Gleyber Torres homered for the second straight game and drove in three runs as the New York Yankees beat the visiting Oakland Athletics 10-5 on Tuesday night.

The Yankees welcomed Aaron Judge back from the 10-game injured list due to a strained right hip and saw him go 0-for-3 with two RBIs and a run. Judge scored during New York’s five-run third off Oakland starter Drew Rucinski (0-3) as the Yankees have scored 24 runs in their past three games.

Judge drove in the tying run when his hard grounder went off third baseman Jace Peterson’s glove and Jose Trevino scored in the third inning. Judge then lifted a sacrifice fly in the eighth to round out the scoring. After Judge’s RBI fielder’s choice in the third, Anthony Rizzo, Torres and Harrison Bader followed with RBI singles. Jake Bauers capped the inning by lifting a sacrifice fly, and he later hit a two-run homer in the seventh.

New York’s Clarke Schmidt (1-3) allowed two runs on five hits in a career-high six innings for his first career win as a starting pitcher. Jordan Diaz homered in three straight at-bats for the A’s. He hit solo shots in the fourth off Schmidt and seventh off Albert Abreu before connecting for a two-run drive off Greg Weissert in the eighth.

Giants 4, Nationals 1

Casey Schmitt homered in his major league debut, Logan Webb scattered nine hits over seven innings and San Francisco evened a three-game series with visiting Washington by posting a victory.

Mitch Haniger’s two-run double in the first inning gave the Giants a lead they never relinquished en route to their fifth win in the past seven games. Schmitt launched a 420-foot bomb to center field in his second look at Nationals starter Patrick Corbin (1-5), extending the Giants’ lead to 3-0 in the fourth.

Webb (3-5) took a shutout into the sixth before a double by Joey Meneses and single by Dominic Smith got the visitors within 3-1. But the Giants ace escaped a two-on, one-out jam. Webb allowed one run and one walk while striking out seven.

Astros 3, Angels 1

Framber Valdez went eight strong innings and Martin Maldonado hit a two-run home run against his former team as Houston earned a victory over Los Angeles in Anaheim, Calif., handing Shohei Ohtani his first loss of the season in the process.

Valdez (3-4) gave up one run on three hits over 99 pitches with no walks and 12 strikeouts to end a two-start losing streak. Ohtani (4-1) gave up three runs on six hits over seven innings with two walks and seven strikeouts for the Angels as he took the loss for the first time since his final start of the 2022 season.

Ohtani’s strikeout of Jeremy Pena in the second inning was the Japanese star’s 502nd career whiff on the mound. With Babe Ruth’s career strikeout total at 501 — according to MLB’s official statistics — Ohtani now is the all-time leader in strikeouts by a player with at least 100 career home runs. Los Angeles rookie Zach Neto hit his first career home run.

Guardians 2, Tigers 0

Amed Rosario had four hits and an RBI to help Cleveland to a win against visiting Detroit in the second game of a three-game series.

Cleveland starter Shane Bieber (3-1) threw six shutout innings. He scattered seven hits, struck out a season-high nine and walked one. Tigers starter Michael Lorenzen (1-2) allowed one run and five hits over seven innings. Akil Baddoo and Spencer Torkelson each had three hits for the Tigers, who had won six of seven.

Steven Kwan led off the bottom of the first with a double for the second straight game. He took third on a single by Rosario and scored on a sacrifice fly by Jose Ramirez for a 1-0 lead. Will Brennan led off the eighth with his second hit of the game, stole second and came home on a triple by Rosario to make it 2-0.

Orioles 4, Rays 2

Adley Rutschman hit a two-run homer to back 5 2/3 strong innings by rookie Grayson Rodriguez to lead Baltimore past visiting Tampa Bay.

Ryan Mountcastle went 2-for-4 with a run for the Orioles, who ended a season-high, three-game losing streak. Rodriguez (2-0) limited the Rays to two runs, both on solo homers. Felix Bautista threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings for his eighth save.

Taylor Walls and Wander Franco went deep for the Rays. Zach Eflin (4-1) yielded four runs on seven hits in six innings.

Rockies 10, Pirates 1

Jurickson Profar homered twice and Ryan McMahon hit a two-run triple as visiting Colorado clobbered Pittsburgh.

Charlie Blackmon and Randal Grichuk each added an RBI single for the Rockies, who have won seven of their past nine games. Colorado starter Connor Seabold (1-0) gave up one run and three hits in five innings, with three strikeouts and three walks, for his first major league win.

Pittsburgh starter Luis Ortiz (0-1), just called up to make his 2023 debut, allowed five runs — only two of them earned — and seven hits in five innings, with one walk and one strikeout. Andrew McCutchen hit an RBI single for the Pirates, who have lost eight of nine.

Reds 7, Mets 6

Jonathan India doubled and drove in three runs while TJ Friedl contributed a key two-run triple as Cincinnati held off a late charge from visiting New York for the Reds’ second win in three games despite nearly blowing a 7-1 lead.

Alexis Diaz worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth and retired the side in order in the ninth for his seventh save in as many chances. Rookie Francisco Alvarez homered twice, and Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso also went deep for the Mets, who have dropped 12 of 15 to fall a season-worst two games below .500. Alonso is tied for the major league lead with 12 homers.

Before the game, the Mets scratched scheduled starter Max Scherzer due to neck spasms. David Peterson (1-5) was recalled to make a spot start. Cincinnati starter Luke Weaver (1-2) allowed three solo homers, running his total to eight over four starts.

Phillies 8, Blue Jays 4

Nick Castellanos hit a home run, double and single and drove in two runs to lift host Philadelphia past Toronto, ending the Blue Jays’ three-game winning streak.

Brandon Marsh added a two-run double and Alec Bohm had two hits for the Phillies, while starter Aaron Nola (3-2) gave up five hits and two runs with six strikeouts and two walks in six innings.

Bo Bichette homered, doubled and knocked in two runs for the Blue Jays. Blue Jays starter Alek Manoah (1-3) tossed 4 2/3 innings and allowed four hits and three runs with one strikeout and four walks.

Braves 9, Red Sox 3

Charlie Morton pitched six strong innings and Sean Murphy drove in four runs to lift Atlanta to a win over visiting Boston in the opener of a two-game series.

Atlanta has won three straight and improved to 6-4 in interleague games. Morton (4-3) allowed two runs on five hits with two walks and seven strikeouts. He improved his career record against the Red Sox to 8-1.

Boston starter Nick Pivetta (2-3) pitched four innings and allowed a season-high seven runs on eight hits with three walks and two strikeouts. His career record dropped to 6-4 against Atlanta.

Dodgers 6, Brewers 2

Los Angeles pounded out three homers and the bullpen covered eight innings after starter Noah Syndergaard exited with an injury to preserve a victory over host Milwaukee.

Syndergaard had a cut on his right index finger and left after a 20-pitch scoreless first inning. Justin Bruihl (1-0), the second of seven relievers, got the victory with 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Evan Phillips retired the only batter he faced for his sixth save.

Miguel Vargas had a two-run homer and Mookie Betts and Will Smith had solo homers for the Dodgers. The Brewers got solo homers from Rowdy Tellez, his 10th, and Victor Caratini, his second, off Shelby Miller in the seventh.

Padres 6, Twins 1

San Diego snapped a tie by scoring two unearned runs in the top of the seventh without the benefit of a hit, then broke the game open on Manny Machado’s three-run, ninth-inning homer to defeat Minnesota in the opener of a three-game series in Minneapolis.

The Twins made three errors in the seventh — two on bad throws by catcher Christian Vazquez — and reliever Griffin Jax issued two walks to allow San Diego to break a 1-1 deadlock.

Padres starter Michael Wacha (3-1) got credit for the win. Jax (1-4) took the loss on the two unearned runs.

Cardinals 6, Cubs 4

Paul DeJong hit a tiebreaking, ninth-inning homer and Nolan Gorman and Lars Nootbaar also went deep as St. Louis won its third straight game, beating host Chicago.

Chicago’s Javier Assad (0-2) threw five scoreless innings of relief before DeJong drove a pitch well into the left field bleachers to break a 4-4 tie. DeJong, who went to high school in Antioch, Ill., finished 2-for-3 with a walk to raise his average to .350.

Dansby Swanson had a homer, two doubles and three RBIs while Christopher Morel also homered in his season debut for the Cubs, who have dropped three straight and nine of 12. Chicago twice left the bases loaded without scoring and was on the wrong end of four double plays.

White Sox 4, Royals 2

Andrew Vaughn smacked a two-run homer and Lucas Giolito won for the first time in three weeks as Chicago picked up a win over host Kansas City.

Giolito (2-2) struck out a season-high nine over six innings, allowing two runs on five hits while walking two.

Chicago failed to get a ball out of the infield as Jordan Lyles (0-6) retired the first 11 batters he faced before Luis Robert Jr. ripped his eighth homer of the season 430 feet to left, tying the game at 1-1 in the fourth.

Mariners 5, Rangers 0

George Kirby tossed seven shutout innings and Ty France delivered a two-run single to help Seattle beat visiting Texas.

Tom Murphy added a two-run homer as Seattle won for the seventh time in its past nine games. France and Murphy each had two hits for the Mariners. Kirby (4-2) matched his career high of nine strikeouts while winning for the fourth time in his past five starts. He gave up six hits and didn’t walk anyone.

The Rangers have tallied just two runs in the first two matchups in the three-game series after scoring 58 runs over their previous six games. Texas prevailed 2-1 in Monday’s series opener. The Rangers’ Andrew Heaney (2-3) gave up four runs (three earned) and four hits in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out seven and walked two.

Marlins 6, Diamondbacks 2

Jorge Soler drove in five runs on two home runs, Jesus Luzardo pitched six strong innings and Miami defeated Arizona in Phoenix.

Soler hit his first homer of the night 468 feet to left-center field off Arizona starter Brandon Pfaadt, driving in Jon Berti and Jazz Chisholm Jr. The deep blast followed a Luis Arraez RBI single in the first, giving Miami an early 4-0 lead that proved to be more than enough for Luzardo.

Luzardo (3-2) allowed just one run on seven hits and struck out five while walking two. All six Miami runs were credited to Pfaadt (0-1), who came into Tuesday’s contest with a 13.50 ERA after allowing seven runs in his only other appearance.

–Field Level Media

The Los Angeles Dodgers hope Clayton Kershaw can continue his string of successful visits to Milwaukee when they close out the three-game series against the Brewers on Wednesday afternoon.

Kershaw (5-2, 2.53 ERA) will be opposed by Wade Miley (3-1, 2.31) in a matchup of veteran left-handers.

The Dodgers evened the series at a game apiece with a 6-2 victory on Tuesday. Seven relievers combined to cover the final eight innings after Los Angeles starter Noah Syndergaard left after a scoreless first with a cut on his right index finger.

Mookie Betts and Will Smith hit solo homers off starter Brewers starter Eric Lauer, who entered with a 7-1 career mark and a 2.37 ERA in 11 starts vs. the Dodgers. Miguel Vargas added a two-run homer in the sixth.

The Dodgers are 14-4 when hitting at least two homers this season.

Betts opened the game with his 39th career leadoff homer to continue his hot streak. Over his past 11 games, Betts is batting .295 (13-for-44) with three doubles, four homers, 10 RBIs, six walks and seven runs.

On the down side for the Dodgers, Syndergaard might end up on the injured list, manager Dave Roberts said after the game.

“I think we’ll know more in the next couple days,” Roberts said. “He’s had (blister issues) and has put stuff on it to keep it at bay, tonight it just didn’t take. That’s more of a training staff question, but certainly the IL is a possibility. But we want to give Noah and the training staff some time before they make that decision.”

Kershaw, the first NL pitcher to reach five wins this season, will be making his 17th career start vs. the Brewers. He is 6-5 with a 3.09 ERA against the Brewers overall, but 4-1 with a 1.57 ERA in eight starts at Milwaukee.

In his latest outing, Kershaw allowed four runs on eight hits and five walks in 4 2/3 innings during a 5-2 loss to the San Diego Padres on Friday.

“I think the thing that was most uncharacteristic is the walks,” Roberts said after that contest.

Kershaw also pointed to his lack of command against the Padres.

“You just can’t walk five guys,” he said. “That’s just unacceptable. It’s not a good recipe to win games. Just try not to do that next time.”

Miley has been the Brewers’ most consistent starter. In his latest outing, on Thursday at Colorado, Miley began with six scoreless innings but gave up three straight hits to start the seventh and was pulled. He wound up charged with three runs given up in six-plus innings and did not get the decision in Milwaukee’s 9-6 loss to the Rockies.

“He threw the ball well,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said after that game. “He’s thrown the ball well all year. He maybe made two mistakes today. … Other than that, he was brilliant.”

Miley has allowed two runs or fewer in four of his six starts. Opponents are batting .233 against him.

Miley is 4-6 with a 4.03 ERA in 16 career games, including 15 starts, against the Dodgers.

–Field Level Media

The Oakland Athletics still have their sights set on a move to Las Vegas, but they are reportedly looking at a new location in Sin City.

The team made a deal with Bally’s Corp. to erect a $1.5 billion stadium at the current site of the Tropicana Las Vegas Casino Resort, multiple media outlets reported on Tuesday.

The Tropicana reportedly would be torn down to accommodate the new ballpark.

Last month, the A’s reached a deal with Red Rock Resorts to purchase a different 49-acre site just off the Las Vegas Strip, just west of the New York-New York and Excalibur casinos.

The team was seeking $500 million in public financing for a $1.5 billion ballpark the initial site. The Tropicana ballpark would carry the same price tag but would reduce the request for public funding to $395 million.

The latest proposal involves a 35,000-seat facility with a retractable roof. Bally’s intends to build a 1,500-room hotel-casino across from the proposed stadium, according to the Nevada Independent.

Major League Baseball has given its blessing to the A’s exiting Oakland, with commissioner Rob Manfred saying in a statement last month, “We support the A’s turning their focus on Las Vegas and look forward to them bringing finality to this process by the end of the year.”

The Athletics have played in Oakland since 1968 after previous stays in Philadelphia (1901-54) and Kansas City (1955-67). Oakland’s average attendance of 10,130 ranks last in the major leagues this year.

–Field Level Media

Suddenly, the New York Yankees are seeing their power return, and it is allowing them to win games by fairly comfortable margins.

The Yankees will attempt to maintain their power surge on Wednesday afternoon when they go for a three-game sweep of the visiting Oakland Athletics.

New York hit eight homers in a 13-game span between April 18-30 and lost eight times while scoring three runs or fewer in 10 instances. The Yankees have 14 homers in its past eight games this month, including six in a pair of five-run victories during the current series. They head into Wednesday after scoring 24 runs in their past three contests.

“Just feels good to have an offensive production like that and rebound after a tough last series and come back and play good baseball,” New York first baseman Anthony Rizzo said.

In New York’s 7-2 win on Monday, Oswaldo Cabrera, Gleyber Torres, DJ LeMahieu and Aaron Hicks homered. It was the first time the Yankees went deep four times in a game this season.

Torres and Jake Bauers hit two-run homers in the Yankees’ 10-5 win on Tuesday. New York reached double-digit runs for the third time this season and first time at home.

Aaron Judge returned from a right hip strain and drove in two runs while Torres knocked in three, putting the Yankees in position to sweep a series for the first time ahead this year.

The improvement is coming at a good time, as the Yankees will host a four-game series against the major-league-leading Tampa Bay Rays beginning on Thursday.

“It’s definitely nice,” New York manager Aaron Boone said. “We have a chance to have a really good series (Wednesday), so we want to put our best foot forward (Wednesday), but definitely every series is big and anytime you can grab wins throughout the season it’s important.”

Oakland is 4-for-22 with runners in scoring position in the series and trying to avoid getting swept for the fifth time. The A’s had 10 hits on Tuesday, with Jordan Diaz and Shea Langeliers doing much of the damage.

Diaz homered in three straight at-bats, hitting two solo shots and a two-run drive after going deep once in his previous 29 major league games. Langeliers had three hits after going 8-for-54 (.148) over his prior 15 games.

“To have the game (Diaz) had tonight says something about the young man,” Oakland manager Mark Kotsay said postgame. “He’s got a special tool, and he can hit and he showed that tonight.”

After Clarke Schmidt pitched a career-high six innings for New York on Tuesday, Jhony Brito (2-3, 6.08 ERA) will make his eighth career start on Wednesday.

Brito has allowed three runs or fewer in five of his starts but is coming off his second-worst outing, when he allowed four runs on six hits in four innings during a no-decision at Tampa Bay on Friday.

Kyle Muller (1-2, 6.62 ERA) goes for the A’s on Wednesday, hoping to turn in a solid outing for an Oakland rotation that is 2-19 with a major league-worst 7.76 ERA.

Muller allowed five runs on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings and got a win over the host Kansas City Royals on Friday. It was the first victory by an Oakland starter through 33 games, the longest drought to open a season in baseball history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Neither Brito nor Muller has previously faced his Wednesday opponent.

–Field Level Media

Since Shohei Ohtani made his major league debut in 2018, the comparisons to Babe Ruth have been unrelenting.

On Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Angels two-way pitcher/designated hitter passed The Babe — at least in the eyes of Major League Baseball.

Ohtani’s strikeout of Houston’s Jeremy Pena in the second inning at Anaheim, Calif., was the Japanese star’s 502nd career whiff on the mound. With Ruth’s career strikeout total at 501 — according MLB’s official statistics — Ohtani now is the all-time leader in strikeouts by a player with at least 100 career home runs.

Other outlets place Ruth’s pitching strikeout total at 488, but when Ohtani got his 500th career strikeout in his previous outing on May 3, MLB considered Ohtani to be the second member of the 500-K/100-HR club.

Ruth hit 714 career homers, while Ohtani has 134.

Ohtani was an instant smash in 2018 when he won American League Rookie of the Year after posting a .285/.361/.564 batting line with 22 home runs and 61 RBIs while also going 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA on the mound. However, he never hit in a game in which he started on the mound.

In 2021, Ohtani began hitting in the games he pitched. He was named AL MVP that season after going 9-2 with a 3.18 ERA and 156 strikeouts in 130 1/3 innings pitched and hitting 46 home runs, driving in 100 runs and compiling a .965 OPS.

Ohtani, 28, took the loss on Tuesday as the Angels fell 3-1. After yielding three runs in seven innings while fanning seven, he has an AL-leading 66 strikeouts on the mound to go with a 4-1 record and a 2.74 ERA.

–Field Level Media

While everything seems to be falling into place for Detroit Tigers left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez this season, wins have been elusive for young Cleveland Guardians right-hander Peyton Battenfield.

Rodriguez and Battenfield are scheduled to go head to head on Wednesday afternoon in the rubber game of a three-game series in Cleveland.

The Tigers won the opener 6-2 on Monday night before five Cleveland pitchers combined to blank Detroit on nine hits in a 2-0 win on Tuesday.

Rodriguez (3-2, 1.81 ERA) is coming off a 2-0 win against the New York Mets on Thursday in which he threw eight scoreless innings and allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out nine.

It was the third time this season Rodriguez went at least seven innings without allowing a run. In his past five starts, he has pitched at least into the sixth inning and allowed one run or fewer every time.

“I would say that’s the best (string of) starts I’ve had in my career,” Rodriguez said. “I just want to go out there and keep doing it.”

Rodriguez, 30, took a perfect-game bid into the seventh inning two starts ago against the Baltimore Orioles. His ERA is the fifth lowest in the majors.

“When Eduardo’s doing this every week, it’s a little easier to win,” Tigers catcher Jake Rogers said. “You can score one or two and win. Can’t really beat it.”

Rodriguez has made five starts in his career against the Guardians, going 3-0 with a 3.12 ERA.

He will be up against a Cleveland offense that has been held to three runs or fewer in 23 of 36 games this season.

Battenfield, meanwhile, is still searching for his first major league win after four starts and one relief outing.

Like most pitchers for the Guardians, Battenfield (0-3, 4.07 ERA) has endured a lack of run support.

In his most recent outing, the 25-year-old took a no-hitter into the sixth inning against the Minnesota Twins on Friday before limiting them to two runs and two hits over seven innings. He took the loss in a 2-0 defeat.

He held the Tigers to one run and three hits over six innings on April 18, but again the Guardians were blanked 1-0.

Cleveland has scored a total of four runs in his four starts this season.

Battenfield, 25, was briefly relegated to the bullpen, but now he is back in the rotation after the team sent Zach Plesac to the minors. At the very least, he should remain a starter until Triston McKenzie (shoulder) and Aaron Civale (oblique) return from the injured list.

“The thing that makes it the easiest is having somewhat of a routine going into starts,” Battenfield said. “Especially for me, I mean, going back and forth is a little difficult.”

Battenfield knows about pitching in relief, as he did so 59 times over three seasons at Oklahoma State.

“I was a little overconfident in the (Cleveland) bullpen because I was a reliever all through college,” he said. “I thought I could grasp it pretty easy.”

–Field Level Media

Casey Schmitt homered in his major league debut, Logan Webb scattered nine hits over seven innings and the San Francisco Giants evened a three-game series with the visiting Washington Nationals by posting a 4-1 victory on Tuesday.

Mitch Haniger’s two-run double in the first inning gave the Giants a lead they never relinquished en route to their fifth win in the past seven games.

Schmitt, who grounded out to shortstop in his first at-bat, launched a 420-foot bomb to center field in his second look at Nationals starter Patrick Corbin (1-5), extending the Giants’ lead to 3-0 in the fourth.

At age 24, Schmitt became the youngest Giant since 22-year-old Will Clark (off Nolan Ryan in 1986) to homer in his big-league debut. The new San Francisco shortstop also became just the 19th Giant to record a home run as his first major league hit.

Schmitt, a 2020 second-round draft pick out of San Diego State, also singled in the sixth inning. He finished 2-for-4.

Webb (3-5) took a shutout into the sixth before a double by Joey Meneses and single by Dominic Smith got the visitors within 3-1. But the Giants ace escaped a two-on, one-out jam, then threw a 1-2-3 seventh to end his night en route to the third win in his past four starts.

Webb allowed one run and one walk while striking out seven.

Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval closed the door over the final two innings, with Doval earning his eighth save with a hitless ninth.

The Giants added to their lead on a J.D. Davis RBI single in the seventh.

Corbin went six innings, allowing three runs (two earned) and eight hits. He struck out three and did not walk a batter.

Haniger joined Schmitt with two hits for the Giants, who lost the opener of the three-game series 5-1 on Monday. Thairo Estrada, who moved over to second base to make room for Schmitt at shortstop, scored twice.

Smith and Alex Call collected three hits apiece for the Nationals, whose 10 hits included just one for extra bases, Meneses’ sixth-inning double.

–Field Level Media