five innings.

 

Trout loves Seattle

Mike Trout hit his seventh home run of the season to see the Los Angeles Angels past the Seattle Mariners 10-5. Trout clubbed his 28th homer in Seattle – his 10th career first-inning home run away to the Mariners. The Angels star is the only Mariners opponent with more than 20 homers in Seattle.

 

Saturday's results

New York Yankees 6-4 Detroit Tigers
Washington Nationals 7-2 Miami Marlins
Kansas City Royals 11-3 Minnesota Twins
Chicago White Sox 7-3 Cleveland Indians
Baltimore Orioles 8-4 Oakland Athletics
Chicago Cubs 3-2 Cincinnati Reds
Houston Astros 3-1 Tampa Bay Rays
New York Mets 5-4 Philadelphia Phillies
St Louis Cardinals 12-5 Pittsburgh Pirates
Texas Rangers 8-6 Boston Red Sox
Milwaukee Brewers 6-5 Los Angeles Dodgers
Toronto Blue Jays 6-5 Atlanta Braves
Colorado Rockies 14-6 Arizona Diamondbacks
San Diego Padres 6-2 San Francisco Giants
Los Angeles Angels 10-5 Seattle Mariners

 

Dodgers at Brewers

The Dodgers (16-12) will be looking to avoid a four-game sweep when their series against the Brewers (17-10) concludes on Sunday.

The Milwaukee Brewers saw off the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1 on Friday to sit in first place at the end of April in the National League despite their mounting injury crisis.

Omar Narvaez appeared to sustain a left leg injury running to first base in the win, which improves the Brewers record to 16-10, while the Dodgers are 16-11.

The Brewers held the Dodgers to just two hits as their offensive woes continued to haunt them, losing for the ninth time in 12 games.

Freddy Peralta was excellent on the mound for the Brewers across six innings.

Milwaukee moved to a 2-0 lead at the bottom of the second, thanks to Jackie Bradley Jr's two-run homer.

 

Darvish back to his best

Veteran right-hander Yu Darvish was at his brilliant best with 12 strike-outs across six innings in the San Diego Padres' 3-2 triumph over the San Francisco Giants.

Darvish was giving a huge reception after stepping off the mound, showing he has quickly won over his new fans after his move from the Chicago Cubs.

It was a case of adding injury to insult as Kansas City Royals pitcher Brady Singer was hurt when he copped a line drive to the foot/heel in their 9-1 loss to the Minnesota Twins.

For the winners, Alex Kirilloff hit two home-runs, including a three-run homer to open up the lead.

Left-hander Madison Bumgarner bounced back from illness to land six strike-outs and lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 7-2 win over the Colorado Rockies.

The Boston Red Sox maintained their strong early season form with a 6-1 win over the Texas Rangers, while the Oakland Athletics went down 3-2 to the Baltimore Orioles.

Shohei Ohtani continues to deliver home runs for the Los Angeles Angels, with his eighth of the 2021 season in their 7-4 loss to the Seattle Mariners. He has scored as many in 2021 as he did across the whole 2020 season.

 

Alvarado gets lippy, benches cleared

The benches cleared in the Philadelphia Phillies' 2-1 win over the New York Mets after pitcher Jose Alvarado struck out Dominic Smith and then got chirpy. Alvarado dropped his glove and Smith did not back down so they had to be separated. It all felt  quite unnecessary.

 

Schwalk-off

Kyle Schwarber did it again with a walk-off home-run deep into the center field to secure the Washington Nationals their 2-1 win over the Miami Marlins.

 

Friday's results

St. Louis Cardinals 7-3 Pittsburgh Pirates
Washington Nationals 2-1 Miami Marlins
New York Yankees 10-0 Detroit Tigers
Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 New York Mets
Houston Astros 9-2 Tampa Bay Rays
Cincinnati Reds 8-6 Chicago Cubs
Toronto Blue Jays 13-5 Atlanta Braves
Boston Red Sox 6-1 Texas Rangers
Milwaukee Brewers 3-1 Los Angeles Dodgers
Cleveland Indians 5-3 Chicago White Sox
Minnesota Twins 9-1 Kansas City Royals
Arizona Diamondbacks 7-2 Colorado Rockies
Baltimore Orioles 3-2 Oakland Athletics
Seattle Mariners 7-4 Los Angeles Angels
San Diego Padres 3-2 San Francisco Giants

 

Astros at Rays

Last season's Atlantic League top two the Houston Astros and the Tampa Bay Rays will meet again in their series.

The odds were against the Milwaukee Brewers as they had to call up Eric Lauer from the alternate training site to make the start against the World Series champions Los Angeles Dodgers, but they prevailed 2-1. 

Lauer entered the game with a 14-19 record in the majors but out-pitched last year's Cy Young Award winner Trevor Bauer in Milwaukee, scattering four hits in five shutout innings. 

Despite his overall career mark, Lauer has had unusual success against the Dodgers dating to his two seasons in San Diego's rotation in 2018-19. 

Thursday's game improved his career record against the Dodgers to 6-0 with a 1.89 ERA. 

Bauer suffered from lack of run support, working eight innings for the first time this season and allowing only a two-run home run to Travis Shaw in the fourth that proved to be the difference in the game. 

The Brewers' win to open the four-game series put them at 15-10 this season, trailing only the Dodgers (16-10) and San Francisco Giants (16-9) among National League teams. 

 

Pitchers' duel in Houston

Yusei Kikuchi was brilliant for the Seattle Mariners against the Houston Astros, allowing one hit and two walks in seven innings while striking out seven in a 1-0 win over the Astros. The Mariners got their only run from a Taylor Trammell homer off Houston starter Luis Garcia in the third inning, and Trammell ended the game with a sliding catch in center field. 

The Oakland Athletics split their series against the Tampa Bay Rays with a 3-2 thanks in large part to Matt Chapman, who hit a solo home run in the fourth and added the go-ahead double in the top of the ninth. 

In Baltimore, the Orioles bounced back to beat the New York Yankees 4-3 in the 10th inning thanks to a one-out sacrifice fly by Cedric Mullins. 

 

Phillies lose in heartbreaking 10th

The Philadelphia Phillies rallied to send their game with the St. Louis Cardinals to extra innings, but lost 4-3 in the 10th without allowing a hit in the inning. The frame began with Tyler O'Neill on second base thanks to MLB's rule designed to shorten games, and he moved to third on a groundout and scored the winning run on a wild pitch by David Hale. 

 

The Yerminator strikes again

Who else but Yermin Mercedes would cap a White Sox doubleheader sweep of the Detroit Tigers with a monstrous 449-foot home run to center field in Chicago.

 

Thursday's results

Baltimore Orioles 4-3 New York Yankees
Oakland Athletics 3-2 Tampa Bay Rays
St. Louis Cardinals 4-3 Philadelphia Phillies
Seattle Mariners 1-0 Houston Astros
Chicago White Sox 3-1 Detroit Tigers
Chicago White Sox 11-0 Detroit Tigers 
Chicago Cubs 9-3 Atlanta Braves
Milwaukee Brewers 2-1 Los Angeles Dodgers
Texas Rangers 4-1 Boston Red Sox
Arizona Diamondbacks 5-3 Colorado Rockies

 

Astros at Rays

The last two American League champions face off in Florida as Tampa native Lance McCullers Jr. and the Houston Astros (13-12) visit Ryan Yarbrough and the Tampa Bay Rays (13-13)

New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom matched an MLB record, but it was not enough to avoid a 1-0 loss to the Boston Red Sox.

DeGrom tied Nolan Ryan's record for most strikeouts through a pitcher's first five starts of a season, however, the Mets were beaten on Wednesday.

Mets star DeGrom tallied nine strikeouts over six innings to improve his five-game total to 59, matching Ryan's feat in 1978.

DeGrom, who has allowed two earned runs all season while boasting a National League (NL)-leading ERA (0.51), saw Christian Vazquez hit an early RBI double which produced the winning run in the second inning at Citi Field midweek.

World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers, meanwhile, snapped a three-game skid by shutting out the Cincinnati Reds 8-0.

Seeking to avoid a series sweep, the Dodgers benefited from a trademark Clayton Kershaw performance at home to the Reds.

Kershaw was dominant over seven innings, yielding just four hits while striking out eight batters with one walk as Justin Turner homered for the Dodgers.

 

Padres in 11-year first

The San Diego Padres humbled the Arizona Diamondbacks 12-3. During the rout, the Padres tallied seven successive hits without recording an out in the fifth inning – the first time they have managed to do so since April 2010 (also in the fifth).

A five-homer game from the Atlanta Braves inspired a 10-0 demolition of the Chicago Cubs. Marcell Ozuna homered in a four-run first inning, while Huascar Ynoa hit his first career home run in the fourth. Freddie Freeman posted his seventh home of the season, while Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley also went deep.

 

All good things must end as Matz struggles

Steven Matz had won his first four starts for the Toronto Blue Jays after being acquired from the Mets in January. However, Matz lasted less than four innings in an 8-2 defeat to the Washington Nationals. In George Springer's long-awaited Blue Jays debut, Matz gave up six runs and eight hits, including a three-run shot in the fourth inning.

 

Rizzo strikes out Freeman…

Anthony Rizzo versus Freeman. It is a showdown you do not often see but the Cubs star sensationally came out on top. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Rizzo took to the mound and struck out reigning NL MVP Freeman – his first career strikeout as a pitcher as both players smiled.

 

 

Wednesday's results

Minnesota Twins 10-2 Cleveland Indians
Miami Marlins 6-2 Milwaukee Brewers
Los Angeles Dodgers 8-0 Cincinnati Reds
Kansas City Royals 9-6 Pittsburgh Pirates
Boston Red Sox 1-0 New York Mets
New York Yankees 7-0 Baltimore Orioles
Washington Nationals 8-2 Toronto Blue Jays
Tampa Bay Rays 2-0 Oakland Athletics
Atlanta Braves 10-0 Chicago Cubs
Philadelphia Phillies 5-3 St Louis Cardinals
Los Angeles Angels 4-3 Texas Rangers
Houston Astros 7-5 Seattle Mariners
San Diego Padres 12-3 Arizona Diamondbacks
San Francisco Giants 7-3 Colorado Rockies
Detroit Tigers-Chicago White Sox (postponed)

 

Dodgers at Brewers

After returning to winning ways, the Dodgers (16-9) will open their series against the Brewers (14-10) on Thursday. Trevor Bauer gets the nod on the mound for the Dodgers, while Milwaukee's Eric Lauer starts.

Toronto Blue Jays sensation Vladimir Guerrero Jr. made MLB history in Tuesday's 9-5 win over the Washington Nationals.

Guerrero became the youngest player in major league history with three-plus homers and seven-plus RBI in a game as he fuelled the Blue Jays past the Nationals.

The 22-year-old star – son of Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero Sr. – carried the Blue Jays, a monster third-inning grand slam off three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer wiping out a 3-0 deficit.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. made it 7-3 with a solo homer in the fifth inning before adding a two-run home run in the seventh to complete the first three-homer game of his exciting career – not even a feat his father achieved.

Guerrero took his tally to seven home runs for the season as the Blue Jays won the series opener in Dunedin.

Trea Turner homered twice for the Nationals – his seventh multi-homer game and second this season – but it was not enough on the road.

 

Kluber ends wait

Corey Kluber claimed his first win since April 2019, while star sluggers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton homered to lead the New York Yankees to a 5-1 rout of the Baltimore Orioles.

For the first time since 2018, Carlos Martinez had a win as a starter – the St Louis Cardinals topping the Philadelphia Phillies 5-2. Martinez allowed two runs – one earned – in just over seven innings, having gone 0-9 in his last 12 starts.

The Cleveland Indians beat the Minnesota Twins 7-5 behind Franmil Reyes, who homered twice – including a 452-foot shot.

 

Scherzer struggles, Dodgers downed again

It was a forgettable outing for Washington ace Scherzer, who allowed seven runs – five earned – and eight hits over five innings. He also joined Ivan Nova as the only pitchers to have allowed a home run to both Guerrero Jr. and his iconic father.

After a 13-2 start to the season, the Los Angeles Dodgers have dropped seven of nine games following a 6-5 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. The World Series champions are now in the midst of a three-game losing streak as they look to avoid a series sweep to the Reds.

 

Acuna bomb!

Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr. clubbed another moon shot, this time his fifth-inning home run travelled a projected 481 feet. The Braves shut out the Chicago Cubs 5-0.

 

 

Tuesday's results

Cleveland Indians 7-4 Minnesota Twins
Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1 Kansas City Royals
New York Yankees 5-1 Baltimore Orioles
Toronto Blue Jays 9-5 Washington Nationals
Boston Red Sox 2-1 New York Mets
Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 Oakland Athletics
Atlanta Braves 5-0 Chicago Cubs
Milwaukee Brewers 5-4 Miami Marlins
Texas Rangers 6-1 Los Angeles Angels
Detroit Tigers 5-2 Chicago White Sox
Houston Astros 2-0 Seattle Mariners
Arizona Diamondbacks 5-1 San Diego Padres
Colorado Rockies 7-5 San Francisco Giants
Cincinnati Reds 6-5 Los Angeles Dodgers
St Louis Cardinals 5-2 Philadelphia Phillies

 

Red Sox at Mets

Mets (9-9) ace Jacob deGrom takes to the mound against the Red Sox (15-9) on Wednesday amid Hall of Fame comparisons following his red-hot form. The Red Sox counter with Nick Pivetta at Citi Field midweek.

Shohei Ohtani made more MLB history as the Los Angeles Angels beat the Texas Rangers 9-4.

Angels two-way star Ohtani became the first player in almost 100 years to start a game on the mound while also entering the day leading the majors in home runs.

New York Yankees great and Hall of Famer Babe Ruth was the last to do so in 1921.

Ohtani, who picked up his first win since May 2018, went two-for-three with two RBIs and three runs scored against the Rangers, striking out nine over five innings on Monday.

He became the first American League (AL) player to reach those numbers in a game since Luis Tiant in 1967, according to Stats Perform.

"A pretty complete game of baseball," Angels manager Joe Maddon said. "If you weren't entertained by watching him tonight, you can't be entertained watching the game of baseball."

Angels star Mike Trout also made his return from an elbow injury, going four-for-five at the plate.

 

Posey and Giants show no mercy

Buster Posey had a two-run homer among his four hits as the San Francisco Giants crushed the Colorado Rockies 12-0. Posey also caught Anthony DeSclafani's three-hit shutout. It is the eighth time Posey has caught a shutout while having more hits himself than the entire opposing team – the most such games by any catcher in the modern era, per Stats Perform.

The Philadelphia Phillies edged the St Louis Cardinals 2-1. Zach Wheeler became the first Phillies pitcher to go eight-plus innings pitched with one hit or fewer since Cole Hamels in 2015. Wheeler gave up one hit and one run while striking out nine.

 

Yankees continue to struggle

The Yankees are not getting hits at the moment. The storied franchise managed just four in a 4-2 loss to AL East rivals the Baltimore Orioles. Between All-Star sluggers Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge, the pair only managed two hits. The Yankees are bottom of the AL East. Baltimore have finished above the Yankees just three times in the AL East since MLB went to six divisions in 1994, doing so in 1997, 2014 and 2016.

World series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers have now suffered back-to-back defeats, upstaged 5-3 by the Cincinnati Reds after 10 innings.

 

Bryant slam!

Kris Bryant hit the sixth grand slam of his career – a shot off Charlie Morton in the third inning which tied the game. The Chicago Cubs still lost 8-7 to the Atlanta Braves.

 

Monday's results

Cincinnati Reds 5-3 Los Angeles Dodgers
Kansas City Royals 3-2 Detroit Tigers
Cleveland Indians 5-3 Minnesota Twins
Atlanta Braves 8-7 Chicago Cubs
Baltimore Orioles 4-2 New York Yankees
Oakland Athletics 2-1 Tampa Bay Rays
Miami Marlins 8-0 Milwaukee Brewers
Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 St Louis Cardinals
Los Angeles Angels 9-4 Texas Rangers
Houston Astros 5-2 Seattle Mariners
San Francisco Giants 12-0 Colorado Rockies

 

Tigers at White Sox

The Chicago White Sox (12-9) – riding a four-game winning streak – will host the Detroit Tigers (7-16) in Tuesday's series opener at Guaranteed Rate Field. Lucas Giolito is set to start for the White Sox as the Tigers counter with Jose Urena.

Fernando Tatis Jr. put on a show as the San Diego Padres scored seven unanswered runs to rally past World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-7 after 11 innings in another thrilling MLB showdown.

The Padres trailed National League (NL) West rivals the Dodgers 7-1 at the end of six innings, but Tatis fuelled the visitors to an epic extra-innings victory in Los Angeles on Sunday.

Tatis scored the game-winning run on Eric Hosmer's sacrifice fly in the 11th inning as the Padres became the first team since the 1918 San Francisco Giants to win a game, despite being on the road, facing a side with a .700 per cent winning percentage, trailing by six-plus runs in the seventh inning or later, per Stats Perform.

San Diego's Tatis hit another home run after back-to-back multi-homer games against the Dodgers, making it five home runs in three appearances as the NL West blockbuster continues to provide postseason energy in April.

According to Stats Perform, Tatis became the first player in MLB history to have five-plus home runs and two-stolen bases in a road series.

Tatis has two games with at least one home runs and two stolen bases – Tony Gwynn is the only other player in Padres history to achieve the feat, while he is the eighth shortstop with at least one three-game span of five-plus homers.

Dustin May had a career-high 10 strikeouts for the Dodgers. Aged 23 years and 231 days, he is the youngest pitcher in franchise history with 10-plus strikeouts in a game since Clayton Kershaw (23 years and 169 days) in 2011.

 

Bumgarner dominates with unofficial no-hitter

Madison Bumgarner threw a seven-inning no-hitter to guide the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 7-0 shutout of the Atlanta Braves, clinching a sweep of the doubleheader. Bumgarner struck out seven batters, but it will not officially count as MLB rules stipulate such a game must be a contest of nine or more innings that ended with no hits. The Diamondbacks, meanwhile, became the first team to allow one or fewer hits in a doubleheader after Zac Gallen held the Braves to one hit in the 5-0 opener.

Trevor Story hit a grand slam – the third of his career – in a seven-run fourth inning as the Colorado Rockies routed the Philadelphia Phillies 12-2.

The Cleveland Indians defeated the struggling New York Yankees 7-3 behind Franmil Reyes' three-run homer, triple and first stolen base.

 

A's crash back down to earth

The Oakland Athletics and their 13-game winning streak was snapped by the Baltimore Orioles, who were 8-1 victors. It was Oakland's third longest winning streak since 1968.

Patrick Corbin was put to the sword in the Washington Nationals' 4-0 loss to the New York Mets. Corbin, who suffered his 10th consecutive decision, allowed four runs, seven hits and three walks in four-plus innings.

 

Oh-tani!

The Los Angeles Angels avoided a sweep against the Houston Astros thanks to some help from Shohei Ohtani. The two-way star crunched a 440-foot homer in the eighth inning to give the Angels a 3-2 lead. The Angels beat the Astros 4-2.

 

 

Sunday's results

Baltimore Orioles 8-1 Oakland Athletics
Kansas City Royals 4-0 Detroit Tigers
Cleveland Indians 7-3 New York Yankees
Boston Red Sox 5-3 Seattle Mariners
Toronto Blue Jays 1-0 Tampa Bay Rays
New York Mets 4-0 Washington Nationals
Arizona Diamondbacks 5-0 Atlanta Braves
Arizona Diamondbacks 7-0 Atlanta Braves
Los Angeles Angels 4-2 Houston Astros
Pittsburgh Pirates 6-2 Minnesota Twins
Chicago White Sox 8-4 Texas Rangers
St Louis Cardinals 5-2 Cincinnati Reds
Milwaukee Brewers 6-0 Chicago Cubs
Colorado Rockies 12-2 Philadelphia Phillies
San Francisco Giants 4-3 Miami Marlins
San Diego Padres 8-7 Los Angeles Dodgers

 

Rockies at Giants

It will be an all-NL West clash when bottom team the Rockies (8-13) visit the high-flying Giants (14-8) on Monday. Only the Dodgers have a better record than the Giants in the division this season.

Fernando Tatis Jr. put on another show at Dodger Stadium, but it was the World Series champions who won out via small ball, defeating the San Diego Padres 5-4. 

After slamming a pair of home runs in Los Angeles on Friday, Tatis repeated that feat Saturday -- and had some fun with Dodgers starter Trevor Bauer along the way. 

In early March, Trevor Bauer spent most of the first inning of a spring training game against the Padres pitching with his right eye closed, calling it a training method he uses occasionally to challenge himself.

The Padres didn't forget about it. After Tatis homered off Bauer in the first inning Saturday, the San Diego star covered up his right eye with his hand as he rounded the bases. 

Tatis also went deep off Bauer in the sixth to give San Diego a 3-2 lead, but the Padres' relievers would give the game away in the bottom of the inning.

With San Diego starter Blake Snell out of the game, Los Angeles strung together three singles and a bases-loaded walk to Mookie Betts to tie the game, then took the lead on a two-run single by Corey Seager. 

Tatis had one last chance to be the hero in the ninth, coming up with the tying run on and one out, but Kenley Jansen got him to ground out, then struck out Trent Grisham to end it. 

 

Yankees' Cole almost untouchable

Gerrit Cole was spectacular for the Yankees in New York's 2-1 win over the Cleveland Indians. The right-hander allowed just three hits and a run and did not walk a batter while striking out 11 to outpitch Shane Bieber (seven innings, four hits, two runs, nine strikeouts).

The Oakland Athletics won their 13th consecutive game after a 1-7 start, defeating the Baltimore Orioles 7-2. A three-run home run by Jed Lowrie in the fourth inning put the game out of reach for Oakland. 

The Houston Astros lost starter Jake Odorizzi after five pitches and one out due to an arm injury, but Kent Emanuel pitched the rest of the game in his MLB debut, allowing a pair of solo home runs in a 16-2 Astros win over the Los Angeles Angels. 

 

Reds hit bottom in NL Central

After spending more than two weeks with at least a share of first place in the National League Central, the Cincinnati Reds dropped to last in the division Saturday after their sixth consecutive lost, this one 2-0 to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Reds managed only three hits, all singles, off John Gant and two St. Louis relievers in their latest setback. 

 

White Sox walk it off

Up until the final inning of the Rangers-White Sox game Saturday, the only run had come on a bases-loaded wild pitch in the sixth that gave Chicago a 1-0 lead, but things got interesting in the ninth. Willie Calhoun tied the game with a home run for Texas in the top of the inning, but the White Sox put together a rally in the bottom half and won 2-1 on Nick Madrigal's walk-off double. 

 

Saturday's results

Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 Chicago Cubs
Oakland Athletics 7-2 Baltimore Orioles
Kansas City Royals 2-1 Detroit Tigers
New York Yankees 2-1 Cleveland Indians
Seattle Mariners 8-2 Boston Red Sox
Tampa Bay Rays 5-3 Toronto Blue Jays
Washington Nationals 7-1 New York Mets
Houston Astros 16-2 Los Angeles Angels
Pittsburgh Pirates 6-2 Minnesota Twins
Chicago White Sox 2-1 Texas Rangers
St Louis Cardinals 2-0 Cincinnati Reds
Philadelphia Phillies 7-5 Colorado Rockies
Miami Marlins 5-2 San Francisco Giants
Los Angeles Dodgers 5-4 San Diego Padres
Atlanta Braves-Arizona Diamondbacks (postponed)
 

Padres at Dodgers

San Diego (12-11) send Joe Musgrove to the mound for the final game of their series against the Dodgers (15-6) on Sunday. Dustin May will get the ball for Los Angeles. 

Jacob deGrom produced a masterful performance amid 'MVP' chants to lead the New York Mets to a 6-0 shut-out win over the Washington Nationals.

DeGrom was dominant with bat and ball on Friday, firing a two-hitter for his second career shutout, setting a career best with 15 strikeouts against the Nationals in MLB.

The Mets ace also went two-for-four at the plate, the two-time National League (NL) Cy Young Award winner finishing with a double, two runs scored and an RBI.

DeGrom became the first MLB player to have 15-plus strikeouts and score two-plus runs in a game since Tom Seaver with the Mets in 1973, per Stats Perform.

The three-time All-Star also became the first player in the modern era with 15 strikeouts, two runs scored and no runs allowed, while he is the second pitcher in the modern era with 50-plus strikeouts and five or more base hits at the plate over any four-start span.

DeGrom's 50 strikeouts are the most by any pitcher across the first four starts of a season, surpassing the 48 of Shane Bieber (2021) and Nolan Ryan (1978).

 

A's stay hot

The Oakland Athletics extended their winning streak to 12 games by beating the Baltimore Orioles 3-1. The A's are in the midst of their longest streak since tallying a franchise-record 20 wins in a row in 2002.

Giancarlo Stanton hit two home runs to lead the struggling New York Yankees to a 5-3 victory at the Cleveland Indians.

Rookie sensation Yermin Mercedes had four hits, including a double in the seventh inning, as the Chicago White Sox topped the Texas Rangers 9-7. Yoan Moncada tallied three hits and a home run.

J.A. Happ flirted with a no-hitter in the Minnesota Twins' 2-0 win against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Happ lost his no-hit bid in the eighth inning. The 38-year-old walked two batters and struck out three.

 

Glasnow costly

Tyler Glasnow's seven-game winning streak, dating back to last year, came to an end in the Tampa Bay Rays' 5-3 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. Glasnow became the second pitcher in MLB history to have four-plus strikeouts and allow four-plus runs in the same inning after Marcus Semien hit a three-run homer in the first inning, per Stats Perform. Rays ace Glasnow allowed five runs, five hits and struck out 10 in six innings.

 

Tatis takes down Kershaw's Dodgers

Fernando Tatis Jr. put on a show for the San Diego Padres, who trumped World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-1. Tatis homered twice against Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw. On April 23 in 1999, father Fernando Tatis Sr. hit two grand slams in one inning at Dodger Stadium. They are the first father-son duo to each record a multi-homer game at the same venue on the same calendar date.

 

Friday's results

Chicago Cubs 15-2 Milwaukee Brewers
Oakland Athletics 3-1 Baltimore Orioles
Kansas City Royals 6-2 Detroit Tigers
New York Yankees 5-3 Cleveland Indians
Boston Red Sox 6-5 Seattle Mariners
Toronto Blue Jays 5-3 Tampa Bay Rays
New York Mets 6-0 Washington Nationals
Atlanta Braves 5-4 Arizona Diamondbacks
Houston Astros 5-4 Los Angeles Angels
Minnesota Twins 2-0 Pittsburgh Pirates
Chicago White Sox 9-7 Texas Rangers
St Louis Cardinals 5-4 Cincinnati Reds
Colorado Rockies 5-4 Philadelphia Phillies
San Francisco Giants 5-3 Miami Marlins
San Diego Padres 6-1 Los Angeles Dodgers

 

Padres at Dodgers

The Padres (12-10) will look to claim the four-game series against the Dodgers (14-6) in game three on Saturday. Blake Snell gets the start as the Dodgers counter with Trevor Bauer in Los Angeles.

The Oakland Athletics continued their remarkable season turnaround by extended their winning run to 11 games, with a thrilling 13-12 win over the Minnesota Twins.

The As had started the 2021 MLB season 0-6 and were challenged by the Twins on Wednesday night yet got home in extras, as center-fielder Roman Laureano says they "could smell we were going to win".

Matt Olson had the second home run of the game at the bottom of the third, followed by Seth Brown to give the Athletics a 7-4 lead.

But the Twins refused to go away, with Nelson Cruz having a big game, including his second home run, recording his 38th career multi-run game.

Laureano got home after a Matt Chapman fly ball forcing a 10th, where Byron Buxton teed off for the Twins to establish a 12-10 lead.

Minnesota, though, were let down by sloppy fielding, firstly with an error from Major League second-gamer Travis Blankenhorn with bases loaded, before Luis Arraez's wayward throw allowed Tony Kemp and Elvis Andrus home to seal the walkoff win.

The As are now the first-ever team to win 11 straight at any point in an MLB season after being 0-6.

 

Rangers deny Angel, Baez grand slam

The Texas Rangers came from behind to deny Mike Trout's Los Angeles Angels 7-4 on Wednesday night.

The Rangers had trailed 3-1 after four innings, after home runs from Trout and Shohei Ohtani for the Angels.

Adolis Garcia hit a home run from Mike Mayers and that opened up a lead they would not give up, with another homer from next batter Nate Lowe.

Javier Baez had a day out for the Chicago Cubs in their 16-4 win over the New York Mets, with his sixth career grand slam.

For the Mets, Pete Alonso scored his third home-run of the year with a 429 foot monster.

There was late drama as the Philadelphia Phillies got past the San Francisco Giants 6-5 with Andrew Knapp hitting to left-field at the bottom of the ninth, allowing Bryce Harper to get the winning run.

Late heroics from Salvador Perez guided the Kansas City Royals to a 9-8 win over the Tampa Bay Rays after trailing 8-7 at the bottom of the ninth.

 

Tough trot for J.D.

Mets third baseman J.D. Davis is not having a good run, with his third misfield in two games hardly helping his side's cause in their 16-4 loss to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

 

Shohei Showtime

Ohtani keeps on delivering in MLB this season but after launching a home run against the Rangers he sped around the bases, making it home in a Majors season record of 17.3 seconds.

 

Wednesday's results: 

Philadelphia Phillies 6-5 San Francisco Giants
Miami Marlins 3-0 Baltimore Orioles
Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 Detroit Tigers
Colorado Rockies 6-3 Houston Astros
Oakland Athletics 13-12 Minnesota Twins
Washington Nationals 1-0 St. Louis Cardinals
Texas Rangers 7-4 Los Angeles Angels
Milwaukee 4-2 San Diego Padres
Atlanta Braves 4-1 New York Yankees
Arizona Diamonds 8-5 Cincinnati Reds
Detroit Tigers 5-2 Pittsburgh Pirates
Toronto Blue Jays 6-3 Boston Red Sox
Chicago Cubs 16-4 New York Mets
Kansas City Royals 9-8 Tampa Bay Rays

 

Padres at Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers will start their series against the San Diego Padres in an all-Calfiornia battle.

The Angels' stars were on display Tuesday in Anaheim, as Mike Trout and Albert Pujols hit towering home runs to back two-way star Shohei Ohtani and the pitching staff in a 6-2 win over the Texas Rangers. 

Making his second start of the season, Ohtani baffled Rangers hitters for better or for worse in his four shutout innings. He allowed just one hit, but walked six and struck out seven as he worked his way into and out of jams throughout his stint on the mound. 

Though Ohtani's 11 walks through two starts are a concern, MLB hitters have yet to demonstrate they can do much damage against him with the bat. 

The same cannot be said for the heart of the Angels' lineup. After Trout hammered a 446-foot home run in the sixth inning, Pujols hit one exactly the same distance in the seventh. It was Pujols' second homer of the season and the 664th of his career.

 

Urias takes pitchers' duel

There was little margin for error between the Dodgers' Julio Urias (seven innings, one hit, career-high 11 strikeouts) and the Mariners' Marco Gonzales (seven innings, two hits, six strikeouts) on Tuesday.

The two teams combined for just three hits -- a single and a double by Los Angeles and a single by Seattle -- as the World Series champions prevailed 1-0.

According to Stats Perform, the four combined total bases were the fewest ever in an interleague game. 

 

Cardinals' bullpen blows up

Adam Wainwright turned in a vintage start for St. Louis against the Nationals, but a meltdown by the Cardinals' bullpen led to a 3-2 loss in Washington. Wainwright left after seven innings, holding a 2-1 lead after striking out 10. 

But his replacement, Giovanny Gallegos, could not close the door. He walked the first batter he faced and hit the second before eventually walking Josh Harrison with the bases loaded and two outs to force in what proved to be the winning run. 

 

Spectacular catch backs spectacular pitching

Corbin Burnes had another remarkable outing for the Brewers, striking out 10 without walking a batter to give him 40 strikeouts and zero walks this season. According to Stats Perform, Burnes is the first pitcher to fan at least 40 without walking a man over any four-game span in the modern era.

Impressive as those numbers are, Burnes would not have kept the Padres off the scoreboard in a 6-0 win without an incredible diving catch by Billy McKinney in left field to end the fourth inning with two San Diego runners stranded on base. 

 

Tuesday's results

New York Yankees 3-1 Atlanta Braves
Oakland Athletics 7-0 Minnesota Twins
Oakland Athletics 1-0 Minnesota Twins
Los Angeles Dodgers 1-0 Seattle Mariners
Chicago White Sox 8-5 Cleveland Indians
Baltimore Orioles 7-5 Miami Marlins
Washington Nationals 3-2 St. Louis Cardinals
San Francisco Giants 10-7 Philadelphia Phillies
Boston Red Sox 4-2 Toronto Blue Jays
Chicago Cubs 3-1 New York Mets
Tampa Bay Rays 14-7 Kansas City Royals
Colorado Rockies 6-2 Houston Astros
Los Angeles Angels 6-2 Texas Rangers
Milwaukee Brewers 6-0 San Diego Padres
Arizona Diamondbacks 5-4 Cincinnati Reds (suspended)
Pittsburgh Pirates-Detroit Tigers (postponed)

 

Giants at Phillies

San Francisco (10-6) will turn to pitcher Anthony DeSclafani to try to complete a three-game sweep of the Phillies (8-8). The right-hander has allowed just two runs over 17 innings in three starts this season, for a 1.06 ERA. 

After winning eight consecutive games, MLB World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers are in the midst of a different streak following their 4-3 loss to the Seattle Mariners.

The Dodgers had their winning streak snapped by National League (NL) West rivals the San Diego Padres on Sunday and the star-studded champions lost again on Monday.

In the series opener, the American League (AL) West-leading Mariners used two home runs from rookie Taylor Trammell and Jose Marmolejos to take down the Dodgers.

Corey Seager hit a homer for the Dodgers, but it was not enough as Dustin May was tagged with the loss after giving up four hits and four runs – including both homers – in five innings.

 

Musgrove stays hot

The San Diego Padres lost 3-1 to the Milwaukee Brewers, but Joe Musgrove impressed again. In four starts this season, Musgrove has 37 strikeouts while allowing just three walks and three runs. According to Stats Perform, he is the first pitcher in the modern era to have 35-plus strikeouts while allowing no more than three walks or three runs over his first four starts of a season. Musgrove set a career high with his 13 strikeouts against the Brewers.

 

Giolito accepts blame for White Sox loss

The Chicago White Sox were beaten 11-4 by the Boston Red Sox. Lucas Giolito was removed in the second inning, having allowed eight runs – seven earned – and eight hits as his ERA went from 2.55 to 5.79.

"I lost us the game in the first inning, and its not a good feeling," Giolito said. "I think that they had a good approach against me, and I pitched into it and they didn't miss."

 

Grand slam!

Paul DeJong hit two of the St Louis Cardinals' five home runs, including a grand slam in the fifth inning, as the team crushed the Washington Nationals 12-5.

 

 

Monday's results

Boston Red Sox 11-4 Chicago White Sox
San Francisco Giants 2-0 Philadelphia Phillies
St Louis Cardinals 12-5 Washington Nationals
Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 Kansas City Royals
Texas Rangers 6-4 Los Angeles Angels
Milwaukee Brewers 3-1 San Diego Padres
Seattle Mariners 4-3 Los Angeles Dodgers
Minnesota Twins-Oakland Athletics (postponed)

 

Jays at Red Sox

AL East rivals the Toronto Blue Jays (7-9) and Red Sox (11-6) will go head-to-head at Fenway Park, starting Monday. Ryu Hyun-jin gets the start for the Blue Jays, while Eduardo Rodriguez will be on the mound for leaders the Red Sox in Boston.

The San Diego Padres rallied for a 5-2 victory as MLB World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers had their eight-game winning streak ended.

In the blockbuster National League (NL) West showdown, the Dodgers had won the opening two games away to the Padres.

But the Padres – who had lost seven straight games against the Dodgers – avoided a series sweep on Sunday, Eric Hosmer starring to help the hosts recover from a two-run deficit in the final game.

Hosmer hit a tying double in the seventh inning before adding the go-ahead single in the eighth to sink the Dodgers at Petco Park in San Diego.

"It certainly has created a rivalry," Hosmer said after the Padres were eliminated by the Dodgers en route to their World Series victory in 2020. "I don't know if I could have said that my first couple years here, but there certainly is a rivalry now. … It's just the start of it.

"It's going to be fun all year getting to play those guys, and if we get to where we want to go, we understand it's going to go through them. We welcome the challenge."

 

Bieber makes history

Cleveland Indians ace Shane Bieber is enjoying another stellar season. He became the first pitcher with 10-plus strikeouts in each of his first four starts of a season since 1983 in Cleveland's 6-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds. The reigning American League (AL) Cy Young winner had 13 strikeouts across eight innings to become the first pitcher in franchise history to record six consecutive double-digit-strikeout performances. He also tied Nolan Ryan for the most strikeouts (48) through four appearances in a season since at least 1906.

Guillermo Heredia became the first Atlanta Braves player to have six-plus RBI in a game from the number eight spot in the line-up since RBI became an official stat in 1920, per Stats Perform. The Braves crushed the Chicago Cubs 13-4 after the latter won by the same scoreline on Saturday. It is the second time in MLB history that back-to-back games in a series ended with the same 13-4 scoreline. The other came in 1936, when the Phillies and Cardinals traded 13-4 victories in a doubleheader.

 

Yankees lose fifth straight

The New York Yankees are in a rut. The storied franchise were swept by AL East rivals the Tampa Bay Rays following a 4-2 loss in New York. The Yankees suffered a fifth consecutive defeat as they fell to an AL-worst 5-10, their poorest start since 1997.

 

The Stro-show!

Marcus Stroman showed why he is a former Gold Glove Award winner with a stunning behind-the-back play on the mount in the eighth inning – the New York Mets ace combining with Pete Alonso in ridiculous fashion to beat Josh Fuentes at first base. The Mets edged the Colorado Rockies 2-1.

 

Sunday's results

Arizona Diamondbacks 5-2 Washington Nationals
Philadelphia Phillies 2-0 St Louis Cardinals
Tampa Bay Rays 4-2 New York Yankees
Chicago White Sox 3-2 Boston Red Sox
Chicago White Sox 5-1 Boston Red Sox
Cleveland Indians 6-3 Cincinnati Reds
San Francisco Giants 1-0 Miami Marlins
Pittsburgh Pirates 6-5 Milwaukee Brewers
Kansas City Royals 2-0 Toronto Blue Jays
Texas Rangers 1-0 Baltimore Orioles
New York Mets 2-1 Colorado Rockies
Oakland Athletics 3-2 Detroit Tigers
Seattle Mariners 7-2 Houston Astros
San Diego Padres 5-2 Los Angeles Dodgers
Atlanta Braves 13-4 Chicago Cubs
Minnesota Twins-Los Angeles Angels (postponed)

 

Dodgers at Mariners

The Dodgers (13-3) will look to return to winning ways when they visit the Mariners (10-6) on Monday. Dustin May starts for the Dodgers as the Mariners counter with Justus Sheffield.

Mookie Betts pulled off a spectacular outfield catch to seal victory for the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 2-0 win over the San Diego Padres in MLB on Saturday night.

The 28-year-old center fielder dived to his left for Tommy Pham's curving hit, getting it inch-perfect for a walk-off catch in the ninth.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said: "Mookie has played a lot of innings in center field, but with that said, it takes an elite defender in center to make that play."

In a blockbuster tussle, Clayton Kershaw was crucial for the Dodgers with eight strikeouts across six innings, while Padres pitcher Yu Darvish had nine.

Earlier, Justin Turner hit a ninth inning home run to open up the 2-0 buffer, following Zach McKinstry's fifth inning run.

The result improves the Dodgers' 2021 record to 13-2, while the Padres are 9-7.

 

De Grom within a whisker of record

New York Mets right-hander Jacob de Grom came within one of Tom Seaver's 51-year-old record for consecutive strikeouts in their 4-3 win over the Colorado Rapids in the first game of their double-header.

De Grom finished the game with 14 strikeouts although the Mets lost the second of their double-header, going down 7-2.

Jorge Alfaro was the hero as the Miami Marlins scored twice at the bottom of the 10th to claim a dramatic 7-6 win over the San Francisco Giants.

Salvatore Perez came up trumps with a monster home-run at the bottom of the seventh to secure the Kansas City Royals a 3-2 walk-off win over the Toronto Blue Jays in the second of their double-header.

The win lifts the Royals to a 8-5 record, while the Blue Jays are 7-8.

The Oakland Athletics won their seventh straight, knocking off the Detroit Tigers 7-0, while the Boston Red Sox beat the Chicago White Sox 7-4.

The Tampa Bay Rays won 6-3 over the New York Yankees despite a bizarre moment when Tyer Glasnow's right leg and left hand suddenly cramped up.

 

Braves cop six home-runs

The Atlanta Braves saw six home-runs sail over their heads in their 13-4 loss to the Chicago Cubs, struggling on the mound, trying five different pitches on a rough night.

 

Greinke's double play

Houston Astros pitcher Zach Greinke pulled off an unusual 1-5-6 double play in their 1-0 win over the Seattle Mariners after dropping a red hot drive.

 

Saturday's results

Tampa Bay Rays 6-3 New York Yankees
Washington Nationals 6-2 Arizona Diamondbacks
Toronto Blue Jays 5-1 Kansas City Royals
Chicago Cubs 13-4 Atlanta Braves
St Louis Cardinals 9-4 Philadelphia Phillies
Boston White Sox 7-4 Chicago Red Sox
Oakland Athletics 7-0 Detroit Tigers
Cincinnati Reds 3-2 Cleveland Indians
New York Mets 4-3 Colorado Rockies
Miami Marlins 7-6 San Francisco Giants
Kansas City Royals 3-2 Toronto Blue Jays
Baltimore Orioles 6-1 Texas Rangers
Milwaukee Brewers 7-1 Pittsburgh Pirates
Los Angeles Dodgers 2-0 San Diego Padres
Colorado Rockies 7-2 New York Mets
Houston Astros 1-0 Seattle Mariners

 

Dodgers in San Diego

The rivalry resumes between the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday, with tempers spilling over at times during their series already.

The Boston Red Sox lost for the first time since the opening series of the season as the Minnesota Twins snapped a five-game losing streak of their own Thursday. 

German-born outfielder Max Kepler's bloop single in the ninth inning brought home Luis Arraez to end Boston's remarkable run of nine consecutive victories with a 4-3 Minnesota triumph.

On a day when every player in MLB wore number 42 to honour Jackie Robinson's barrier-breaking debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, a sea of 42 jerseys gathered in celebration at Target Field.  

It was a gutsy display from the Twins, who built a 3-0 lead to back Michael Pineda's seven scoreless innings but watched the red-hot Red Sox score three in the eighth inning to equalise. 

Arraez sparked the winning rally in the final inning, though, allowing the Twins to relax a bit after a rough stretch.

"It's impossible to go out and play baseball and not feel it when it's going really well or when it's not going really well," said Twins manager Rocco Baldelli. "It's really how you harness that and control it at times and sometimes how you just let it go."

 

Braves stage rally of their own

The Atlanta Braves followed the same blueprint as the Twins, stopping a four-game skid of their own after blowing a lead and then rallying to win in their final at-bat. 

Atlanta avoided a four-game sweep by the Miami Marlins with a 7-6 victory capped by Dansby Swanson's game-ending single in the ninth. 

It was a fitting finish for a contest packed with momentum swings, as Miami went out to a 3-0 lead before the Braves jumped ahead 5-3 on home runs by Ronald Acuna Jr. and Pablo Sandoval. 

The Marlins scored three of their own to surge back in front before five of the six Braves to bat in the ninth reached base, ending in the win.

 

Corbin has no answers for Diamondbacks

Washington Nationals starter Patrick Corbin got bombed in an 11-6 loss to Arizona, surrendering 10 Diamondbacks runs (nine earned) on six hits and four walks in just two innings. Corbin watched the second and third batters of the game, Carson Kelly and Eduardo Escobar, hit solo homers, then gave up a grand slam to Andrew Young in the second inning. He departed the game against his former club with an unsightly 21.32 ERA.

 

Mercedes' monster moon shot

Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. muscled up on a hanging slider from Royals pitcher Kyle Zimmer for a 456-foot blast, the longest home run of his career, in the seventh inning of a 7-5 loss to Kansas City. 

 

Thursday's results
Atlanta Braves 7-6 Miami Marlins
San Diego Padres 8-3 Pittsburgh Pirates
Seattle Mariners 4-2 Baltimore Orioles
Seattle Mariners 2-1 Baltimore Orioles
Minnesota Twins 4-3 Boston Red Sox
Cleveland Indians 4-2 Chicago White Sox
Arizona Diamondbacks 11-6 Washington Nationals
Texas Rangers 6-4 Tampa Bay Rays
Kansas City Royals 7-5 Toronto Blue Jays
Oakland Athletics 8-4 Detroit Tigers
Los Angeles Dodgers 7-5 Colorado Rockies
Philadelphia Phillies-New York Mets (postponed)

 

Dodgers at Padres

The match-up of division rivals will feature the first MLB start for pitcher Ryan Weathers of the Padres (9-5) as he takes on Walker Buehler and the Dodgers (11-2).

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