The red-hot Boston Red Sox made history in MLB after extending their winning streak to nine games on Wednesday.

In a midweek doubleheader, the Red Sox swept the Minnesota Twins 3-2 and 7-1 as they became the first team in history to start a season with a three-game losing streak and then immediately win nine in succession.

After tallying two hits in game one and making a diving catch to thwart the Twins, Boston outfielder Alex Verdugo fuelled the Red Sox with three hits – including a solo homer in the seventh inning – in the second encounter.

The Red Sox (9-3) are the only team in the American League (AL) East to own a winning record this season.

"We did a good job," said manager Alex Cora, who returned to Boston this season after leaving the Red Sox amid the sign-stealing scandal, having guided the franchise to World Series glory in 2018. "Overall, a great day for the Red Sox. That’s a good baseball team and to win both games, win the series, it makes it special.

"We know we have a good baseball team and we have to keep working on it, and we have to keep getting better. But days like today, they’re very gratifying."

Rodon has game to remember

Carlos Rodon threw a no-hitter for the Chicago White Sox, just missing out on a rare perfect game in an 8-0 rout of the Cleveland Indians. Rodon retired the first 25 batters he faced, leaving him two outs away from what would have been the 24th perfect game in MLB history. But Rodon lost out on joining that exclusive group when a two-strike pitch hit Roberto Perez in the foot. Rodon, though, still managed to secure the 20th no-hitter in White Sox history and the second in MLB this season. According to Stats Perform, Rodon (two wins and two hits allowed) is the first pitcher in AL history to win his first two starts of a season while allowing no more than two hits.

Corbin Burnes of the Milwaukee Brewers became the first pitcher since 1906 to have 30 strikeouts and 0 walks in his first three starts of a season. He struck out 10 in six dominant innings as the Brewers shut out the Chicago Cubs 7-0.

The Toronto Blue Jays edged the New York Yankees 5-4 thanks to Bo Bichette and his walk-off homer. Bichette finished with two home runs as the Blue Jays clinched their series with the Yankees. The 23-year-old tied Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio for the most multi-extra-base hit games (14) in his first 87 MLB appearances. Bichette's single in the opening inning also extended his hitting streak to 11 games, matching a career high.

Cubs crumble in toothless display

After being blanked by the Brewers, the Cubs are now hitting .163 for the season. Per Stats Perform, it is the second-lowest average by any team through 12 games in the modern era, behind only the 2003 Tigers (.159)

Mercedes' monster moon shot

White Sox rookie designated hitter Yermin Mercedes delivered a 431-foot bomb against Cleveland. He launched a three-run homer off Zach Plesac during a six-run opening inning.

Wednesday's results

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

Blue Jays at Royals

The Blue Jays (6-6) will hit the road on Thursday for the opening game of their series against AL Central leaders the Royals (6-4).

Akil Baddoo's history-making MLB season continued after starring in the Detroit Tigers' 8-2 win over the Houston Astros.

Tigers rookie Baddoo – selected in the Rule five draft, which aims at preventing franchises from stockpiling too many young players on their minor league affiliate teams when other clubs would be willing to play them in the major leagues – has made a flying start to his career with the Tigers.

Baddoo, who was a Rule five pick in December having been originally drafted out of high school by the Minnesota Twins in 2016, is already the first player in modern MLB history to hit a grand slam, another home run and a walk-off hit in his first three career games.

The 22-year-old outfielder added to that on Tuesday after homering in the Tigers' comprehensive victory away to the Astros in Houston.

Through eight games, Baddoo has four homers, a double and a triple. According to Stats Perform, his 1.043 slugging percentage is the highest in American League (AL) history through eight career games.

Baddoo is also the first Tigers player to drive in a run in six or more of his first eight career games since Don Ross in 1931, while only four players in MLB history have had more than six such games – Jorge Soler most recently with seven in 2014.

Giolito and Bieber put on a show, Duvall makes history

The Shane Bieber-Lucas Giolito pitching duel did not disappoint as the Cleveland Indians edged the Chicago White Sox 2-0. Reigning Cy Young Award winner Bieber pitched three-hit ball over nine scoreless innings in a battle of the All-Star aces. Bieber also finished with 11 strikeouts. Bieber has 35 strikeouts this season. Through three appearances of a season since 1983, only Nolan Ryan (37 in 1973) and Gerrit Cole (36 in 2018) have only managed more. Giolito also impressed across seven scoreless innings, only giving up three hits with eight strikeouts.

Adam Duvall posted seven RBIs in the Miami Marlins' 14-8 success against the Atlanta Braves. In September last year, he had nine RBIs for the Braves against the Marlins. Duvall in the first player in history with a seven-plus RBI game for both sides of the same matchup, per Stats Perform. He also joined Alex Rodriguez as the only two players since 1954 to have multiple games with seven RBIs, two homers and four runs.

The Pittsburgh Pirates topped the San Diego Padres 8-4, despite walking 13 and hitting three batters. According to Stats Perform, the Pirates are the first team to issue at least 16 combined batters walked and batters hit in a nine-inning win since the Browns in 1948.

Strasburg struggles

Stephen Strasburg and the Washington Nationals were put to the sword 14-3 by the St Louis Cardinals. World Series champion and MVP Strasburg gave up eight hits, eight runs – seven earned – and three homers on five walks across four tough innings. Strasburg was replaced after allowing all three batters to reach base in the fifth, leading to a nine-run inning for the Cardinals.

Betts back with a bang

Following a four-game absence due to a stiff lower back, Mookie Betts made a smashing return to the Los Angeles Dodgers' line-up. He hit a 394-foot home run as the World Series champions routed the Colorado Rockies 7-0.

Tuesday's results

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

Red Sox at Twins

American League (AL) East leaders the Red Sox (7-3) will put their seven-game winning streak on the line in a doubleheader against the Twins (5-5) on Wednesday.

Mike Trout hit his fourth home run of the MLB season as the Los Angeles Angels won 10-3 over the Kansas City Royals on Monday.

Trout put the icing on the cake for the Angels after Shohei Ohtani's earlier heroics, scoring a two-run homer in the ninth.

Right-hander Alex Cobb struck out 10 batters as the Angels moved to a 7-3 record and top spot in the American League West.

Ronald Acuna Jr continues to dazzle early in this season although it was not enough to lift the Atlanta Braves to victory, losing 5-3 to the Miami Marlins.

Acuna tripled in the third, before a sac fly to second which showcased his blistering pace and energy.

Glasgow shuts down Rangers, Greinke eephus

Tyler Glasnow continued his fine start to the MLB season for the Tampa Bay Rays with 14 strikeouts in their 1-0 win over the Texas Rangers.

The right-hander shut down the Rangers, allowing just three baserunners, two hits and a walk across seven and a half innings.

Renato Nunez did not quite know what to do when Houston Astros' right-hander Zack Greinke tried something different, with a 51.5-miles-per-hour pitch called a strike. It was Greinke's slowest pitch in the tracking era.

It came on a tough night for Greinke as the Houston Astros lost 6-2 to the Detroit Tigers, with former top overall pick Casey Mize delivering seven scoreless innings.

Kyle Higashioka homered twice to spare Gerrit Cole's early blushes, before the latter finished by retiring his final 15 batters in the New York Yankees' 3-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Chicago White Sox edged the Cleveland Indians 4-3 with Nick Madrigal winning it after an errant throw in the ninth.

Baez's wild throw

Chicago Cubs shortstop Javier Baez had a moment to forget when he unleashed a wild throw which sailed a good 30 feet above first baseman Anthony Rizzo, allowing Billy McKinney to easily complete the single.

Ohtani's incredible exit velocity

Shohei Ohtani may not have hit a home-run in the seventh inning but his two-run double re-established the Angels' three-run lead and also had an incredible exit velocity of 119 mph.

Monday's results

San Diego Padres 6-2 Pittsburgh Pirates 
New York Yankees 3-1 Toronto Blue Jays
Tampa Bay Rays 1-0 Texas Rangers
Miami Marlins 5-3 Atlanta Braves
Milwaukee Brewers 6-3 Chicago Cubs 
Washington Nationals 5-2 St Louis Cardinals
Chicago White Sox 4-3 Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers 6-2 Houston Astros
Los Angeles Angels 10-3 Kansas City Royals
Oakland Athletics 9-5 Arizona Diamondbacks
Cincinnati Reds 3-0 San Francisco Giants

Yankees in Florida

American League East foes the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Yankees will meet again at the former's temporary home in Florida.

World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers swept the Washington Nationals with a 3-0 shutout on Sunday as Clayton Kershaw outduelled Max Scherzer in a pitching showdown.

In his first home start as a World Series winner, Dodgers ace Kershaw struck out six batters over six scoreless innings without a walk against the struggling Nationals, while Zach McKinstry drove in all three runs.

Kershaw – a future Hall of Famer and three-time National League (NL) Cy Young Award winner – has now allowed just one run across his last two starts, striking out 14 over 13 innings.

Scherzer – also a three-time NL Cy Young winner and World Series champion – pitched six innings of three-hit ball with five strikeouts and a walk.

"Max has obviously had an unbelievable run with what he's done over there in Washington. I have a ton of respect for him and everything he's done in this game," Kershaw said after the Dodgers improved to 8-2 for the season.

"You try not to attack it any differently. You always try to put up zeroes on the board. But after we got that early run there, you try and make it stand as best you can, knowing that Max probably isn't going to give up many himself. [We're] fortunate today that it worked out."

The Philadelphia Phillies, meanwhile, snapped the Atlanta Braves' four-game winning streak following a narrow 7-6 victory.

Didi Gregorius fuelled the Phillies with a three-run home in a four-run fourth inning, while he had the go-ahead sacrifice fly in the ninth.

It was a controversial finish after Alec Bohm managed a double off Will Smith at the start of the ninth before advancing to third on a bunt and scoring to make it 7-6.

Bohm was initially called safe following Marcell Ozuna's throw, and the decision was upheld, despite replays appearing to show the former's foot missing the plate as the Phillies avoided a sweep.

Debutant Odor lifts Yankees

Rougned Odor – acquired from the Texas Rangers – capped his New York Yankees debut with a go-ahead single at the top of the 10th inning in an 8-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. According to Stats Perform, it was the fourth time since 1974 a player's first hit with the Yankees delivered the game-winning RBI in extra innings, following Chase Headley (2014), Alfonso Soriano (1999) and Alex Johnson (1974).

The Seattle Mariners rallied past the Minnesota Twins 8-6. Seattle came back from being six-plus runs down and won for the first time since 2016.

De Leon and Reds put to the sword

It was a rough outing for Jose De Leon and the Cincinnati Reds, who were blanked 7-0 by the Arizona Diamondbacks. De Leon allowed six runs over a little more than four innings, walking three and fiving up eight hits, including two home runs.

Martinez delivers a masterclass

Boston Red Sox star J.D. Martinez already has 12 extra-base hits in eight games this season. It is the most by any player in their first eight games of a campaign in American League (AL) history. The Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles 14-9 on the back of his three homers.

Sunday's results

Boston Red Sox 14-9 Baltimore Orioles
Pittsburgh Pirates 7-1 Chicago Cubs
Cleveland Indians 5-2 Detroit Tigers
New York Yankees 8-4 Tampa Bay Rays
Kansas City Royals 4-3 Chicago White Sox
Seattle Mariners 8-6 Minnesota Twins
Milwaukee Brewers 9-3 St Louis Cardinals
San Diego Padres 2-0 Texas Rangers
Arizona Diamondbacks 7-0 Cincinnati Reds
San Francisco Giants 4-0 Colorado Rockies
Los Angeles Dodgers 3-0 Washington Nationals
Philadelphia Phillies 7-6 Atlanta Braves
Miami Marlins 0-0 New York Mets (suspended, to resume August 31)
Los Angeles Angels-Toronto Blue Jays (postponed)

Yankees at Blue Jays

After their series finale against the Angels was postponed, the Blue Jays will welcome AL East rivals the Yankees to Dunedin for Monday's series opener.

The short-handed Toronto Blue Jays claimed a much-needed 15-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels as unheralded duo Josh Palacios and Santiago Espinal stepped up on Saturday.

Toronto had lost four consecutive MLB games and were without some key weapons for the third matchup of the Angels series, including star recruit George Springer and Silver Slugger Teoscar Hernandez.

But the Blue Jays returned to form thanks to the likes of Palacios and Espinal – Toronto, who had scored seven runs across their previous 31 innings, using a seven-run second inning to blitz the Angels in Dunedin after rain delayed the start of proceedings for almost three hours.

Palacios managed his first MLB hit and scored on a three-run double from Randal Grichuk as he finished with four runs and as many hits against the Angels.

The 25-year-old became the second player in American League (AL) history with four-plus hits and four-plus runs in one of his first two career games, per Stats Perform. The other was Wid Conroy in 1901.

Espinal – called up to the Blue Jays from the alternate training site on Saturday – had two runs and three hits in five at-bats as Toronto registered 15 runs without homering.

Bo Bichette had five RBIs with three runs and two hits, while Marcus Semien and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. also scored.

Steven Matz impressed in his start for the Blue Jays, allowing just one run and five hits across six strong innings, while Angels pitcher Jose Quintana was tagged with the loss after giving up five hits, seven runs – five earned – in less than two innings.

Dodgers flex muscles in LA, Locastro makes history

Chris Taylor hit a three-run homer as World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Washington Nationals 9-5. The Dodgers improved to 7-2 for the season after AJ Pollock also drove in three runs. Juan Soto homered twice but it was not enough for the visiting Nationals.

Tim Locastro became the first player on record (since 1951) to start a career with 28 consecutive stolen bases without being caught. It came as the Arizona Diamondbacks topped the Cincinnati Reds 8-3.

Jacob deGrom matched a career best with 14 strikeouts over eight innings, but the New York Mets were blanked 3-0 by the Miami Marlins.

Avisail Garcia homered, doubled and drove in five runs as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the St Louis Cardinals 9-5. Keston Hiura hit a three-run homer in a five-run seventh inning for the Brewers.

Yankees shut out as German pays the price

It was a miserable outing for Domingo German and the New York Yankees, who were blanked 4-0 by AL East rivals the Tampa Bay Rays. Austin Meadows and Randy Arozarena homered off German. The Yankees optioned German to the club's alternate site after the shut-out loss. 

Memorable day for Espinal

Toronto's Espinal will not be forgetting Saturday's game any time soon. Prior to starring for the Blue Jays, the 26-year-old Dominican infielder met iconic countryman and MLB legend Albert Pujols thanks to team-mate Guerrero. Angels star Pujols is a two-time World Series champion, three-time National League (NL) MVP, 10-time All-Star, six-time Silver Slugger, two-time Gold Glove winner and one of the Dominican Republic's most famous names.

Saturday's results

Miami Marlins 3-0 New York Mets
Tampa Bay Rays 4-0 New York Yankees
Seattle Mariners 4-3 Minnesota Twins
Milwaukee Brewers 9-5 St Louis Cardinals
San Francisco Giants 4-3 Colorado Rockies
Oakland Athletics 7-3 Houston Astros
Cleveland Indians 11-3 Detroit Tigers
Pittsburgh Pirates 8-2 Chicago Cubs
Boston Red Sox 6-4 Baltimore Orioles
San Diego Padres 7-4 Texas Rangers
Atlanta Braves 5-4 Philadelphia Phillies
Arizona Diamondbacks 8-3 Cincinnati Reds
Los Angeles Dodgers 9-5 Washington Nationals
Toronto Blue Jays 15-1 Los Angeles Angels
Kansas City Royals-Chicago White Sox (postponed)

Angels at Blue Jays

The Blue Jays (4-5) will look to level their series with the Angels (6-3) in Sunday's decider in Dunedin.

Homegrown Joe Musgrove tossed the first no-hitter in the San Diego Padres' franchise history in a 3-0 victory over the Texas Rangers in MLB on Friday night.

Musgrove blanked the Rangers across nine close-to-faultless innings with 10 strikeouts, which set off wild frenzied celebrations among the Padres.

"Everyone dreams of getting the chance to throw a no-hitter," Musgrove said post-game. "I've never even thrown a no-hitter in my life, so my first one came today on this field.

"It's awesome to have it be in a Padres uniform and for it to be the first one for the franchise. That's incredible."

It was only Musgrove's second start for the Padres and improves their season record to 5-3.

Shohei Ohtani may not be on the mound at the moment but he hit his third home run of the year in the Los Angeles Angels' 7-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Japanese star went 2-for-5 at the plate with a homer, double and four RBIs, with Mike Trout taking a backseat.

Acuna does it all for Braves

Young gun Ronald Acuna Jr did it all for the Atlanta Braves in their 8-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

The 23-year-old Venezuelan hit a huge home run, added a duo of doubles and made a super outfield catch as he notched his fifth career four-hit game to lead the Braves to victory. 

"That just shows you the complete player he is and the skillset this kid has and what he brings," Braves manager Brian Snitker said.

Corey Kluber had a tough shift as the New York Yankees were battered by reigning American League champions the Tampa Bay Rays 10-5.

Rich Hill struck out seven for the Rays while Joey Wendle and Brandon Lowe combined to drive in five.

Justin Turner homered in the sixth inning to earn the Los Angeles Dodgers a 1-0 victory over the Washington Nationals.

After being beaten by the Houston Astros five times, the Oakland Athletics hit back with Matt Olson's three-run homer helping them to a 6-2 triumph.

Fowler felled in scary play

In a scary moment, Angels' right fielder Dexter Fowler was carted off with a left knee issue after an awkward fall on second base, although cmanager Joe Maddon later said "I don't think it's bad, fortunately".

Freddie finds his form

Acuna stole the show for the Braves but 2020 National League MVP Freddie Freeman would not be denied with a big home run of his own.

Friday's results

Tampa Bay Rays 10-5 New York Yankees
Los Angeles Dodgers 1-0 Washington Nationals
San Francisco Giants 3-1 Colorado Rockies
Los Angeles Angels 7-1 Toronto Blue Jays
Cleveland Indians 4-1 Detroit Tigers
Atlanta Braves 8-1 Philadelphia Phillies
San Diego Padres 3-0 Texas Rangers
Oakland Athletics 6-2 Houston Astros
Cincinnati Reds 6-5 Arizona Diamondbacks 

Yankees at Tampa

There's a full 15-game fixture on Saturday with the Tampa Bay Rays series against the New York Yankees ongoing.

The Washington Nationals will start their MLB campaign against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday after last week's scheduled opening series against the New York Mets was called off due to coronavirus issues. 

The Nationals were set to host the Mets at Nationals Park on Friday, but the game - and subsequent series - was postponed after four players tested positive for COVID-19. 

In addition to those four, there are seven further players and two staff members still undertaking quarantine as part of contact tracing. 

General manager Mike Rizzo said "the majority" of the players in quarantine were on the Nationals' 26-man roster, while "several" were not. 

They plan to fill those roster vacancies from an alternate training site where more than 30 players have been participating in daily training sessions.

The planned first game against the Braves, set for Monday, also will not go ahead, but the Nationals will return to action on Tuesday.

"We want to do everything we can to nip this thing in the bud right here, right now," Rizzo told reporters.

"So, I think that's being taken very much into consideration when we're talking [about] the next couple of days.

"They [the players] really want to get back into the routine of baseball, and they want to work out and get the blood flow [going] again. I think they're very excited about getting back on the field."

The Braves were swept 3-0 in their opening series against the Philadelphia Phillies. 

World Series champions Los Angeles Dodgers were humbled on the Opening Day of the new Major League Baseball season 8-5 by the Colorado Rockies on Thursday.

The Dodgers had 14 stranded runners throughout the game while Cody Bellinger hit a ball into the stands which did not count as a home run on a strange afternoon.

With crowds returning to MLB, the Dodgers were unable to get off to a flying start.

"Honestly, we just didn’t play a good baseball game," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "All the way around, we didn’t play well."

In the Houston Astros' first game back playing in front of crowds since their cheating scandal emerged they were jeered and boed in an 8-1 win on the road against the Oakland Athletics.

Back-to-back home runs from Michael Brantley and Alex Bregman in the eighth put the Astros out of sight and silenced the crowd.

Trout lifts Angels, Mariners mighty comeback

Mike Trout flexed his muscle as the Los Angeles Angels rallied to beat the Chicago White Sox 4-3. At the bottom of the eighth, a visibly pumped Trout's hit gave him an RBI and tied the game. Shohei Ohtani then got on the board after an error by second baseman Nick Madrigal.

The Seattle Mariners trailed 6-1 in the eighth inning against the San Francisco Giants before mounting a remarkable fightback and eventually prevail 8-7. The winning run came when Jake Fraley walked with the bases loaded.

The New York Yankees' bats let them down as they were beaten 3-2 by the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Tampa Day Rays shut out the Miami Marlins in a 1-0 win earned by Austin Meadows' solo home run in the ninth.

Bellinger denied by mix-up

Bellinger was denied his first homer of the new season in a moment of confusion, when team-mate Justin Turner, who was on first base, thought Bellinger had been caught in the outfield and ran back. Bellinger's hit was actually fumbled by Raimel Tapia over the fence so when Turner reversed and passed by the left-hander that made him out and resulted in only an RBI single.

First homer of season

Detroit Tigers hitter Miguel Cabrera claimed the maiden homer of the new season in driving snow, which left him confused, sliding into base just in case it had not cleared the fence.

Thursday's results

Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 New York Yankees
Detroit Tigers 3-2 Cleveland Indians
Milwaukee Brewers 6-5 Minnesota Twins
Pittsburgh Pirates 5-3 Chicago Cubs
Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 Atlanta Braves
Tampa Bay Rays 1-0 Miami Marlins
St Louis Cardinals 11-6 Cincinnati Reds
Colorado Rockies 8-5 Los Angeles Dodgers
San Diego Padres 8-7 Arizona Diamondbacks
Kansas City Royals 14-10 Texas Rangers
Los Angeles Angels 4-3 Chicago White Sox
Houston Astros 8-1 Oakland Athletics 
Seattle Mariners 8-7 San Fransisco Giants 

Dodgers to bounce back

The Dodgers will look to bounce back from their opening day loss on Friday on the road again versus the Colorado Rockies.