Last Night In Baseball: Red Sox Keep Winning; Dodgers Keep Losing

There is always baseball happening — almost too much baseball for one person to follow themselves.

Don't worry, we're here to help you by figuring out what you missed but shouldn't have. Here are all the best moments from last night in Major League Baseball:

There's being on a run. Then, there's what the Boston Red Sox are doing.

By demolishing the Athletics at Fenway Park on Friday night, 13-1, the Red Sox (64-51) have now won 27 of their last 30 games and are just a half-game back of the New York Yankees for the first American League wild-card seed.

As for the offensive onslaught, Boston plated five runs in the bottom of the second inning, four runs in the fourth and had back-to-back two-run innings in the sixth and seventh. Every starting position player recorded a hit for the Red Sox, who collectively had six doubles, 15 hits and got a two-run home run from left fielder Jarren Duran in the second. On that note, seven Boston starters drove in a run, with right fielder Wilyer Abreu driving in a game-high three runs.

Meanwhile, left-hander Payton Tolle was dominant over six innings for the Red Sox, surrendering just one run and two baserunners (two hits) and racking up 14 strikeouts. Raymond Burgos pitched three scoreless innings of relief for Boston.

On the season, Tolle, who's in the midst of his first full MLB season, boasts a 3.20 ERA, a 1.10 WHIP and a 128 ERA+, while having totaled 124 strikeouts over 107.0 innings pitched (19 starts).

The Red Sox can't stop winning. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Dodgers haven't won a game since acquiring two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal and have lost seven consecutive games dating back to July 31 — and the latest loss was arguably the most painful of all for Los Angeles.

The Dodgers took a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth against the Arizona Diamondbacks and sent their star closer, Edwin Díaz, to the mound, which is when disaster struck. Max Kepler walked to lead off the inning for Arizona, with Tim Tawa later going down on strikes. Then, Ryan Waldschmidt happened, as the center fielder lined a walk-off home run to center field for a 4-3 D-backs win.

The 2026 season has been rough sledding for Díaz, who missed roughly three months due to elbow surgery and has an 11.00 ERA and a 2.44 WHIP. Arizona got its other two runs in the dramatic win on a Nolan Arenado solo home run in the bottom of the second and an RBI triple from shortstop Geraldo Perdomo in the fifth. The Dodgers got their three runs on a sixth-inning force-out, a seventh-inning RBI single from second baseman Tommy Edman and an eighth-inning solo homer from center fielder Andy Pages.

While Los Angeles (69-47) still holds a 7.5-game lead on Arizona (62-55) for first place in the National League West, it has slipped to the No. 3 seed in the NL playoffs.

The Dodgers' seven losses have come in the form of being swept at home by the surging Red Sox, being swept on the road by the Chicago Cubs and the Friday night loss to the D-backs, who swept the Dodgers in Los Angeles in the final series before the MLB All-Star break. 

The play of the night in the sport goes to Diamondbacks right fielder Corbin Carroll.

With Edman at the plate in the top of the third, Carroll was playing in shallow right field. Edman proceeded to hit a long fly ball to right field, forcing Carroll to have to make up extensive ground to chase the ball down at the wall, but he did just that, getting to the spot before the would-be homer, jumping up and robbing Edman of a solo home run. The three-time All-Star boasts eight defensive runs saved in right field this season.

Sticking with being on a run, the New York Mets, who traded a quarter of their big-league roster at the MLB trade deadline, have caught fire on their road trip through Big Ten country.

Beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-4, the Mets have now won four consecutive games. The scoring started in the opening frame for New York with an RBI single from left fielder Carson Benge, who singled home another run in the third. As for the rest of the third inning, second baseman Marcus Semien gave the Mets separation with a three-run home run to left field.

The Mets' sixth run came on an RBI single from shortstop Francisco Lindor in the fourth, and they got five scoreless innings from starter Zac Thornton, who sports a 2.52 ERA, a 1.07 WHIP and a 165 ERA+ over his first seven MLB starts.

Benge, who's in his first season at the MLB level, is 5 for his last 8 and has recorded a hit in four straight games. Elsewhere, fellow rookie outfielder A.J. Ewing tallied a game-high three hits against the Pirates. The Mets previously swept the Cleveland Guardians.

Speaking of the Guardians, they had their way with the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox in their home park.

Outfielder Ángel Martínez commenced the scoring for Cleveland with a two-run single in the top of the first, with the Guardians later having a five-run fifth inning. In said inning, Martínez unloaded on a grand slam to right field, giving him six RBIs on the night, and catcher Austin Hedges brought home a run on an RBI single. The Guardians got an eighth run on a sixth-inning solo homer from outfielder Steven Kwan.

On the hill, the Guardians got another stellar outing from Parker Messick, who was an AL All-Star. Over seven innings, the left-hander, who's in his first full season in an MLB rotation, gave up just two runs and five baserunners (four hits and one walk) while logging eight strikeouts in an 8-2 Cleveland win; Franco Aleman pitched two scoreless innings in relief of Messick, who sports a 2.57 ERA and 4.3 wins above replacement over 23 starts.

The Guardians (58-59), who previously lost five of their last six games, are a half-game behind the Texas Rangers for the third AL wild-card seed and two games behind the White Sox for first place in the AL Central.

The New York Yankees looked toast, but they play nine innings — or, in this case, 10 innings — for a reason.

The Atlanta Braves took a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning after solo home runs from third baseman Austin Riley in the top of the eighth and first baseman Matt Olson in the top of the ninth, and they had Raisel Iglesias on the mound to try and get the save. But the 2026 NL All-Star couldn't shut the door for the Braves.

New York was down to its last out, but catcher Austin Wells kept the Yankees alive with an RBI double. Two batters later, designated hitter Ben Rice tied the game with an RBI single, which ultimately forced extra innings. Then, after the Braves failed to score a run in the top of the 10th, the Yankees walked it off in the bottom half of the inning on a sacrifice fly to right field by third baseman Ryan McMahon, sealing off a come-from-behind, 3-2 New York victory.

Prior to the late-inning fireworks — in a game that started two hours late due to a weather delay — this matchup between Yankees left-hander Max Fried, who was pitching against his former team, and Braves right-hander Tyler Mahle, who was acquired from the San Francisco Giants at the trade deadline, was a pitchers' duel; Fried pitched 6 ⅓ shutout innings, with Mahle throwing six scoreless innings.

The Cubs made two moves to address their starting rotation at the trade deadline — and one in June, acquiring southpaw David Peterson — adding Braxton Garrett and Kevin Gausman. On Friday, Gausman made his Cubs debut and was spectacular.

The veteran right-hander gave Chicago seven innings of work, surrendering just two runs and five baserunners (four hits and one walk) in a 6-4 road win against the Kansas City Royals. This marked just the second time this season Gausman, a two-time All-Star, pitched through the seventh inning. 

As for the run support, the Cubs got a pair of two-run singles from outfielders Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki in the top of the second, a seventh-inning RBI single from third baseman Alex Bregman and an eighth-inning solo home run from infielder Pedro Ramirez.

Chicago, which has a six-game lead on Arizona for the first NL wild-card seed (68-49), has won five consecutive games.

Sticking with stellar pitching performances, Drew Rasmussen was electric in Seattle.

The Tampa Bay Rays star right-hander pitched seven scoreless innings, giving up just four baserunners (two hits and two walks) and logging eight strikeouts. Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodríguez made the Rays sweat the outcome with a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth, but Rasmussen's seven scoreless innings were enough for Tampa Bay to get a narrow, 2-1 victory.

As for the bats, the Rays, who have the best record in the AL at 69-46, got solo home runs from center fielder Jonny DeLuca in the top of the second and first baseman Jonathan Aranda, which was his 15th long ball of the year, in the top of the third.

Back to Rasmussen, the right-hander is on a heater. He hasn't surrendered a run in each of his last three starts (a combined 20.0 innings pitched), giving up a combined 11 baserunners and posting 27 strikeouts over that span. On the season, Rasmussen, an All-Star in each of the last two years, has a 2.75 ERA, an AL-best 0.91 WHIP and a 153 ERA+, while totaling 130 strikeouts and three wins above replacement over 124 ⅓ innings pitched (22 starts). 

The Minnesota Twins are in the thick of the playoff mix, and they put together a standout road win over the Milwaukee Brewers, who have the best record in MLB (72-44).

Minnesota struck for eight runs, which came in four consecutive two-run innings from the third-to-sixth innings and after going down 4-0. The star of the night was Josh Bell — who leads the Twins with 104 hits and 68 RBIs this season — as the veteran first baseman/designated hitter had a game-high four hits and a two-run home run.

Sticking with the long ball, shortstop Kaelen Culpepper (the Twins' No. 2 ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline) hit a solo home run for his first MLB hit in what was his first MLB game.

Eight of nine Minnesota starters recorded a hit, and they got through nine innings by using six pitchers and five relievers in the final four innings to secure an 8-6 victory.

The Twins (58-59), who are a half-game out of the third AL wild-card seed and two games out of first place in the AL Central, are eighth in MLB with 547 runs scored.

That was all it took — literally.

With the Texas Rangers trailing the Baltimore Orioles 1-0 in the bottom of the sixth, designated hitter Joc Pederson uncorked a go-ahead, two-run home run behind the right field foul pole, and that was all Texas would need, as it went on to win 2-1.

Heck, the Rangers only had three hits and Orioles starter Shane Baz pitched eight innings. With that said, Texas got 3 ⅔ scoreless innings from its bullpen after starter Nathan Eovaldi went 5 ⅓ innings. 

As for the difference-maker, Pederson leads the Rangers in home runs (21), slugging percentage (.507) and OPS (.846) this year.

Despite being just 58-58, Texas, which has won three in a row, is in possession of the third AL wild-card seed and is 1.5 games back of the Houston Astros (60-57) for first place in the AL West.

On the Texas baseball front, the Astros leaned on Cam Smith for a West Coast victory.

The Houston right fielder had three hits in a 6-3 win over the San Diego Padres, highlighted by a pair of solo home runs in the top of the second and sixth; Smith has totaled 15 home runs and 42 RBIs and posted six defensive runs saved in right field on the year.

As for the rest of Houston's run production, first baseman Christian Walker had a two-run single in the third, designated hitter Yordan Álvarez had an RBI single in the fourth and shortstop Jeremy Peña brought home a run in the eighth on an RBI ground out. While he didn't drive in a run, third baseman Isaac Paredes, like Smith, had a three-hit night, while the Astros used six pitchers to get the win.

The Astros have won 13 of their last 16 games.