Lourdes Gurriel Jr. continues to be one of the hottest hitters in the majors.

Gurriel had a home run, a double, two singles and two RBIs while extending his hitting streak to 15 straight in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ 6-3 win over the host Philadelphia Phillies on Monday.

Gurriel, who recorded his eighth career four-plus-hit game, will look to lead the Diamondbacks to their fourth victory in a row and ninth in 11 games when they battle the Phillies again on Tuesday.

The 15-game hitting streak is the longest active run in the big leagues. During the streak, Gurriel is hitting 25-for-60 (.417) with six doubles, seven home runs and 14 RBIs.

“Hitting is the hardest thing to do in baseball,” Gurriel said in a postgame interview on Bally Sports Arizona. “I’m just going up there focusing, trying to do the best I can.”

Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said, “He’s a great hitter, and it’s fun to watch his approach.”

Pavin Smith also launched a solo homer for Arizona, and Geraldo Perdomo contributed a two-run double.

Gurriel is leading the way, but the balanced Diamondbacks keep winning.

“We’re working together as a team,” Gurriel said. “For example, in my last at-bat, I was trying to put the ball in play and move the runner. That’s the way things are going right now.”

The Diamondbacks will hand the ball to Ryne Nelson (1-2, 5.48 ERA) on Tuesday. The rookie right-hander has never faced the Phillies.

In his latest start, on Wednesday against the Oakland Athletics, Nelson allowed one hit and no runs in 5 1/3 innings.

“This team is really resilient,” Nelson said after that outing, a 5-3 Arizona win in which had wasn’t involved in the decision. “We don’t back down from much. We tend to always punch back.”

After winning two of three against the Chicago Cubs over the weekend, the Phillies scuffled in the opener against the Diamondbacks and lost for the sixth time in eight games.

Kyle Schwarber and Bryson Stott each homered, but errors by Stott and Kody Clemens proved to be costly. Starting pitcher Zack Wheeler also failed to cover first base on a play.

“These are mistakes we’ve got to clean up as a coaching staff,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said.

Despite the error, Stott kept up his stellar offensive pace. He socked his fifth long ball of the season and extended his hitting streak to nine games.

“He’s had good at-bats, even against lefties,” Thomson said. “His at-bats against lefties are really good.”

Philadelphia’s Trea Turner hit an RBI single in the seventh inning, snapping his 0-for-22 streak with runners in scoring position.

“I’ve just got to keep grinding,” said Turner, who signed an 11-year, $300 million contract to join the Phillies in the offseason. “Ended the game well, but tomorrow is a new day and we’ll do it all again.”

After the game, the Phillies announced that Matt Strahm (4-3, 2.73 ERA) would start on Tuesday.

Strahm began the season as a starter due to injuries to Ranger Suarez and Andrew Painter.

It’s uncertain how many innings Strahm will pitch, according to Thomson.

Strahm is 2-3 with a 4.04 ERA in 20 career games (three starts) against the Diamondbacks.

–Field Level Media

Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash has noticed some changes in outfielder Randy Arozarena’s routine before games, but those changes seem to be working.

“You watch him take batting practice,” Cash said. “It’s different now. It’s not the dead pull, pull, pull. I mean, there’s a lot of intent to kind of be that complete hitter, to hit balls in both gaps.”

Cash will again count on Arozarena on Tuesday night when the Rays face the Toronto Blue Jays in the second game of a four-game series in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Arozarena is batting .308 with 11 homers and 37 RBIs for the Rays, who are a majors-best 21 games over .500.

Arozarena went 2-for-4 with a solo homer and a double in the Rays’ 6-4 series-opening win over Toronto on Monday.

However, in the third, he was robbed of an extra-base hit on a leaping catch against the wall by right fielder George Springer, likely saving two runs.

Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. committed two missed-catch errors that led to four unearned runs against starter Chris Bassitt, who had not allowed a run over three May starts prior to Monday’s.

Bassitt fell to 5-3, but more importantly, the club’s losing streak reached five games. The Blue Jays, who sit in last place in the American League East, are now 1-7 in their last eight games.

“You can’t give multiple outs to a really good team and expect to win,” Bassitt said. “We’re just not playing good baseball right now. We’ve got to clean a lot of things up. From a pitching standpoint to baserunning, all facets of the game. We’ve got to clean it up.”

The Blue Jays are 5-13 in games played within their division.

Tuesday starter Jose Berrios (3-4, 4.61 ERA) has a distinction this season that stands out — he was the first pitcher to beat Tampa Bay during its torrid start to the new campaign.

On April 14, with the Rays riding a 13-game winning streak and seemingly breaking records each and every night, Berrios allowed just one run and four hits in five innings as the Blue Jays handed the visitors a 6-3 defeat for their first setback of 2023.

Berrios is 2-4 with a 5.44 ERA in nine career starts against the Rays.

Tampa Bay’s Taj Bradley (3-0, 3.54) has looked the part as the club’s top pitching prospect so far, posting strong numbers and keeping runners off base through four starts.

Across 20 1/3 innings, the right-hander has allowed eight runs and 15 hits while striking out 27 and walking just four with a hit batter. His WHIP sits at a crisp 0.934.

The Rays received some good news regarding their pitching staff, as the return of former ace Tyler Glasnow is on the horizon.

Glasnow had another productive start at Triple-A Durham on Sunday.

Against Nashville, the Milwaukee Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate, Glasnow yielded one run on two hits to go along with six strikeouts and two walks in six innings. He threw 67 pitches.

“Encouraged by that,” Cash said of Glasnow’s outing. “I would expect, if he comes in feeling good, then we’ll be talking about getting him to join us at some point.”

–Field Level Media

The Texas Rangers, leading the American League West and wielding a formidable offense, arrived in Pittsburgh to take on a Pirates team that seemed to be falling back to Earth.

The Pirates are remarkably still hanging around the top of the National League Central despite following a 19-9 April with a 4-13 May going into the series against Texas.

Pittsburgh is rebuilding, and it relied on a couple of its younger players to take the opener of the series Monday 6-4.

Right-hander Luis Ortiz pitched a career-high 7 2/3 innings and got his first big-league win, and shortstop Tucupita Marcano hit his first career grand slam.

Marcano, 23, is a prime example of what Pittsburgh is looking for. While the team has struggled, since April 30 he has two homers, two doubles and eight RBIs and has started 11 of 18 games.

“I think he’s in a better spot (offensively),” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said.

Texas doesn’t lose often. The Rangers came into the series having won three in a row, four of five, five of seven, eight of 11 and 11 of 15.

Monday, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy saw what the Pirates saw – strong games from young players Ortiz and Marcano.

“A two-out, two-strike grand slam, those are never good,” Bochy said, adding of Ortiz, “He pounded the strike zone well. We had our hands full.”

Texas might have given itself a little positive carryover when Josh Jung hit a two-run homer in the ninth against Pirates closer David Bednar, who entered the game with a 0.53 ERA.

“It’s good to wake up there. It showed the fight in the club,” Bochy said. “It’s time to bounce back (Tuesday).”

In the middle game of the series, Texas right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (5-2, 2.83 ERA) is set to oppose Pittsburgh left-hander Rich Hill (4-3, 3.80 ERA).

Eovaldi has pitched at least five innings in each of his nine starts, has turned in six straight quality starts, and has allowed three earned runs or less in eight of those nine. He has 61 strikeouts against 10 walks.

And he’s gotten seemingly stronger, going at least seven innings in four starts in a row.

Eovaldi had a streak of 29 2/3 scoreless innings – longest in the major leagues this season — end his last time out on Eddie Rosario’s two-run homer in the second as he did not get a decision Wednesday against Atlanta.

Eovaldi is 0-0 with a 10.80 ERA in three appearances, two of them starts, in his career against the Pirates.

Hill, at 43, is one of the veterans expected to provide leadership to young players like Marcano, but he is also contributing on the field. He is 4-1 with a 2.23 ERA over his past six starts. That includes a win Wednesday when he tossed six scoreless, one-hit innings with seven strikeouts against Detroit.

“He was really good, and it was a start we needed — all right-handed lineup with some good hitters,” Shelton said.

“I thought (it) was the best curveball he had all year. … He got some funky swings.”

Hill is 3-0 with a 3.81 ERA in seven career games, five of them starts, against Texas.

— Field Level Media

Luis Castillo pitched six scoreless innings and Jarred Kelenic and Jose Caballero each hit a home run as the Seattle Mariners defeated the visiting Oakland Athletics 11-2 on Monday in the opener of a four-game series.

Julio Rodriguez went 3-for-4 with two doubles and three runs for the Mariners, who improved to 4-0 against Oakland this season.

The A’s took their fifth straight loss and fell for the 13th time in 15 games. The Mariners had lost four of their previous five games.

Castillo (3-2) allowed four hits, walked two and struck out eight. The right-hander fanned Shea Langeliers leading off the fifth inning for his 1,000th career strikeout.

A’s lefty Kyle Muller (1-4) gave up six runs on eight hits in five innings, with two walks and three strikeouts.

The Mariners scored multiple runs in each of the first two innings.

In the first, Ty France lined a single to left field with one out, and with two outs, Kelenic hit a 2-0 fastball from Muller an estimated 455 feet to center field.

In the second, Cal Raleigh grounded a leadoff single into left field, and AJ Pollock walked an out later. Caballero, who belted his first major league home run Sunday at Atlanta, hit a 2-1 slider out to left-center field, giving Seattle a 5-0 lead.

The Mariners tacked on a run in the fifth as Rodriguez led off with a bloop double down the right field line and Kelenic followed with an RBI single to center.

The Mariners scored twice in the sixth off reliever Adrian Martinez. Pollock drew a leadoff walk, and two outs later, France grounded a single to right. Rodriguez followed with a run-scoring double to left. Kelenic walked to load the bases before Eugenio Suarez had an RBI infield single to make it 8-0.

The A’s finally scored off reliever Juan Then in the eighth. Esteury Ruiz led off with an infield single and Ryan Noda walked. A wild pitch allowed both runners to advance, and they scored on RBI groundouts by Brent Rooker and Seth Brown.

The Mariners responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning off Shintaro Fujinami. Suarez lined a two-run single to center with the bases loaded and one out, and Raleigh brought home the final run on a groundout.

–Field Level Media

Jaime Barria threw five scoreless innings and Mickey Moniak hit a tiebreaking home run in the eighth inning as the Los Angeles Angels held on for a 2-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Monday night in Anaheim, Calif.

Barria was making his first start of the season after making 10 relief appearances. He was up to the task, limiting the Red Sox to two hits. He struck out six and did not walk a batter.

Relievers Aaron Loup and Chris Devenski got the Angels to the eighth inning, and Chase Silseth closed it out with two scoreless innings.

The only run the Red Sox scored came in the sixth inning when Connor Wong doubled, went to third on a groundout and scored on a single by Masataka Yoshida, who had two hits in the game.

The Red Sox had just four hits in all, while the Angels had only five themselves.

The game was tied at 1-1 going to the bottom of the eighth when Moniak led off the inning with a homer off Boston reliever Kutter Crawford (1-2). It was Moniak’s third homer since being called up from Triple-A Salt Lake on May 12.

Silseth (1-1) retired all six batters he faced to earn the victory.

The Angels took the lead against Red Sox starter Tanner Houck in the second inning when Brandon Drury walked with one out, went to third on a single by Matt Thaiss and scored on a groundout by Luis Rengifo.

Houck still faced trouble as Zach Neto was hit by a pitch and Moniak followed with a single, loading the bases for Mike Trout.

But Houck escaped, striking out Trout with a slider.

Houck settled in after the second and completed six innings, retiring the Angels in order without allowing a baserunner in the third, fifth and sixth innings.

–Field Level Media

After snapping a lengthy slump with a timely home run, Cleveland Guardians catcher Mike Zunino can finally exhale.

Zunino and the Guardians continue their three-game series against the visiting Chicago White Sox on Tuesday following a 3-0 victory on Monday. Cleveland held a 1-0 lead before Zunino provided the final margin with a two-run homer in the seventh.

The two-out blast was Zunino’s third homer of the season and first since April 28. The 32-year-old hit a career-high 33 homers with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2021.

Zunino entered Monday’s contest mired in a 1-for-29 slump with 21 strikeouts during that stretch. His 341-foot shot to right field helped Cleveland snap a three-game skid.

“I was so happy for him,” Guardians manager Terry Francona said. “He shows up every day and he’s been working like crazy, but he hasn’t had a lot to show for it. … It made me feel good when I saw the way that dugout reacted.”

Cleveland will send left-hander Logan Allen (1-1, 3.04 ERA) to the mound on Tuesday. He received a no-decision after giving up one run over 5 2/3 innings against the White Sox on Thursday.

Allen has made a strong impression since being promoted from Triple-A Columbus on April 23. The rookie has allowed a total of nine runs in 26 2/3 innings while recording a 3.63 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Right-hander Dylan Cease (2-3, 4.78 ERA) will take the mound for Chicago. He allowed three runs over 6 1/3 innings in a 3-1 loss to the Guardians on Thursday.

Cease is 0-3 in his last seven starts but was encouraged by his latest outing.

“I was doing a good job of pouring in strikes,” Cease said. “I didn’t necessarily have my sharpest stuff, but pounding the zone. Definitely more room to go, but definitely much better than my previous couple.”

Steven Kwan is 5-for-13 against Cease, who is 4-4 with a 3.81 ERA in 10 career starts against Cleveland, including 2-3 with a 5.65 ERA in six outings at Progressive Field.

The White Sox were limited to three hits in their Monday loss, including a first-inning single by center fielder Luis Robert Jr.

Robert is hitting .352 (25-for-71) with seven doubles, eight homers, 16 RBIs and 20 runs in 20 games this month.

“It’s incredible,” White Sox third baseman Jake Burger said. “You’re just expecting him to hit a ball 110-plus (mph) over the fence, so it’s really fun watching him, especially when he’s really hot.”

Cleveland is hoping to build some much-needed momentum after losing 11 of its past 17 games before the Monday victory.

Francona held a team meeting after the Guardians were swept by the New York Mets in three games over the weekend. The team responded with one of its cleanest performances of the season.

“It was a wakeup call and he expects a lot out of us. We expect a lot out of ourselves,” Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor said. “We trust each other as teammates and as brothers. We want to make the coaching staff proud, the Cleveland fans proud.

“So we continue to work hard. If the ball falls our way, it falls our way. If it doesn’t, that’s unfortunate. We have to show up the next day and keep working.”

–Field Level Media

Elias Diaz homered and doubled, Jurickson Profar hit two doubles and both players drove in two runs as the Colorado Rockies beat the Miami Marlins 5-3 on Monday in Denver.

Jake Bird (1-0) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief for Colorado, and Pierce Johnson tossed a shutout ninth inning for his ninth save.

Brian De La Cruz had four hits and Luis Arraez had two hits for Miami, and Jacob Stallings drove in two runs.

Marlins starter Edward Cabrera (3-4) allowed three runs on five hits and one walk while striking out six in six innings.

Colorado ended a three-game skid while Miami lost for the third time in four games.

The Rockies took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. With one out Profar, Kris Bryant and Diaz hit consecutive doubles, with the latter two knocking in a run apiece.

The Marlins got one back in the third inning. Stallings drew a one-out walk, Garrett Hampson singled and Arraez drove in Stallings with a two-out single to make it 2-1.

Miami got another run in the fourth off Chase Anderson. De La Cruz singled with one out, Jean Segura was hit by a pitch and Joey Wendle walked to load the bases. De La Cruz then scored on Stallings’ grounder to third to tie the game.

The Marlins got something going in the sixth inning when De La Cruz and Wendle singled off Anderson to put runners on with two outs. Bird came on and got Stallings to line out to end the inning.

Anderson allowed two runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Colorado went back in front in the bottom of the sixth when Diaz lined a 2-1 changeup from Cabrera just over the fence in left for his fourth home run of the season.

The Rockies padded their lead in the seventh off reliever JT Chargois. Brenton Doyle led off with a walk, stole second and went to third on Ezequiel Tovar’s one-out single. One out later, Profar doubled off the wall in right to bring home both runners to make it 5-2.

The Marlins got a run back in the eighth when De La Cruz led off with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a two-out single by Stallings.

–Field Level Media

Javier Baez’s three-run double in the 10th inning lifted the visiting Detroit Tigers to an 8-5 win over the Kansas City Royals on Monday evening.

Baez lined a first-pitch fastball from Scott Barlow (1-3) to the base of the left field bullpen fence, clearing the bases and breaking a 5-5 tie. It was Baez’s third hit as he snapped an 0-for-19 slump.

Four Tigers relievers provided 4 1/3 innings of hitless relief after the Royals forged a 5-5 tie in the fifth. Alex Lange (2-0) earned the win after a two-inning stint, and Jose Cisnero pitched the 10th for his first save since 2021.

Detroit has won five of seven extra-inning games.

Tigers starter Michael Lorenzen recovered from allowing consecutive first-inning home runs to face the minimum over the next three innings.

Lorenzen finished 5 2/3 innings, allowing five runs on five hits and two walks while striking out five.

Control issues plagued Royals starter Brady Singer as he walked four, including a bases-loaded free pass to Akil Baddoo to get the Tigers on the scoreboard in the first before Matt Vierling delivered a two-run single for an early 3-0 Detroit lead.

Vierling’s fourth homer, a two-run shot to left-center in the third, broke a 3-3 tie. Vierling added a seventh-inning single and matched a career high with four RBIs.

The Tigers forced Singer to throw 87 pitches over 3 2/3 innings. He surrendered five runs on seven hits with three strikeouts.

In the first inning, Kansas City’s Vinnie Pasquantino slammed a two-run homer 424 feet down the right field line, his ninth, and Salvador Perez tied the game two pitches later with his 11th home run, a solo shot to left-center. They were the first consecutive homers for the Royals since July 1.

Jackie Bradley Jr.’s two-run homer into the left field bullpen tied the game in the fifth. Bradley snapped an 0-for-26 slide with his first home run since Sept. 20.

The Royals have lost four straight and eight of 10. The Tigers had lost three of their previous four.

–Field Level Media

Michael Conforto hit a three-run homer to highlight a four-run first inning and five San Francisco pitchers combined to allow just four hits as the Giants earned a 4-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Monday in Minneapolis.

Conforto socked his fifth home run in the past 11 games. Blake Sabol doubled and walked twice and J.D. Davis added an RBI double for San Francisco, which won for the sixth time in seven games.

Sean Manaea (2-2) picked up the win with 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Scott Alexander pitched a hitless ninth to pick up his first save of the season and 10th of his career.

Kyle Garlick homered for Minnesota, which lost for the fourth time in five games. Carlos Correa, playing against the Giants for the first time since they backed out of a 13-year, $350 million contract last December over concerns about an old ankle injury, went 2-for-4 with a double.

Bailey Ober (3-1), coming off a 5-1 win over Clayton Kershaw and Los Angeles at Dodger Stadium last Tuesday, took the loss after allowing four runs on three hits over five innings. He walked three and struck out two.

Ober, who had given up a total of six runs in five previous starts this year, surrendered four runs during a 39-pitch first.

LaMonte Wade Jr. and Mike Yastrzemski opened the inning with back-to-back walks. Davis then lined a double over the head of left fielder Willi Castro to drive in Wade. Conforto followed with his ninth home run of the season, a 413-foot line drive into the bullpen in left center to make it 4-0.

The Twins, held to just three hits over the first seven innings by opener John Brebbia, Manaea and Tristan Beck, cut it to 4-1 in the eighth. Garlick hit his second homer of the year, a 427-foot drive into the second deck in left center off Beck.

One out later, Beck hit Byron Buxton with a pitch and was replaced by Tyler Rogers, who walked Donovan Solano to give the Twins runners at first and second. However, Rogers rebounded to strike out both Kyle Farmer and Castro to get out of the jam.

–Field Level Media

Yordan Alvarez had a grand slam and a solo shot Monday night as the visiting Houston Astros pounded out five homers to extend their winning streak to a season-high eight games with a 12-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Astros had four solo homers off starter Corbin Burnes. Alvarez’s slam off Hoby Milner, his second of the season and fourth of his career, capped a five-run sixth that put Houston up 10-1.

Cristian Javier (5-1) allowed one run on four hits in six innings, striking out five and walking one.

Houston has won 11 of its last 12 to move a season-high nine games above .500.

Burnes (4-4), who had allowed five homers in 51 2/3 innings over his first nine starts, gave up two solo homers in the second and two more in the fifth. It was the first time in his career that the 2021 Cy Young winner allowed four homers in a game.

Burnes allowed five runs on seven hits in five innings, striking out five and walking two in a 91-pitch outing.

With one out in the second, Corey Julks sent a 1-0 pitch 401 feet to left-center for his third homer. Martin Maldonado, who hit 28 homers at American Family Field with the Brewers from 2011-16, added his third of the season with two outs.

Rowdy Tellez got one back for the Brewers in the bottom half, leading off with his team-leading 12th homer.

Houston made it 3-1 in the fourth on two singles, a wild pitch and RBI ground out.

Mauricio Dubon opened the fifth with his first homer to put Houston in front 4-1 and Alvarez followed one out later with his 11th home run.

The Astros loaded the bases with one out in the sixth against Elvis Peguero on a hit batter, single and walk. Alex Bregman’s RBI single made it 6-1. Milner relieved and Alvarez hammered the first pitch 383 feet to left center.

Tyrone Taylor had an RBI double for the Brewers in the seventh. Julks doubled in two runs in the eighth.

— Field Level Media