The Los Angeles Angels made the wrong kind of history on Thursday, becoming the sixth team in MLB history to hit seven home runs in a loss, going down 8-7 at home against the Oakland Athletics.

It was also the first time ever that a team has scored seven runs with every run coming courtesy of a solo long-ball.

As has been a recurring theme of superstar Shohei Ohtani's tenure with the Angels, he put on a dazzling display only for his team to fall short. The reigning AL MVP opened the scoring with a solo blast in the first inning, and added a second homer later in the contest.

Kurt Suzuki, Taylor Ward, Jo Adell, Jared Walsh and Mickey Moniak all sent a ball over the fence for the Angels, but it was not enough as starting pitcher Janson Junk struggled mightily.

Junk gave up six earned runs in just the third inning as Ramon Laureano and Sean Murphy hit back-to-back two-RBI doubles, followed by a two-run homer from Seth Brown. Laureano later added his own two-run shot, giving him four RBIs in the contest.

The loss relegates the Angels to a disappointing 44-61 record, while Ohtani is now top-five in the American League in home runs (24) as a batter, and strikeouts as a pitcher (152 in 18 starts).

All-Star Dodgers duo flex their power

Known primarily for their contact, speed and defense, Los Angeles Dodgers All-Stars Mookie Betts and Trea Turner both showed off their power in a 5-3 win against the San Francisco Giants.

In a game where starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw was forced to leave his start after four innings due to lower-back pain, the offense picked up the slack, with a three-run launch from Betts in the fourth inning turning a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead.

The Dodgers would never allow the Giants back into the game, and Turner got in on the action in the seventh inning with a 419-foot whack for the longest hit of the game.

Betts, Turner and Freddie Freeman – who also had a hit for the Dodgers – are all considered candidates for the National League MVP.

Verlander dominates for the Astros

Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander showed why he is the American League Cy Young Award favourite, keeping the Cleveland Guardians quiet in a 6-0 victory.

Verlander held the Guardians to just two hits and one walk in his six scoreless frames, striking out five batters in the process. He is expected to battle it out for the AL's best pitcher award with Tampa Bay Rays star Shane McClanahan.

With the bat, Fabio Maldonado and Chas McCormick collected three RBIs each, with key trio Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez and Jeremy Pena also combining for six hits and three walks.

League leader Aaron Judge continued his remarkable form after the All-Star Game with his 43rd home run of the season as the New York Yankees flexed with a 7-2 win over the Seattle Mariners on Monday.

Judge made majors history with his 10th home run since the All-Star Game, joining Albert Belle in achieving that feat in only 12 games after the break.

The Yankees outfielder had hit a first-inning double, before Anthony Rizzo's three-run blast – his 26th home run of the season – opened up an early 3-0 lead.

Judge took center stage in the second inning with his home run putting the Yankees up 5-1, marking 12 blasts in his past 14 games.

Jose Trevino got in on the act, after a lean month, with home runs in the fourth and eighth innings for his first career multi-homer game.

The result keeps the Yankees top of the American League (AL) East with a 70-34 record, while the Mariners are second in the AL West with a 55-49 record.

Judge leads the majors for home runs this season with 43 with a league-high .680 slugging percentage, batting at .299 with 89 runs, 115 hits and 93 RBIs.

 

Hot property Soto stars as Mets see off Nats

Amid trade speculation, Juan Soto underlined his value with the Washington Nationals with a fine all-round performance in their 7-3 loss to the New York Mets.

Soto showed off his speed around the bases to score for 1-0 in the first inning, before some brilliance from the outfield saw him throw out runner Tomas Nido on the home plate.

After Pete Alonso's 27th blast of the season put the Mets 4-1 up, Soto returned fire with his own home run in the fourth inning, his 21st of the year.

Francisco Lindor's sixth inning homer rounded out the win for the Mets who improve to 65-37.

 

Dodgers too strong for Giants

Max Muncy and Trea Turner both homered as the Los Angeles Dodgers proved too good for National League (NL) West rivals San Francisco Giants 8-2.

Muncy's second-inning two-run blast put the Dodgers ahead after Darin Ruf scored in the first, with Freddie Freeman driving in Mookie Betts in the fourth to open up a 4-1 lead.

Turner unleashed his 17th home run of the season at the top of the seventh inning with a fly ball to center field to settle the contest, helping the Dodgers move to 69-33 at the top of the NL West.

Trayce Thompson drove in two runs and helped break the game open for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who claimed a four-game series sweep with a 7-4 win against the rival San Francisco Giants on Sunday.

Scores were tied at 4-4 following Darin Ruf's two-run homer off Clayton Kershaw in the fifth inning, as the Giants looked to deny their first sweep at Dodger Stadium since 1995.

Kershaw was ultimately pulled in the fifth, giving up five hits and striking out six over 94 pitches, before Craig Kimbrel eventually came in for his 17th save and the Dodgers' eighth consecutive win.

Jake Lamb's double drove in the go-ahead run the game up for grabs in the seventh inning, before Thompson's drive deep to right-centre scored Max Muncy with his brother and Golden State Warriors star Klay in attendance.

The Dodgers maintained their six-game lead over the New York Mets atop the National League standings, extending their record to 64-30 with the victory.

Judge goes deep again in Yankees win

Aaron Judge hit his fourth home run from his past four games as he continues his outlier season, extending his league-leading home run tally to 37 in the New York Yankees' 6-0 away win against the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday.

After starting the series against the Orioles with two home runs, and following it with four hits and two RBIs yesterday, Judge stayed hot as he connected on a 456-foot blast in the third inning. He now leads the MLB for home runs with 37, seven more than the next best in Kyle Schwarber.

On the mound, Nestor Cortes was at his best for the Yankees, giving up six hits and no walks in six scoreless innings, striking out seven. Clarke Schmidt then came in for the unconventional three-inning save.

Alcantara strikes out 10 for Marlins

Arguably the best pitcher in all of baseball this year, Sandy Alcantara struck out 10 batters as his Miami Marlins defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-5 in extra innings.

In his six innings of work, Alcantara gave up two earned runs from just two hits and three walks, earning his 15th quality start of the season, one off the MLB lead held by Houston's Framber Valdez and Toronto's Alek Manoah.

According to Baseball Reference's Wins Above Replacement (WAR), Alcantara has been the most valuable player in all of baseball this season, and he is the only pitcher in the top-five.

Mookie Betts hit a career milestone as the Los Angeles Dodgers extended their winning streak to seven games, defeating their rivals in the San Francisco Giants 4-2 on Saturday.

After his three-run shot to give the Dodgers a 9-6 win to start the four-game series, Betts hit his 200th career home run in the win, going deep off Alex Wood in the third inning.

Trea Turner and Freddie Freeman also scored homers for the Dodgers, making it the first time this season all three have gone over the wall in the same game.

Julio Urias was solid on the mound, meanwhile, striking out five and giving up only two hits over 91 pitches in six innings.

The Dodgers have now won 14 of their last 15 games and now lead the National League by six games over the New York Mets, extending their record to 63-30.

Manoah makes life tough for Red Sox

The Toronto Blue Jays claimed an important win in the American League wildcard race, beating the Boston Red Sox 4-1.

Alek Manoah lowered his ERA to 2.24 for the season, giving up seven hits but striking out as many over 97 pitches in six innings, as he continues to establish himself as one of the MLB's best pitchers.

After pounding the Red Sox 28-5 on Friday to start their three-game series in the American League East, the Blue Jays moved to 9-2 head-to-head for the season, and are now 3.5 games ahead of Boston for the AL's final wildcard spot.

Verlander leads Astros to within touching distance of Yankees

Justin Verlander was in fine form as he became the first pitcher in MLB to win 13 games this season, propelling the Houston Astros to a 3-1 win over the Seattle Mariners.

Verlander was in impressive touch on the mound, giving up only four hits and striking out nine over 101 pitches in seven innings, while clocking 99 miles per hour on his fastball in the seventh.

Kyle Tucker and Yuli Gurriel both hit RBI doubles in the fourth inning off Logan Gilbert to set up the win for the Astros, who moved to 63-32 and are now 1.5 games behind the AL-leading New York Yankees.

The Houston Astros started their second half of the MLB season in positive fashion, claiming a double-header sweep over the New York Yankees on Thursday.

The two best records in the American League (AL) faced off and the Astros bested the Yankees once again, moving to a 5-2 head-to-head record for the season with respective 3-2 and 7-5 wins at Minute Maid Park.

After splitting a four-game series in the Bronx in June, Yordan Alvarez and Alex Bregman both homered and combined for five RBIs to hand the Astros the third win at home this season over the AL leaders.

In the earlier game, Bregman, Korey Lee and rookie JJ Matijevic combined for RBIs while Cristian Javier struck out three but only gave up two hits over 99 pitches in five innings.

With the sweep coming out of the All-Star Game, the Astros suddenly moved to within three games of the AL-leading Yankees, who have now lost seven of their past 10 games.

Gray gets Rangers rolling

Jon Gray led the way for the Texas Rangers as they commenced an 11-game road trip, shutting the Miami Marlins out for an 8-0 win.

Gray struck out five and conceded only four hits over 94 pitches in six innings, while Adolis Garcia homered and drove in three runs.

The Marlins slipped further away from the National League's wild card race with the defeat, now six games back with a fourth consecutive defeat and extending their scoreless streak to 34 innings.

Betts denies Giants comeback

Mookie Betts saved the day for the Los Angeles Dodgers after they almost squandered a big lead, eventually claiming a 9-6 win over their rivals in the San Francisco Giants.

Things were looking good early for the Dodgers, taking a 5-0 lead after the opening three innings off star Giants pitcher Carlos Rodon, with Freddie Freeman scoring a solo home run in the first inning with two out.

The Giants fought back in the seventh through Evan Longoria and Darin Ruf, though, with the two scoring home runs to set up a five-run inning.

A Trayce Thompson triple drove Gavin Lux home to tie after Thair Estrada was walked in the eighth, before a three-run shot from Betts off Jarlin Garcia gave the Dodgers the eventual win.

Betts confirmed the win with a great defensive play in the following inning, making a spectacular sliding catch deep in right-field to retire Joc Pederson.

The San Francisco Giants made MLB history with a remarkable ninth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers that concluded with Mike Yastrzemski's walk-off grand slam.

A regular season home game for a team hovering just above .500 in mid-July was perhaps not a likely setting for one of the most remarkable ever finishes to a major league game.

But it was exactly what the Giants required after the Brewers' five-run fifth inning had turned the contest on its head.

San Francisco were 5-2 down heading into the bottom of the ninth facing All-Star Brewers closer Josh Hader.

What followed was scarcely believable, even for those involved.

Solo home runs from Joey Bart and Darin Ruf were followed by Yastrzemski's big moment, making the Giants the first MLB team to hit three homers in an inning including a walk-off grand slam.

"Three bombs off Hader in the ninth? I still don't believe it," starter Alex Wood said after the dramatic 8-5 win. "It is just crazy. But we needed it and the boys pulled it off."

The Giants could have been forgiven for deeming this a lost cause; their previous walk-off grand slam had come courtesy of Bobby Bonds in September 1973.

But Yastrzemski revealed this stunning late show was inspired by Bart's conversation with injured catcher Curt Casali, which carried through the Giants dugout.

"We felt like the energy was sucked out of the dugout, and I think Joey was just a little fired up that there wasn't any really positive energy at the time," Yastrzemski said. "He was just kind of fed up.

"Obviously, we weren't out of the game, but it kind of felt like it for a little bit. I think we fell into the: 'Here we go again', and I'm glad we were able to flip the script and get out of that."

Bart explained: "I said something to Curt, just between me and him, like: 'Hey, we’ve got to get going'.

"As a young player, I don't feel like it's really my role to try to go and speak out.

"But that's just kind of how I was feeling at the time, like: 'Hey, it's not over yet, let's find a way to win'. And magic happened, for sure."

Alex Verdugo led the way for the Boston Red Sox on Saturday, as they dramatically came from behind to defeat the New York Yankees in extra innings.

Verdugo claimed three hits from five at-bats and sparked his side's fightback, scoring the game-tying single in the eighth inning.

Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo gave the Yankees a 5-3 lead with RBI doubles in the 10th inning, both scoring off Jake Diekman.

However, the Red Sox left-fielder responded, scoring a two-run single in the bottom of the extra inning to cap off a three-run frame and hand his side the win over their old rival.

Boston moved to second in the American League East at 46-39, but the Yankees still hold a 15-game lead with the MLB's best record at 61-24.

Rodon rolls for Giants

Carlos Rodon was in spectacular form to inspire the San Francisco Giants to a 3-1 win over the San Diego Padres in divisional ball.

The Giants had lost eight of their past 10 games and Rodon's last start capped off a five-game losing streak. The 29-year-old pitched a complete game, allowing his only run in the second inning.

The left-hander retired 22 of the Padres' final 23 batters while allowing only three hits for only the third complete game of his career.

Mets make it count in extra innings

The New York Mets overcame injuries to Starling Marte and James McCann to maintain their lead in the National League, defeating the Miami Marlins 5-4 in extra innings.

Tomas Nido hit the game-tying double with two outs in the 10th inning, before scoring the winning run on a throwing error by Marlins reliever Tanner Scott.

After retiring the number 17 to honour Keith Hernandez, the Mets secured their fourth walk-off win of the season and improved to 7-0 in extra innings, while moving their record to 53-32.

Aaron Judge hit a game-winning single to cap a four-run ninth inning for the New York Yankees in their 7-6 win over the Houston Astros on Thursday.

Aaron Hicks started the late rally for the Pinstripes, tying the game with a three-run home run off Astros closer Ryan Pressly.

Alex Bregman and Giancarlo Stanton traded three-run homers in the first inning, while Yordan Alvarez also added a three-run shot in the third off Jameson Taillon to put the Astros ahead.

The Yankees took the opener of a highly anticipated four-game series between the American League's two best records with the win, as the Astros kick off a six-game stand in New York, taking both games from the Mets earlier this week in Houston.

The American League leaders moved to 52-18 for the season and claimed their 19th win in the past 22 games, heading into Judge's in-season salary arbitration on Friday.

Swanson seals win for Braves

Dansby Swanson hit two home runs for the Atlanta Braves, who were able to hold out against the San Francisco Giants in a 7-6 victory.

Swanson had three hits and three RBIs as the Braves built a 7-1 lead coming into the fifth inning. Six Giants players scored multiple hits, with Austin Slater's home run starting the rally in the fifth.

They were not able to capitalise on the higher hit count however, as the Braves moved 11 games over .500 with their 18th win in the past month.

Freeman fires Dodgers to victory

Freddie Freeman's form continued in the absence of Mookie Betts, leading the way for the Los Angeles Dodgers in their 10-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds.

Freeman claimed a home run and three RBIs, moving his OBP for the season to a team-leading .386, while Max Muncy and Trea Turner each tallied three hits.

Clayton Kershaw allowed just one run and seven hits in six innings for the National League West leaders, striking out seven in 80 pitches and lowering his ERA for the season to 2.00.

Yordan Alvarez hit a two-run home run and Kyle Tucker had three RBIs to give the Houston Astros an 8-2 win over the New York Mets in Tuesday's high-profile interleague matchup.

Jose Altuve and Jose Siri contributed solo home runs for Houston, who have only gone 6-4 over their past 10 games.

Altuve and Alvarez, who missed Sunday's win over the Chicago White Sox with injury, set up a 3-0 lead in the third inning, connecting off Trevor Williams. Tucker's three-run double extended the lead to 7-0, effectively securing the victory.

With the win, the Astros moved to 42-25 and only trail the New York Yankees in the American League, while the Mets lead the National League with a record of 45-25.

It was the first of nine straight games against the Mets and Yankees, with a trip to New York following this two-game stand at home.

Yaz stands up in Giants win

Mike Yastrzemski returned to form with an important two-run double, propelling the San Francisco Giants to an 8-7 victory over the Atlanta Braves.

Claiming only one hit from his previous 16 at-bats, the 31-year-old drove Collin McHugh deep into right-field, putting the Giants up 8-7.

The Giants moved ahead of the reigning World Series champions in the Nationa League standings with the win, claiming their eighth win in the past 11 games.

Gimenez gets Guardians up over Twins

The Cleveland Guardians moved to the top of the AL Central standings, beating the Minnesota Twins 6-5 in 11 innings.

Leading the major leagues with a .362 batting average, Guardians' lead-off hitter Luis Arraez hit a three-run home run in the seventh, sending Eli Morgan over right-center field.

Andres Gimenez hit the important RBI single in the 11th, as Emmanuel Clase earned his 16th save in 18 attempts. The Guardians' 35-28 record (.556) now inches them ahead of the Twins on 38-31 (.551).

Clayton Kershaw gave up a go-ahead home run to Thairo Estrada upon his return from injury, as the San Francisco Giants defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 on Saturday.

Kershaw has been sidelined since May due to an inflamed joint in his back, but his return has also coincided with Walker Buehler being placed on the Dodgers' injured list.

The three-time National League Cy Young Award winner pitched four innings, giving up three hits over 71 pitches, including the two runs that set up the Giants' win in the second inning.

The Dodgers claimed 13 hits in comparison to the five from their NL West rivals, but simply were not able to capitalise at the plate with runners in scoring position.

The Dodgers have now lost eight of their past 12 games, with the San Diego Padres now drawing level atop the NL West.

Judge rules for Yankees

Aaron Judge led the way for the New York Yankees, scoring two home runs in their 8-0 win over the Chicago Cubs.

It was a day to forget for rookie Cubs pitcher Matt Swarmer, who gave up six solo home runs out of a total seven hits over 90 pitches in five innings.

Giancarlo Stanton, Gleyber Torres, Jose Trevino and former Cub Anthony Rizzo went deep along with Judge as the Pinstripes claimed their 10th win in 11 games, moving to 43-16 for the year.

Trout leads Angels upon return from injury

Mike Trout returned for the Los Angeles Angels as they claimed a morale-boosting 11-6 win over the NL East-leading New York Mets.

The three-time American League MVP returned from a minor groin injury and led the way for the Halos in the win, scoring two home runs and claiming three hits from four at-bats.

Shohei Ohtani also went deep while going three-of-four, claiming their second win in three after snapping a 14-game losing streak on Thursday.

Clayton Kershaw is scheduled to come off the injured list on Sunday to start the Los Angeles Dodgers’ series finale against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced the news on Wednesday before their game against the Chicago White Sox.

This will be Kershaw’s first start for Los Angeles since May 7, after he landed on the IL due to right SI joint inflammation.

The three-time NL Cy Young Award winner was off to a sensational start to the season before getting hurt, going 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA over his first five outings. The 34-year-old veteran left-hander had 32 strikeouts to just three walks over 30 innings of work.

He was just as impressive in his lone minor league rehab start this past Sunday, yielding one run while striking out seven and walking one in four innings for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga. He threw 44 of 59 pitches for strikes.

The Dodgers enter play Wednesday atop the NL West with a 35-20 record, one-and-a-half games ahead of the San Diego Padres and five-and-a-half games in front of the third-place Giants.

Shohei Ohtani had a bad time in the Bronx on Thursday, as the New York Yankees took the first of two games in a double-header against the Los Angeles Angels.

Matt Carpenter continued his solid form since signing as a free agent, seeing his way through an 11-pitch at-bat to score a lead-off home run off Ohtani in the 6-1 win.

Carpenter now has three home runs from 16 at-bats for the Yankees, while the reigning American League MVP gave up eight hits and four runs on the way to being pulled after three innings.

Jameson Taillon took a perfect game into the eighth inning as the Pinstripes won Thursday's second game 2-1, moving their record for the season to 36-15.

Further misfortune was dealt to Ohtani in the second game, with Wandy Peralta striking him out to confirm the save.

Rookie Ashcraft leads Reds in Nationals win

Rookie starting pitcher Graham Ashcraft continued his impressive start in the major leagues, as the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Washington Nationals 8-1.

The 24-year-old secured his first win last Friday, throwing six scoreless innings against the San Francisco Giants, and did not have to wait long for his second in another dominant performance.

The right-hander struck out five and gave up four hits over 92 pitches in seven innings, setting up what was only the Reds' 18th win of the season.

Alcantara assumes control against Giants

Sandy Alcantara allowed only three hits in an assured display, leading the Miami Marlins to a 3-0 win over the San Francisco Giants.

The 26-year-old walked two and struck out eight, while extending his run of at least seven innings pitched to five starts, and lowering his ERA to 1.81.

The Marlins scored early via a Jacob Stallings single, and that was all the run-support Alcantara needed, moving them to 21-28 for the season.

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.

San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler has explained that he will not stand for the United States national anthem due to concerns over the "direction of our country".

On Tuesday, 19 children and two teachers were killed in a shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

The MLB paid tribute by holding a moment of silence before games, prior to playing the national anthem.

Kapler on Friday published an essay on his website detailing how on "the day 19 children and two teachers were murdered, we held a moment of silence at sporting events around the country, then we played the national anthem, and we went on with our lives."

He then explained that he will not be coming out to stand for the anthem, and that he wanted to take a knee during the playing of the Star-Spangled Banner on Wednesday.

"Every time I place my hand over my heart and remove my hat, I'm participating in a self-congratulatory glorification of the ONLY country where these mass shootings take place," he wrote.

"On Wednesday, I walked out onto the field, I listened to the announcement as we honoured the victims in Uvalde. I bowed my head. I stood for the national anthem. Metallica riffed on guitars.

"My brain said drop to a knee; my body didn't listen. I wanted to walk back inside; instead I froze. I felt like a coward. I didn't want to call attention to myself. I didn't want to take away from the victims or their families.

"There was a baseball game, a rock band, the lights, the pageantry. I knew that thousands of people were using this game to escape the horrors of the world for just a little bit. I knew that thousands more wouldn't understand the gesture and would take it as an offense to the military, to veterans, to themselves.

"But I am not okay with the state of this country. I wish I hadn't let my discomfort compromise my integrity. I wish that I could have demonstrated what I learned from my dad, that when you're dissatisfied with your country, you let it be known through protest. The home of the brave should encourage this."

Kapler told reporters on Friday: "I don't expect it to move the needle necessarily, but it's something I feel strongly enough about to take that step."

His decision follows on from an impassioned plea from Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, who used a pre-game news conference earlier this week to express his dismay over another school shooting and demand changes to gun laws.

DJ LeMahieu's early grand slam propelled the New York Yankees to a 7-5 win over the Chicago White Sox on Saturday as tempers flared again.

A week after Josh Donaldson and Tim Anderson scrapped in Chicago, the two resumed hostilities in the third inning as the former American League MVP, in his first season with the Yankees, rounded second base.

The benches were then cleared in the fifth inning, when the Yankees' designated hitter faced off with White Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal.

The Pinstripes started strong early and took the lead in the second with a five-run inning, on the back of LeMahieu going deep off Dallas Keuchel with two out.

Nestor Cortes struck out seven and gave up six hits over 100 pitches in five innings, as the Yankees moved to 29-10.

Musgrove muzzles Giants in Padres win

Joe Musgrove was in fine form as the San Diego Padres defeated the San Francisco Giants 2-1 in a big National League West matchup.

Musgrove pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out four and giving up only four hits over 100 pitches.

Manny Machado scored the eventual winning run for the Padres, sending Carlos Rodon's fast-ball back over his head.

Varsho drives Diamondbacks to extra-innings victory

The Arizona Diamondbacks staged a late comeback to defeat the Chicago Cubs, winning 7-6 in an extra inning on the road.

Daulton Varsho was pivotal for the D-Backs, forcing the 10th inning with a two-out, three-RBI double.

Varsho then scored the winning run on the back of a throwing error by Andrelton Simmons in the 10th inning, before Mark Melancon made his ninth save of the season.

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