walk-off homers – Four teams left it late with walk-off or late-inning power: New York beat Miami in the 10th, Pittsburgh edged Minnesota in the ninth, Chicago got a 10th-inning winner over Detroit, and Tampa Bay snapped a skid against Los Angeles.
When the ball finally started to carry in the biggest moments, it didn’t take long for the nights to flip.
In New York, MJ Melendez turned a slow start into a late crescendo. The pinch hitter came off the bench as New York squandered a four-run lead, then added a sacrifice fly in the seventh to extend the advantage to 7-5. Owen Cassie tied it with a two-run homer off Tobias Myers in the eighth.
With one out in the 10th. Melendez fell behind 0-2 in the count before lofting a 98 mph fastball from Pete Fairbanks (2-3) into the second deck in right field. just inside the foul pole. Pinch-runner Vidal Bruján. the automatic runner at second base. scored ahead of him. sending Melendez and the dugout into celebration on Fireworks Night at Citi Field.
Austin Warren (1-1) worked a perfect inning for the win. The Mets’ night also featured Mark Vientos’ 445-foot homer—the kind of shot that arrives to last-place teams trying to crawl out of the hole. New York has now won two in a row after a five-game slide. Earlier, A.J. Ewing and Brett Baty each had a two-run single in the first against unbeaten Max Meyer. Meyer blanked New York on one hit over seven innings last weekend in Miami. helping the Marlins earn a three-game sweep.
The script was different in Pittsburgh, but the climax landed the same way. Oneil Cruz hit a mammoth shot early for the first hint of what was coming. and then Bryan Reynolds struck with one out in the ninth. Reynolds’ two-run homer—his 422-foot shot to left field off Taylor Rogers (1-2)—scored Tyler Callihan. who replaced Spencer Horwitz after an infield hit to begin the inning.
The earlier innings decided the feel of the game: all the previous scoring came in the first three innings. Jared Jones struck out Byron Buxton on three straight fastballs topping 100 mph in his first start in the majors since Sept. 27, 2024. But the Twins kept pressing.
Kody Clemens gave Minnesota a 1-0 lead with his sixth homer on Jones’ seventh straight pitch above 100. The 24-year-old right-hander missed more than a year after undergoing UCL surgery in 2025. and the day showed what he can still deliver—he allowed five runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings. Taj Bradley threw eight straight balls in the first. putting Brandon Lowe and Reynolds on base with one out. and Nick Gonzales reached on an infield single with Lowe scoring on a throwing error by third baseman Brooks Lee.
Chicago’s late timing came with a different kind of tension: the game was tied entering the 10th, and the White Sox found the margin with two outs. Miguel Vargas hit a two-run homer in the 10th to give Chicago a victory over Detroit.
Detroit tied it in the ninth on Rikuu Nishida’s bunt, setting up the sequence that decided the finish. With the White Sox down 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth. Nishida bunted and the Tigers went for the out at first base. Andrew Benintendi then took off from third base and scored on Detroit first baseman Spencer Torkelson’s errant throw home.
Vargas’ 391-foot winner to left field in the 10th scored automatic runner Drew Romo, and it was his 13th home run of the year. Vargas also drove in Chicago’s first run on a double in the third inning.
Dillon Dingler had a two-run homer in the top of the third for Detroit, and Zack Short capped the Tigers’ scoring with a sacrifice fly to right field in the 10th that scored Matt Vierling for a 3-2 lead.
Bryan Hudson (3-1) pitched the ninth inning, allowed a run, and struck out a batter. Drew Anderson (2-2) blew his second save of the year after allowing the game-ending homer. Troy Melton pitched seven innings for Detroit, allowing one run on six hits.
And in Tampa Bay, the payoff arrived when the Rays needed it most. Yandy Díaz hit two home runs—back-to-back shots with Jonathan Aranda in a seven-run seventh inning—and Tampa Bay beat Los Angeles to end a four-game losing streak.
The ninth inning brought tension too. Bryan Baker walked Mike Trout on a 3-2 pitch to load the bases with two outs, and then retired Vaughn Grissom on an infield pop-up for his 15th save in 18 opportunities.
Nick Martinez (5-1) earned the win, allowing two runs and eight hits in seven innings. Díaz started it with his ninth home run: a second-pitch shot off Walbert Ureña for a 1-0 lead. He then gave the Rays a 3-2 lead in the seventh with a two-run shot off Ryan Zeferjahn (2-3) after Cedric Mullins drew a leadoff walk.
Around the rest of the league, other late swings shaped the landscape of the night, even when they didn’t end as abruptly as the walk-offs.
Washington and San Diego traded power before the Padres finished it in the seventh. Jackson Merrill hit a go-ahead home run an inning after Ty France tied it with a homer. and San Diego outlasted Washington. France hit a solo shot to centre field in the sixth to tie the game at 5-5 before Merrill’s two-run homer in the seventh sealed the win.
Jeremiah Estrada (2-1) threw 1 1/3 innings. striking out two. and gave up a hit. and Mason Miller pitched the final 1 1/3 frames without giving up a hit for his 17th save of the season—his fourth four-out save of the year. Xander Bogaerts drove in San Diego’s first run in the first inning with a sacrifice fly. and Manny Machado added two more in the third with a single to right field for a 3-2 lead. Freddy Fermin had an RBI groundout, and Fernando Tatis Jr. tacked on an RBI single in the fourth to knot the game 4-4. Tatis Jr. finished 3 for 5, and Gavin Sheets went 2 for 3 with a run.
Curtis Mead hit a two-run home run in the first for the Nationals. and Keibert Ruiz followed in the second with a homer of his own for a 3-1 lead. Dylan Crews and Jacob Young both had RBI singles to cap Washington’s scoring. Mitchell Parker (2-2) blew his third save of the season. allowing three runs—one earned—on two hits while striking out one in two innings.
Texas, meanwhile, leaned on a pitching performance with a home-field edge. MacKenzie Gore continued his mastery at Globe Life Field with 6 1/3 shutout innings as Brandon Nimmo, Nicky Lopez, and Joc Pederson homered in Texas’ win over Kansas City.
Gore (4-4) allowed four hits and walked one. He is 3-0 in five starts this year at Globe Life Field with a 2.08 ERA, while his 1-4 road record comes with a 5.81 ERA. The Royals lost four straight, 14 of their last 17, and fell a season-worst 13 games under .500.
Vinnie Pasqantino ended Kansas City’s run of 23 consecutive scoreless innings with an RBI single in the ninth off Gavin Collyer. Nimmo hit a two-run homer in the fifth off Stephen Kolek (3-1), who came off his second career shutout. Lopez—who joined Texas on Tuesday after being a former Royal—homered in the sixth off Steven Cruz with one on for his first Rangers hit after going 0 for 8. Pederson pulled a solo shot just inside the right field foul pole in the eighth off Eric Cerantola.
The Rangers struck for four two-out runs in the first inning aided by two Royals throwing errors. The inning included a two-run single by Ezequiel Duran. the first of two hits for Texas’ shortstop while Corey Seager is on the injured list. Kolek. a Houston native who pitched three seasons for Texas A&M. gave up six runs—four earned—in five innings.
The night also carried its own momentum shifts elsewhere. Ezequiel Tovar capped a five-run ninth with his second homer of the game as the Colorado Rockies beat the San Francisco Giants 8-6. With the Rockies down 6-3, Jake McCarthy and Tyler Freeman led off the ninth with singles off Caleb Killian (1-3). One out later. Hunter Goodman hit a 2-2 slider just inside the foul pole in left for his 13th homer. and Willi Castro’s two-out single kept the rally going. Tovar lined his fourth homer of the season into the seats in left to end it.
Tovar had four RBIs to help Colorado end a five-game skid, and Juan Mejia (1-4) got the win after allowing two runs in the ninth.
Jung Hoo Lee, sidelined with a mid-back strain, was activated from the 10-day IL before the game. He had four hits and two run-saving catches for San Francisco, which also saw the return of pitcher Logan Webb. Webb, on the IL since May 6 due to right knee bursitis, allowed a run in 4 1/3 innings.
Toronto’s rally in Baltimore had its own turning point. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a two-run double in the eighth to cap a furious Toronto rally, and the Blue Jays beat the Orioles 6-5 on Friday night.
Toronto trailed 5-0 at the start of the seventh and had managed only two hits before Baltimore’s beleaguered pitching staff unraveled. Starter Trevor Rogers didn’t get another out, allowing two-run homers to Kazuma Okamoto and Charles McAdoo. It was the first big league hit for McAdoo, who was making his debut. Tyler Wells relieved Rogers and got through the rest of the seventh. then Yannier Cano (1-2) quickly gave up the lead the following inning. George Springer and Ernie Clement hit back-to-back singles, and they both scored on Guerrero’s double.
Jackson Holliday, Pete Alonso, and Samuel Basallo homered for the Orioles. Mason Fluharty (3-0) won in relief. After closer Louis Varland pitched the previous two days, Braydon Fisher worked the ninth for his first career save. Toronto has won eight of 10.
Cincinnati fell to Atlanta in a game led by Michael Harris II. Harris went 3 for 5 with three RBIs as Atlanta beat Cincinnati. Ronald Acuña Jr. put the Braves ahead on Friday with his 38th career leadoff homer, a grand slam in Thursday’s win in Boston that had been his first home run since April 24.
In the first inning. Blake Dunn prevented additional damage by scaling the right-centre field wall to rob Harris of a home run and then throwing out the next batter. Matt Olson. trying to stretch a single into a double. Chris Paddack issued consecutive walks to load the bases in the second. Harris’ RBI single made it 4-0. Paddack (0-7) remained winless after allowing four earned runs on seven hits with three walks in five innings.
JJ Bleday and Nathaniel Lowe each hit solo homers in the fourth off Grant Holmes to cut the deficit to 4-2. Holmes allowed three earned runs on seven hits with a walk and five strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings. Didier Fuentes (4-0) allowed one hit in 1 1/3 innings to earn the win.
Cleveland’s win over Boston brought both offense and a standout moment from Angel Martínez. Martínez had an RBI single during Cleveland’s four-run first and made a key defensive play in the second as the Guardians held on. Chase DeLauter and Kyle Manzardo broke out of slumps with two hits apiece.
Caleb Durbin had an RBI double in the fifth inning for the Red Sox, who have dropped six of seven. Colin Holderman (3-0), the second of six Guardians’ pitchers, got the win with 1 1/3 innings of hitless ball. Starter Slade Cecconi allowed three runs in 4 1/3 innings. Cade Smith picked up his MLB-leading 20th save.
Boston’s Brayan Bello threw seven scoreless innings after opener Tyler Samaniego (0-3) allowed four runs in the first. Bello allowed four hits with five strikeouts. Samaniego allowed six straight singles with one out, including RBI base hits by Rhys Hoskins and Angel Martínez. Hoskins scored after Boston center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela bobbled Martínez’s line drive while getting it out of his glove for an error. Patrick Bailey extended Cleveland’s lead to 4-0 with a sacrifice fly to bring in Manzardo.
In St. Louis. Nelson Velázquez powered a win over Chicago by belting a three-run homer. with Iván Herrera and Thomas Saggese adding solo shots. Promoted from Triple-A Memphis before the game. Velázquez hit the first pitch he saw over the left field fence to tie the game 3-3. It was his first game in the majors since June 23, 2024, when he played with Kansas City. He was 0-for-6 in 2023 in games against the Cubs, a team he played for in 2022-23.
St. Louis snapped a four-game losing streak. The Cubs entered the game winning their last two after losing their previous 10 games. Gordon Graceffo (4-1) got the win with a spotless inning in relief. and Riley O’Brien earned his 14th save after allowing a run when Pete Crow-Armstrong scored on a groundout by Michael Busch. Shota Imanaga (4-6) worked 5 1/3 innings and allowed five runs and five hits. José Fermín singled home a run in the eighth with two outs to extend the lead to 6-4.
The night’s common thread wasn’t just power—it was timing. Whether it was a 10th-inning homer that landed just inside the foul pole, a ninth-inning blast that made a closer effort look irrelevant, or a late swing that erased a ninth-inning tie, the games refused to end politely.
MLB roundup walk-off homers New York Mets Miami Marlins Pittsburgh Pirates Minnesota Twins Chicago White Sox Detroit Tigers Tampa Bay Rays Los Angeles Dodgers MJ Melendez Bryan Reynolds Miguel Vargas Yandy Diaz