JD Davis stepped up for the New York Mets with an RBI double in the 10th inning on Sunday, propelling them to a 5-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Starling Marte homered early off Julio Urias in the third, but the Mets had to recover after letting a two-run lead slip in the ninth inning.

Pete Alonso's double secured the tying run in that eighth inning, and then scored off Eduardo Escobar's sacrifice fly, before bringing the Mets' eighth win in 11 off Davis' double.

Adonis Medina retired Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman to set up the win in extra innings, despite runners on the corners, striking out Will Smith for his first save in Mets colours.

The Mets managed to split the four-game series between the National League's two best records with the win, extending their lead atop the NL East.

Harper and Stott lead Philadelphia fightback

Bryson Stott hit a game-winning three-run home run as the Philadelphia Phillies rallied to beat the Los Angeles Angels 9-7.

The rookie hit the winning homer after the Angels let a 6-2 lead record slip in the eighth inning, following a Bryce Harper grand slam off Raisel Iglesias.

It was the fourth consecutive win for the Phillies, who have won all three games under interim Rob Thomson since Joe Girardi's dismissal on Friday, while the Angels were consigned to their 10th straight loss.

Twins top up in Toronto

The Minnesota Twins extended their lead in the American League Central, defeating the Toronto Blue Jays 8-6 on the road.

Twins designated hitter Luis Arraez continued his impressive form, going four-for-four with a walk and moving his batting average for the season to .358, the leading rate in baseball.

The Twins had 16 hits as they took two of three games in Toronto, with Jovani Moran earning his first career save.

The Philadelphia Phillies fired manager Joe Girardi on Friday following a disappointing 22-29 start to a season the team entered with high expectations.

President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski announced bench coach Rob Thomson will take over as interim manager through the remainder of the season. The Phillies also relieved coaching assistant Bobby Meacham of his duties as part of the staff shake-up.

The moves come with Philadelphia sitting 12 games back of the first-placed New York Mets in the National League East and five and a half games out of a wildcard spot.

Despite the presence of reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper and a payroll exceeding $225million – the fourth highest in Major League Baseball this season – the Phillies have gone 11-18 since May 1 and are 4-10 in games decided by one run.

Only Texas (2-8) have a lower winning percentage in one-run games in 2022.

"It has been a frustrating season for us up to this point, as we feel the club has not played up to its capabilities," Dombrowski said in a statement. "While all of us share the responsibility for the shortcomings, I felt that a change was needed and that a new voice in the clubhouse would give us the best chance to turn things around.

"I believe we have a talented group that can get back on track, and I am confident that Rob, with his familiarity and experience with our club, is the right man to lead us going forward."

Girardi, who won a World Series managing the New York Yankees in 2009 and was the 2006 NL Manager of the Year with the then-Florida Marlins, was hired by Philadelphia prior to the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. The 57-year-old went 82-80 in his first full season with the team in 2021 and amassed a 132-141 overall record with the Phillies.

Thomson has never been a full-time manager at the major league level but the 58-year-old has extensive experience as a bench coach, having served in that role with the Phillies since 2018 and previously holding those duties under Girardi with the Yankees in 2008 and again from 2015-17.

The native Canadian will be tasked with improving a team who have had one winning season since last reaching the playoffs in 2011. The Phillies' postseason drought is the second-longest active streak in MLB, trailing only the Seattle Mariners' run of 20 consecutive seasons missing the playoffs.

"I am extremely excited for this opportunity and I appreciate the confidence Dave has shown in me," said Thomson. "Having said that, this is an emotional day for me, having worked closely with Joe for so many years.

"I care deeply about this franchise, this city, our players, our coaches, our staff and our fans. I am ready to lead this team and look forward to getting to work and turning this around."

An offensive explosion in the sixth inning saw a combined nine runs as the Philadelphia Phillies held on for a hard-fought 6-5 home win over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday.

Both teams had their ace pitchers on the mound, and they were both excellent through the first five innings as Philadelphia's Aaron Nola and San Francisco's Carlos Rodon combined for one earned run.

The Phillies led 2-0 heading into the sixth frame – with one of the runs going down as unearned for the pitcher due to a fielding error – before the Giants finally found their groove.

The Giants' first five batters in the sixth inning went: double, RBI rouble, single, hit-by-pitch, before being capped off with a big three-run home run to Wilmer Flores.

With their big inning, the Giants jumped ahead 5-2, and after seeing Nola fall apart, the visitors opted to pull Rodon from the game. It was a decision that will be questioned after the Phillies rallied back with four runs of their own in the same frame.

They came with a pair of two-run homers – the first a 348-foot shot from Nick Maton, before Kyle Schwarber sent his 392 feet over the wall to put his side back in front 6-5.

From that point on the bullpens took over, with no hits and no walks allowed by either team in the final three frames, allowing Corey Knebel to come in and collect the save for the Phillies.

Verlander teases a no-hitter

Houston Astros star pitcher Justin Verlander took a no-hitter into the seventh inning before his side then had to fight from behind to beat the Oakland Athletics 5-4.

Verlander was spectacular, allowing just one walk through the first six innings, but only led 1-0 as Cole Irvin was also at the top of his game on the mound for the Athletics.

In the seventh inning, an Elvis Andrus RBI double and a two-run Christian Bethancourt home run turned the game on its head, grabbing a 3-1 lead for the Athletics in the process, holding it until the ninth inning.

It was a poor showing from Oakland reliever Dany Jimenez, allowing the bases to load before walking in a run to make it 3-2, setting the plate for Yordan Alvarez to be the hero with a three-run, bases clearing, game-winning double.

Rockies win a shoot-out

The Colorado Rockies beat the Miami Marlins 13-12 in an extra-innings crowd-pleaser, ending in a walk-off home run.

Six Rockies finished with at least two hits, but Brendan Rodgers was the undisputed star of the show, hitting solo home runs in the second and fifth innings, before crushing his third long-ball of the day for the walk-off winner in the 10th frame.

Ryan McMahon was also terrific with the bat for the home side, with a three-run triple in the third inning and an RBI double in the fifth, as he and Rodgers combined to drive in eight of Colorado's 13 runs.

Jeff McNeil delivered the go-ahead home run as the New York Mets continued their excellent start to the season with an 8-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday.

Trailing 2-1 in the fourth inning with two runners on base, McNeil stepped up for the Mets for a three-run blast over right field.

McNeil revealed after the game that he thought he spotted an eagle in the crowd moments before stepping up. "I was kind of staring out into space, into nothing, and I saw something," McNeil said. "I don't know what it was. It was a bird."

McNeil's blast put the Mets up 4-2, before Francisco Lindor extended his RBI streak to a career-best six games.

Lindor's triple moved the Mets further ahead, with his long fly ball skipping off the wall at left-center field. He has 14 RBIs during his six-game run.

Pete Alonso was more quiet by comparison, but still drove in another RBI as he homes in on a franchise record held by Gary Carter of 34 RBIs in any month. Alonso now has 29 for May which is a franchise record for that specific month.

Kluber and Cole face off as Rays win

The Tampa Bay Rays ended the New York Yankees' four-game winning run with a 3-1 victory in their AL East clash.

Manuel Margot extended his hitting streak to 15 games with an RBI single in the eighth with Wander Franco scoring.

Corey Kluber and Gerrit Cole jousted on the mound across six innings, with Kluber allowing one run and three hits while striking out five. Cole struck out 10, giving up one run, two hits with three walks.

Betts blasts Dodgers to victory

Mookie Betts continued his stellar May form with a leadoff homer in the Los Angeles Dodgers' 3-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Betts' leadoff homer was his 14th home run of the season and 11th of the month. It was also his 32nd career leadoff home run.

The win means the Dodgers improve to a 32-14 record in the NL West.

The Boston Red Sox could not finish the job with a six-run lead against the Baltimore Orioles, going down 12-8 after leading 8-2 through the sixth inning.

It was a red-hot start for the surging Red Sox, who had won seven of their past eight games leading into Friday's contest, jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning thanks in large part to a three-run homer from Xander Bogaerts.

Boston's lead was extended to 6-0 in the second inning through a bases-loaded automatic double from Alex Verdugo, before the Orioles finally got on the board through a two-run home run from Anthony Santander in the fourth inning.

Those would be the only runs given up by Red Sox starter Garrett Whitlock, who pitched six full innings for two earned runs from five hits and one walk, striking out four; but when he was withdrawn, everything fell apart for the home side.

The Orioles would score 10 runs in the final three frames, as a three-run blast from Jorge Mateo in the seventh and a two-run homer in the eighth from Austin Hays quickly helped make it 8-8 heading into the final inning.

Baltimore racked up another five hits in the ninth as the Boston bullpen simply could not close the show, before Orioles closer Jorge Lopez showed them how it was done, retiring the last three Red Sox batters in order.

Taillon pitches a gem for Yankees

The New York Yankees have extended their league-best record to 33-13 after a 2-0 shutout win away at the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday.

It was all about Yankees starting pitcher Jameson Taillon, who proved nearly unhittable, pitching eight complete innings for just two hits and no walks, striking out five in the process.

The Yankees were kept scoreless in eight of their innings as well, but had a pair of game-winning swings of the bat in the fourth frame, with solo home runs to Gleyber Torres and Matt Carpenter.

Carpenter has only been with the Yankees for less than a week, being picked up in the midst of an injury crisis after he was released by the Texas Rangers.

Polar Bear delivers for Mets

New York Mets first-baseman Pete Alonso – nicknamed the 'Polar Bear' – was terrific in his side's 8-6 win against the Philadelphia Phillies, finishing with a game-high four RBIs.

Alonso drove in his first run in the first inning through a sacrifice-fly, before doing it in a more emphatic fashion in the third frame, hitting a 400-foot, two-run home run to left-field.

His fourth RBI came from another hard-hit ball, this time a double to deep right-field, opening up a 7-0 lead in the process.

The Phillies would threaten a comeback, cutting the margin back to 7-6, but the Mets' bullpen was able to shut things down in the final three innings.

Nestor Cortes carried a three-hit shutout into the ninth inning as the New York Yankees defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 7-2 on Thursday.

Cortes was in impressive form, finishing with five struck out and four hits over 109 pitches before Wandy Peralta came in to close the game out.

The Yankees came into this game with Giancarlo Stanton and Josh Donaldson both unavailable while DJ LeMahieu also deals with wrist soreness.

Requesting a release after 21 games in Triple-A ball for the Round Rock Express, the Texas Rangers' affiliate, Matt Carpenter scored twice from two at-bats as the designated hitter in his debut game for the Pinstripes.

Now on a three-game winning streak, the Yankees moved to 32-13 to extend their lead over the Rays atop the American League East.

Nola propels Phillies to win over Braves

The Philadelphia Phillies bounced back to defeat the Atlanta Braves, splitting their four-game series with a 4-1 win.

Aaron Nola struck out 10 and gave up only four hits while pitching a shutout coming into the ninth inning, giving up one more hit over an eventual 109 pitches before Corey Knebel closed.

The Phillies and Braves are now even on a 21-24 record in the National League East, both seven-and-a-half games behind the New York Mets.

Brewers beat Cardinals, extend NL Central lead

Josh Hader made the eventual save for the Milwaukee Brewers, earning a 37th consecutive scoreless appearance as they defeated the St Louis Cardinals 4-3.

Eric Lauer started slowly for the Brewers, giving up two runs and four hits in the opening two innings, before closing with four hits and a strikeout over 96 pitches in five innings.

Tyrone Taylor drove in for the seventh game in a row while Luis Urias scored a home run, as the Brewers extended their lead over the Cards in the NL Central.

The Atlanta Braves had it working with both bat and ball as they defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 8-4 at home on Wednesday.

The Phillies opened the scoring through a massive 431-foot solo home run to Odubel Herrera in the top of the second inning – the biggest hit by either team in the game.

But they would not finish the second inning in the lead as William Contreras connected on his own home run to left-field, tying the game, before Ozzie Albies and Dansby Swanson drove in another three runs with base hits.

Philadelphia mounted a comeback in the middle innings, with Herrera driving in his second run via a base hit in the fourth, followed by Nick Castellanos' ground-out RBI and Jean Segura's RBI single, tying it at 4-4.

It would be all Braves from that point on as their bullpen allowed just two hits from the last 14 outs, with Spencer Strider striking out five in two innings.

After Swanson scored on a fielding error to put the Braves up 5-4, they made no doubt about the result with further solo home runs to Austin Riley and Swanson to put the game to bed.

Swanson finished with four hits from five at-bats, with two runs and two RBIs.

Phillies MVP candidate Bryce Harper also played well, with four hits from his five at-bats, including two doubles.

Long ball reigns supreme for Tigers

The Detroit Tigers came back from an early deficit to defeat the Minnesota Twins 4-2 in extra innings – with every score coming from home runs.

Trevor Larnach put the Twins ahead 2-0 with his two-run homer in the fourth inning, before Tigers shortstop Harold Castro pegged one back with a solo shot in the sixth frame.

Castro struck again in the eighth inning, hitting another solo home run to tie the game and force extra innings. 

In the extra inning, Jeimer Candelario was the hero, blasting the first pitch of his at-bat over the center-field wall to make it 4-2 and set the table for closing pitcher Andrew Chafin to come in for the save.

Yankees pitcher holds Orioles scoreless in debut start

The New York Yankees grinded out a hard-fought 2-0 victory against the Baltimore Orioles, thanks in large part to a terrific debut start for pitcher J.P. Sears.

Sears, 26, had two relief appearances for the Yankees this month before being trusted with his first start, and he repaid their faith with five scoreless innings, striking out five batters while giving up three hits and two walks.

The Yankees' bullpen also contributed, allowing just three baserunners, while Miguel Andujar had the most clutch hit of the game to break the deadlock in the fourth inning.

The Boston Red Sox offense enjoyed a game of season highs as they destroyed the Chicago White Sox 16-3 on Tuesday, led by the in-form Trevor Story.

The Red Sox piled on a season-high 16 runs, along with a season-high 19 hits, nine extra-base hits and four home runs with all nine batters having a hit.

Kike Hernandez, who finished with two runs, two hits and two RBIs, started it off with a lead-off homer, followed by Story with a three-run blast to open up a 4-0 first-innings lead.

The punishment did not stop, with Rafael Devers homering in the fourth inning, while Christian Vazquez delivered a three-run effort in the fifth.

J.D. Martinez went four-for-five for three runs and one RBI, while Story and Vazquez both had four RBIs for the game.

Martinez has an American League-best average of .366, while Story has eight home runs including six in his past five games.

Trevino snaps Yankees skid

The New York Yankees snapped their three-game skid with a walk-off 7-6 win over the Baltimore Orioles led by Jose Trevino.

Trevino homered in the third inning and drove in three runs for the game, including a game-winning RBI in the 11th.

The win was the Yankees' fifth walk-off victory of the season and ended an alarming run of losses to improve to a 30-13 record atop the AL East.

Wild end as Braves rally to victory

The Atlanta Braves rallied in a wild ninth-inning thriller to get past the Philadelphia Phillies 6-5 on William Contreras' walk-off single in center field.

The Phillies entered the ninth down 4-3, but Bryce Harper's two-run blast put them up, before the Braves levelled it up when Ronald Acuna's sacrifice fly was dropped, allowing Dansby Swanson home.

From the next at-bat, Contreras' drive to center field off Nick Nelson was enough for Acuna, on second base, to get the walk-off run.

It was a blast from the past for the St. Louis Cardinals in their 18-4 blowout win against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday, with future Hall-of-Famers Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina the stars of the show.

It became uncompetitive early on after the Cardinals piled on seven runs across the opening two frames, and another four in the fourth.

Up 11-0 in the fifth inning, Pujols was brought in as a pinch-hitter, and he crushed the second pitch he saw for a 425-foot home run to left-field.

Pujols' day would not end there as he came up to bat again in the ninth inning with two runners on base, and he launched another home run to make it 18-0.

Not wanting to waste the performance of a real pitcher to close the game, the Cardinals brought in 39-year-old catcher Molina to handle the final inning. It was his first career pitching appearance.

He would give up four runs, including a home run to the very first batter he faced, before getting his third out from a deep fly-ball to center-field.

Both Pujols and Molina are members of the Cardinals only two World Series-winning teams since 1982 – in 2006 and 2011 – and will likely have their numbers retired by the club when they hang up their cleats.

All 10 Cardinals players to take an at-bat finished with at least one hit, while Tommy Edman, Nolan Gorman and Brendan Donovan collected three hits each.

After starting pitcher Steven Matz was withdrawn due to injury before retiring a single batter, Angel Rondon came in with a terrific performance out of the Cardinals bullpen, pitching five scoreless innings, striking out four while giving up just one hit and three walks for his first career win.

Dodgers error gifts Phillies the win

The Los Angeles Dodgers needed just one more out to secure a 3-2 extra innings win against the Philadelphia Phillies, but could not field a routine ground-ball.

After Trea Turner's base hit gave the Dodgers a lead in the top of the 10th inning, Evan Phillips was able to get two Phillies out, with runners on second and third.

While a base hit would have won it, Alec Bohm instead hit one along the ground straight to second-baseman Max Muncy, but as he fumbled the ball and was too late to get the out at first base, both runners came home to win the game.

White Sox wake up late

Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Michael Kopech had a perfect game through five innings, but his side needed a late rally to pull out a 5-0 win in the second game of their double-header against the New York Yankees.

Despite Kopech's heroics – finishing his career-long start with seven full innings pitched for six strikeouts, one hit and two walks – the scores were tied at 0-0 heading into the eighth frame.

Yankees set-up pitcher Jonathan Losaiga had no luck getting through the inning unscathed, giving up four hits and two earned runs before getting pulled with runners still on first and second. Miguel Castro could not get the Yankees out of trouble, giving up a three-run homer to Tim Anderson as the very next batter.

Shohei Ohtani starred with a home run in his second consecutive game as the Los Angeles Angels defeated the Oakland Athletics 4-1 on Sunday.

After becoming the third Japanese-born player to hit 100 home runs in the major leagues, the 27-year-old went deep over right-field in the first inning off Frankie Montas. Mike Trout also scored after his single ahead of Ohtani.

It was the reigning American League MVP's eighth home run of the season, trailing Trout by one among the Halos, while the team leads baseball in that category with 49 for the season so far.

Patrick Sandoval pitched into the seventh inning for Los Angeles, striking out four and giving up four hits over 101 pitches.

The Halos moved to 24-13 for the season with the win, five games behind the AL West-leading Houston Astros, while the A's remain bottom of the division on 15-22.

Pujols pitches ninth as Cardinals run riot

Albert Pujols pitched for the first time in his major league career, with the St. Louis Cardinals routing the San Francisco Giants 15-6.

Brendan Donovan and Corey Dickerson were the only Cardinals not to claim hits in the lineup, while Yadier Molina got two hits and four RBIs from three at-bats, as their team went 15-2 up heading into the final frame.

It meant Pujols, the Cardinals' designated hitter, went to pitch for the first time in his 22-year career. The 42-year-old gave up a three-run homer to Luis Gonzalez and a solo shot to Joey Bart, but managed to get the final three outs for the win.

Lux lights up late as Dodgers defeat Phillies

Gavin Lux earned late redemption for the Los Angeles Dodgers in their come-from-behind 5-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies

The second baseman's fielding error allowed the Phillies to gain a 4-0 lead in the second inning, but Lux scored in the eighth inning to move the Dodgers to 4-3 after the eighth.

He then drove the winning two runs home with a walk-off shot deep into the right-field corner to deny the Phillies a four-game sweep at Dodger Stadium.

The Houston Astros claimed both games in an impromptu double-header and the eventual three-game sweep, with respective 11-3 and 5-0 victories over the Minnesota Twins on Thursday.

The Astros led 5-1 on Wednesday night against the Twins the battle between two of the American League's divisional leaders, when the game was suspended in the third inning.

The game resumed on the Thursday, with Jose Altuve claimed a home-run and double as well as three RBIs in the 11-3 victory.

In Thursday's regularly scheduled game, Yordan Alvarez homered twice, while Luis Garcia and three relievers combined for only seven hits in the shutout win.

The Astros have now extended their winning streak to ten games, giving up only 11 runs over that period.

Stanton stars in Yankees win

While the AL Central and West leaders battled it out, the AL East-leading New York Yankees defeated the Chicago White Sox 15-7.

Giancarlo Stanton homered twice and scored six RBIs, while the Yankees secured the win on the back of a seven-run eighth inning.

The Pinstripes have now won 16 of their last 18 games, with three games remaining in their road series against the White Sox.

Harper moves to DH as Phillies defeat Dodgers

An injured Bryce Harper still claimed two hits from four at-bats and three RBIs as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-7.

Harper will remain in the Phillies' lineup but will be relieved of throwing duties as the designated hitter, due to a ligament tear in his right elbow.

Zack Wheeler pitched over five innings in his start for Philadelphia, striking out seven and giving up six hits and three runs in 90 pitches.

Pete Alonso and Bryce Harper were the stars in the batters' box as the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies split their double-header on Sunday.

In the first game, which the Phillies won 3-2, Harper crushed a first-inning home run against Mets ace Max Scherzer, before driving in a second run with a base hit in the third frame.

The Mets grabbed two runs back in the sixth inning through a James McCann ground-out and a Francisco Lindor double, but it was not enough.

Scherzer pitched six full innings for seven strikeouts and three earned runs but took the loss. Kyle Gibson was credited with the win, giving up two runs in his six innings from six hits and no walks, striking out three.

Just hours later, it was Alonso's turn to be the game-winner in the Mets' 6-1 win, driving in five runs.

Alonso blasted a first-inning two-run homer, and then topped that with a 426-foot, three-run bomb in the fifth frame.

Chris Bassitt continued his terrific season on the mound for New York, conceding just one run from five-and-two-thirds innings, moving his ERA for the season to 2.45 from six starts.

Alfaro's dream come true

San Diego Padres catcher Jorge Alfaro lived every young baseball fan's dream in his side's 3-2 home win against the Miami Marlins.

After the Marlins pitching staff controlled the entire contest, holding the Padres scoreless through eight-and-two-thirds innings, the home side worked two runners on base, trailing 2-0 with two outs in the last inning.

Needing a hero, the Padres called on Alfaro to come off the bench and pinch-hit – and he delivered. He blasted the first pitch he saw 449 feet over the center-field wall for a walk-off, three-run home run.

Torres delivers walk-off for Yankees

Gleyber Torres made sure the New York Yankees did not waste a gem of a performance from ace pitcher Gerrit Cole, beating the Texas Rangers 2-1.

After Cole struck out 10 batters in six-and-a-third innings, conceding just one run from five hits and one walk, the Yankees were tied at 1-1 heading into the last inning.

Torres, in the lead-off spot, made sure the home fans did not have to wait long, ending the game with one swing of the bat as he sent a home run over the short right-field wall with an opposite-field blast.

The New York Mets produced a remarkable ninth-inning comeback to stun the Philadelphia Phillies 8-7.

It was all Philadelphia early in front of their home fans, piling on four runs in the first inning, with Bryce Harper's RBI double to deep left-field the highlight.

Nick Castellanos also batted in one of the four early runs, and then added another in the second inning to make it 5-0 through two innings in a rough start for Mets pitcher Taijuan Walker. 

Walker's work came to an end at the end of the fourth inning after Harper and Castellanos both hit solo home runs, with Harper's 427-foot shot the biggest hit of the game, opening up a 7-0 lead.

Starling Marte finally got the Mets on the scoreboard with a solo home run in the sixth inning, but that would be all Phillies ace Aaron Nola would give up, pitching seven full innings for one earned run from three hits and one walk, striking out seven.

Leading 7-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning, ESPN gave the Phillies a win probability of 99.9 per cent – but the ninth inning would be one to remember for Mets fans.

Marte led off the inning with an infield single, with Francisco Lindor driving him home with a two-run homer for two of the eight Mets hits in the final frame.

Pete Alonso doubled as the next man to the plate, and after an out, Jeff McNeil singled to put runners on first and third.

Mark Canha's infield single brought Alonso home, but a strikeout for the next batter still left the Mets trailing 7-4 with two outs.

J.D. Davis kept the game alive with a clutch double, bringing one more run home to leave runners on second and third, needing a base hit from Brandon Nimmo to tie the game.

Nimmo delivered, bringing home the two runners to tie the game at 7-7.

Not done there, Marte came back to the plate and collected his second hit of the inning, with his long double hitting the wall on the full to bring Nimmo home from first base and take the 8-7 lead, before the next batter grounded out.

Mets closer Edwin Diaz made no mistakes, retiring the last three batters in order for an unlikely victory.

Ohtani gives MVP performance

Shohei Ohtani showed why he could be in line to go back-to-back as the American League MVP, as he dominated the Boston Red Sox to give the Los Angeles Angels a 8-0 win.

Ohtani pitched seven shutout innings for the Halos in his pitching debut at Fenway Park, striking out 11 while only allowing six hits and no walks over 99 pitches.

He also went two-for-four with the bat, driving in a run with a base hit in the eighth inning.

Astros walk-off against Tigers

The Detroit Tigers gave the Houston Astros a scare in the ninth inning, but the Astros sent their fans home happy with a 3-2 walk-off win.

In a strong pitching showing from both teams, the only two runs through eight innings were solo home runs to Jose Altuve and rookie Jeremy Pena to give the Astros a 2-0 lead.

Jeimer Candalario tied the game in the top of the last inning with a two-run homer, but any hope of a win was short-lived as Kyle Tucker hit a walk-off base hit in the bottom of the ninth.

Two home runs from New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge carried his side to a 6-4 road win against the Kansas City Royals on Sunday.

After the game started with an 11-pitch ground-out from Yankees lead-off hitter D.J. LeMahieu, Judge stepped up next and sent the second pitch he saw – a fastball down the middle from Daniel Lynch – 453 feet over the center-field wall for a 1-0 lead.

That lead held until the bottom of the third inning, when Royals lead-off hitter Michael Taylor smoked the first pitch he saw for a solo home run, igniting a three-run frame for the home side. Kansas City extended their lead to 4-1 after a throwing error from Yankees third baseman Josh Donaldson an inning later.

New York grabbed two runs back in the fifth after Isiah Kiner-Falefa brought Miguel Andujar home with an RBI double, before scoring himself from a LeMahieu single to cut the margin back to 4-3.

Two walks and a hit-by-pitch gave the Yankees life in the seventh inning, loading the bases with no outs to allow Judge to drive in a run by grounding out to the pitcher, before Donaldson drove in one more to grab a 5-4 lead.

With two outs in the top of the ninth inning, clinging to a one-run buffer, Judge let New Yorkers breathe easy as he sent a towering shot over the opposite-field wall for his second homer of the game, sealing the win.

Judge – who will be a free agent at the end of this season after failing to come to terms on a long-term extension with the Yankees – finished with three RBIs, going two-for-five from the plate, and now sits one home run off the major league leader, teammate Anthony Rizzo (nine).

Julio Rodriguez announces his arrival

Seattle Mariners rookie sensation Julio Rodriguez hit his first career home run in a 7-3 away win against the Miami Marlins.

Rodriguez was listed as a top-five prospect in all of baseball before being promoted to the majors at the start of this season, and while he has two more stolen bases than anyone else in the league (nine), he has had some early struggles with the bat.

His big moment came in the sixth inning as he stepped up to the plate with two runners on base and two outs, driving a ball 450 feet over the center-field wall to turn a 2-0 lead into a 5-0 lead. It came after the Marlins opted to intentionally walk the batter before Rodriguez, daring him to make them pay.

The Mariners pitchers finished the job thanks to another strong start from Logan Gilbert, who after conceding just one earned run in five-and-two-thirds is now second in the majors for ERA at 0.68 – giving up two runs through five starts and 28 innings.

Mets give Max some runs

The New York Mets gave ace pitcher Max Scherzer some handy run-support to take a 10-6 win against the Philadelphia Phillies in the Sunday night primetime fixture.

New York's 15 hits set a new season-high for the club, and 10 runs also equalled the Mets' most, as Dominic Smith starred with four hits from four plate appearances.

Smith drove in three runs, as did teammate Starling Marte, giving Scherzer a buffer when he left the game after six complete innings, allowing four runs from five hits and a walk while striking out nine.

Five New York Mets pitchers combined on Friday to throw the franchise's second ever no-hitter, beating the Philadelphia Phillies 3-0.

Tyler Megill got things started for the Mets, pitching five innings for three walks and five strikeouts before being withdrawn after 88 pitches.

Megill was replaced by Drew Smith, who struck out four of the five batters he faced, issuing one walk before he was then replaced by Joely Rodriguez for the seventh frame.

Seth Lugo came in to finish off the eighth inning, setting the table for closer Edwin Diaz to finish the job. The Mets' second no-hitter comes nearly 10 years after their first, when Johan Santana did it by himself in June 2012.

Diaz struck out all three batters in the ninth inning, becoming the first player to ever strike out every batter he faced to close out a no-hitter. It was also the first time since 1990 that the first no-hitter of the season was a combined effort.

It was a scoreless game on both sides until the fifth inning when Jeff McNeil's base hit brought home Eduardo Escobar and Mark Canha, with Pete Alonso's solo home run an inning later giving the Mets their winning margin.

Aaron Nola was no slouch on the mound for the Phillies, with nine strikeouts through six complete innings to go with three earned runs from seven hits and no walks.

The win moves the Mets' record to 15-6 – the best in the MLB.

Showtime for Shohei in Chicago

Just one game back in the standings from the Mets, the Los Angeles Angels claimed another stylish win as they defeated the Chicago White Sox 5-1.

It was a terrific pitching performance from the Angels staff as starter Jimmy Herget was pulled after just three innings, with six relievers combining to hold the White Sox scoreless the rest of the way.

With the bat, Shohei Ohtani made sure fans did not have to wait long to get their money's worth, sending a high fastball on a 3-1 count back over the pitcher's head and over the center-field wall. It was the Angels' second homer of the opening frame after Taylor Ward hit a lead-off bomb to start the game.

Guardians win back-and-forth thriller

In a game with five lead changes, the Cleveland Guardians prevailed 9-8 against the Oakland Athletics.

A Jose Ramirez solo home run gave the Guardians a 1-0 lead in the first inning, but it was short-lived as the Athletics responded with four runs in the bottom of the frame, with three coming home on a 407-foot Sean Murphy home run.

The momentum shifted again in the third inning as an Andres Gimenez grand slam pushed the Guardians back ahead 5-4, but once again the Athletics answered straight back, scoring the next four runs to lead 8-5.

Cleveland had the last laugh in the seventh inning, as a Ramirez double brought two runs home to trim the deficit to one, before a two-run Josh Naylor homer made it 9-8, allowing Emmanuel Clase to close things out with the save.