The White Sox stretched their winning streak to four straight with a win over the Tigers, while Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña Jr. kept his hot streak going and Washington’s big seventh powered a comeback over San Diego.
For the White Sox, it wasn’t just another win—it was the kind that builds belief. They reached the four-game mark in a row and climbed to four games above .500 for the first time since Sept. 20, 2022, doing it with a blend of timing and opportunism against Detroit.
Montgomery and Benintendi doubled, and Quero added a hit and sac fly as Chicago outscored the Tigers. Wenceel Pérez responded for Detroit with a solo home run, but it wasn’t enough to stop a brutal stretch for the visitors: the Tigers have now lost 20 times in their last 24 games dating to May 4.
On the mound, Anthony Kay—once a Blue Jay—gave the White Sox exactly what they needed. Kay yielded one run on six hits through five innings to earn the win. then rode into trouble-filled deep counts before the bullpen took over. He threw 54 of 84 pitches for strikes, but Taylor had to enter with two runners on in the sixth. Grant Taylor retired the next three hitters to escape the jam and then struck out the side in the seventh. Relievers Seranthony Dominguez and Trevor Richards finished things out, allowing one base runner over the final four innings.
Kay improved to 5-1, and his month-long surge has been impossible to ignore. In May, he went 4-0 in six starts with a 1.67 ERA in 32.1 innings. In this one, the numbers told a story of control under pressure—until Taylor’s timing finally closed the door.
The rest of the day’s MLB action brought its own momentum swings. In Cincinnati, Ronald Acuña Jr. put Atlanta on a familiar track—homering for a third straight game with a pair of solo shots to lead the Braves over the Reds.
Acuña tied the game at 2 in the third with a homer to right-center field off Brady Singer (2-5). He then capped the night with a two-out shot in the ninth off Lyon Richardson. The 2023 NL MVP also stole two bases as the Braves became the first team to 40 wins.
Jorge Mateo added a third-inning jolt for Atlanta with his third homer—to the second deck in left field off Singer for a 3-2 lead in the fifth. Matt Olson followed with his 16th homer off Brock Burke to make it 4-2 in the seventh.
Martín Pérez (3-3) earned the win after allowing two runs and four hits and walking three in five innings. Three Braves relievers each pitched a scoreless inning before Raisel Iglesias closed with a perfect ninth for his 10th save.
The Reds had early answers. Ozzie Albies led off the second with a ground-rule double. then scored on a single by Mike Yastrzemski to make it 1-0. Spencer Steer drew a one-out walk from Pérez to extend his on-base streak to 18 games. and JJ Bleday—coming off his own recent surge—hit his ninth home run and second in as many days to put Cincinnati up 2-1 after two innings.
Atlanta responded quickly in the middle frames. De La Cruz answered with a one-out triple. but was stranded when Pérez retired Sal Stewart on a grounder to third before striking out Eugenio Suárez to keep it 2-2. Singer struggled for stretches. allowing three runs and four hits and four walks in five innings. and now owns an ugly marker too: he’s allowed eight home runs in his last 12 innings.
Washington’s night carried a different kind of drama. Luis García Jr.’s two-run single lit up a six-run seventh inning as the Nationals rallied past San Diego.
Washington’s big inning didn’t look like it would come from raw chaos—only two balls were hit out of the infield during the frame. But it was a frame built for pressure. The Padres sent 10 men to the plate in the seventh. and it included the first ejection of Craig Stammen’s rookie managing career. The first six Washington batters came around to score.
San Diego jumped out first with power: Fernando Tatis Jr. delivered his first homer of the season. and Xander Bogaerts and Manny Machado also homered to help the Padres build a 3-1 lead. Drew Millas homered in the third for Washington. He was also involved in what shaped the turning point in the seventh.
After CJ Abrams led off the seventh with a single to center. José Tena’s grounder forced a diving stop by Tatis. The second baseman couldn’t make an accurate throw for the force play. and it was scored a fielder’s choice. Jorbit Vivas then walked, and Michael King (4-4) hit Dylan Crews with a pitch to force in a run.
King induced a grounder to second from Bradgley Rodriguez, but the moment refused to end quietly. Bogaerts, the shortstop, was ruled off second base when he received the throw from Tatis. The play was reviewed and the call was upheld. Stammen was tossed after coming out to argue. Bogaerts was charged with an error.
Curtis Mead—pinch-hitting—drew a walk to force in another run, and after James Wood struck out, García’s single up the middle made it 6-3. Daylen Lile then bounced into a force play, but a run still scored when the Padres couldn’t turn two.
For San Diego’s bats, the damage came fast once Washington’s seventh began. García’s clutch hit ended the night’s comeback arc the way it started: with the Nationals sending men to the plate again and again.
Houston kept rolling against Milwaukee. Christian Walker launched a three-run homer, and Jeremy Peña contributed a home run among his three-hit night as the Astros beat the Brewers.
Peña’s two-run shot made it 3-1 in the second, and Houston pulled away after Milwaukee got within 1. Walker’s homer to the seats in right field stretched it to 9-2 with two outs in the eighth.
This was Houston’s seventh win in nine games, and it snapped the Brewers’ four-game winning streak. Peter Lambert (4-4) earned the win after allowing five hits and two runs with three walks in five innings. Brandon Sproat (1-4) took the loss, permitting six hits and five runs in 4 1/3 innings.
The Brewers started with a two-out RBI double in the first from William Contreras, and Cam Smith tied it in the second when he scored on a single by Jake Meyers. Peña’s home run then came with two outs in that inning to put Houston on top 3-1.
Baltimore’s win over Toronto delivered a late surge that felt like it had been waiting. Pete Alonso singled in the winning run with the bases loaded in a five-run ninth inning as the Orioles beat the Blue Jays.
Baltimore had struggled to build in the early going. managing only three hits in the first eight innings. but they erupted in the ninth. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. recorded his first four-hit game since Sept. 5, and Toronto’s winning streak was halted at four. Toronto entered at 29-30. and it was trying to move over .500 for the first time since it was 4-3 on April 3.
The ninth began with Jeff Hoffman pitching Guillermo-like tension. After Orioles designated hitter Samuel Basallo walked back to the dugout grimacing and holding his left shoulder upon striking out to open the inning. Coby Mayo was hit by a pitch. Mayo scored on Leody Taveras’ triple, and Jackson Holliday followed with a single to right to pull Baltimore to 5-3.
Hoffman then surrendered a double to Colton Cowser, and Taylor Ward worked a four-pitch walk. Gunnar Henderson followed with a walk to force in a run and end Hoffman’s outing. Adley Rutschman walked against Connor Seabold to tie it. and Alonso singled up the middle against a drawn-in infield to win it.
Albert Suárez (2-0) allowed an unearned run in the ninth for Baltimore.
Elsewhere, Boston beat Cleveland as Connor Wong and Jarren Duran drove in three runs apiece. Sonny Gray allowed one run in six innings, and Caleb Durbin added two RBIs for the Red Sox, who won for only the second time in eight games.
Cleveland’s struggles weren’t just on the scoreboard. It committed a season-high four errors on the day, including one by Jose Ramirez, who also had the Guardians’ lone run with an RBI double in the first inning to drive in Travis Bazzana, who finished with a pair of doubles.
Wong delivered the go-ahead moment in the sixth. hitting the go-ahead double off the left-field wall off Cleveland’s Matt Festa (1-1). It was initially ruled a two-run homer. but instant replay overturned the call when it was determined the ball struck an area of the field that is in play. That would have been Wong’s first homer since 2024 if the original call stood. Boston then put the game away with six runs in the ninth, including Duran’s line-drive three-run homer.
Duran has eight home runs in May and is 12 for 34 with seven RBIs in the last seven games. Gray (6-1) became the fourth AL starting pitcher this season to get four wins in May. He went 4-0 in May with a 2.00 ERA, and in this game allowed one run and four hits with seven strikeouts in six innings.
In Arlington, Texas walked off Kansas City with Ezequiel Duran capping a three-run ninth inning. The rally built after Joc Pederson hit a home run to start a string of five consecutive hits off closer Lucas Erceg (3-3). Josh Jung singled to shortstop. Brandon Nimmo singled off Erceg’s glove. Jake Burger hit an opposite field liner to right to tie the score. and then Duran delivered his opposite-field RBI single to right to finish it.
The win turned Peyton Gray (1-0) into a first-time major league winner. The 30-year-old rookie made his big league debut in late April.
The Rangers have now won two consecutive games, matching their longest winning streak since early April. It was also their first walk-off win in 12 home games when trailing going into the ninth. Kansas City’s night was harsher: the Royals have lost five straight and 15 of their last 18. falling a season-low 14 games below .500. They lost for the fifth time in 22 games when leading through eight innings. Jung and Burger had three hits each, including Jung’s first-inning home run.
New York’s story in Miami turned on persistence and relief. Christian Scott finally earned his first big league win on Saturday, and batterymate Hayden Senger hit his first career home run as the Mets defeated the Marlins.
Scott’s afternoon began poorly: he was charged with a pitch clock violation before throwing his first pitch. But he allowed only one run and struck out a career-high eight. snapping a 15-start winless streak that dated back to his debut on May 4. 2024. Scott (1-0) had Tommy John surgery in September 2024 and missed last season.
The winless stretch had been the second-longest career-opening drought for a pitcher performing exclusively as a starter; Liam Hendriks had been winless in his first 17 starts from 2011-12.
Scott’s night was helped by two catches from rookie outfielders Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing. Benge made a running grab of Kyle Stowers’ shot to the right-center field wall leading off the fourth. Ewing ran down Otto Lopez’s fly to almost the same spot to rob him of an RBI hit ending the fifth.
A quartet of relievers tossed a scoreless inning apiece as the last-place Mets won their third straight, one shy of their season-high.
Pittsburgh also had a comeback tone, holding off Minnesota after the Twins erased a massive early deficit. Jake Mangum went 3 for 4 with his first homer of the season and a go-ahead RBI single after the Pirates blew a six-run lead.
Mangum hit his homer off Bailey Ober (6-3) in the second for the fourth home run of his career. then tagged Ober with a line drive single in the fifth that scored Konnor Griffin. Mangum later made a defensive impact too. going deep in the gap in left-center to rob Minnesota’s Orlando Arcia of extra bases in the ninth with the tying run on first.
Gregory Soto got the final four outs for his seventh save. and Yohan Ramirez (3-2) earned the win in relief after starter Mitch Keller couldn’t hold the early 7-1 lead. Oneil Cruz had his 13th home run of the season and second in as many days as Pittsburgh won for the fifth time in seven games. Spencer Horwitz had two hits for the Pirates, including a leadoff homer in the bottom of the first.
Nick Gonzales recorded three hits, and the game also carried an emotional storyline around Derek Shelton. Shelton, a former manager of the Pirates, suffered a second consecutive loss in his return to PNC Park since being fired by the Pirates last May early into his sixth season with the club.
In St. Petersburg, the Angels turned the corner in a big way. Wade Meckler hit his first grand slam in the majors as Los Angeles finished with four homers in its victory over Tampa Bay.
Meckler connected off Drew Rasmussen (4-2) in the first inning. He also singled and stole a base. Mike Trout hit his 14th homer of the season in the fifth, and Jo Adell and Oswald Peraza went back-to-back in a seven-run ninth.
Trout, the major league walks leader, walked twice and scored three of the Angels’ season-high 14 runs. Tampa Bay lost for just the second time in its last 18 home games.
Yandy Díaz’s 24th career leadoff homer. his second in two games. put the Rays on the board in the first. though Reid Detmers (2-5) pitched out of a bases-loaded jam. Junior Caminero doubled in the third when his popup dodged the Tropicana Field catwalks before landing in the infield. but Detmers left him at second and Tampa Bay finished 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position. stranding 11 overall. Four Angels relievers combined to one-hit the Rays over the final four innings.
Chicago’s Cubs kept their momentum in St. Louis as Pete Crow-Armstrong went 4 for 4 with a homer, and Ben Brown allowed three hits in seven innings in a win over the Cardinals.
Crow-Armstrong hit his seventh homer of the season in the eighth. also doubled and scored twice—driven in both times by Michael Busch. Nico Hoerner added an RBI single in the sixth. Ian Happ scored on a wild pitch in the eighth. and the Cubs finished with 12 hits while winning for the third time in four games.
Ryan Fernandez (1-1) gave up two unearned runs and walked two after replacing starter Kyle Leahy. Fernandez threw a wild pitch to Alex Bregman in the fourth, advancing Busch to second. With one out in the sixth. his throwing error allowed Miguel Amaya to reach and he walked Dansby Swanson in the following at-bat before being pulled for Justin Bruihl. Bruihl hit Crow-Armstrong with a pitch to load the bases before Hoerner singled for one run and Busch’s sacrifice fly made it 3-1.
Alec Burleson hit an RBI single in the third for the Cardinals to score first. He had another hit in the ninth, but runner Iván Herrera was out at third on the throw from outfielder Seiya Suzuki, and Crow-Armstrong made a diving catch for the final out in left center field.
MLB roundup White Sox Tigers Anthony Kay Ronald Acuña Jr. Braves Nationals San Diego Padres Houston Astros Milwaukee Brewers Baltimore Orioles Toronto Blue Jays