A three-run first inning was just a taste of things to come from the Boston Red Sox on Thursday as they smashed the Minnesota Twins 13-2.

Mookie Betts homered to kick things off before an RBI single from David Ortiz set the Red Sox up early.

Ortiz impressed once again with four RBIs and a home run in the eighth, while Jackie Bradley Jr had three RBIs.

Pitcher Chris Tillman restricted the New York Yankees with seven strong innings helping the Baltimore Orioles to a 4-1 win.

Justin Turner hit two home runs for five RBIs in total as he helped the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 6-3 win over the Washington Nationals, handing Stephen Strasburg his first loss of the season.

The Miami Marlins were 9-3 winners over the Philadelphia Phillies, the Pittsburgh Pirates edged the Milwaukee Brewers 5-3 and the St. Louis Cardinals completed the sweep of the San Diego Padres with a 6-5 walk-off win as Aledmys Diaz's single brought Tommy Pham home for the win.

Elsewhere, the Colorado Rockies beat the Atlanta Braves 7-3, the Tampa Bay Rays enjoyed a 7-3 win over the Oakland Athletics and the Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox 2-1 with the result called after seven innings.


BRILLIANT 'BIG PAPI'

The veteran slugger is showing no signs of slowing in his final season. Ortiz, who hit a baseball so hard on Thursday that it got lodged in Pesky's Pole during batting practice, went three-for-five with a homer and four RBIs against the Twins. The two-run blast was Ortiz's 527th career homer (19th all-time).


REYNOLDS GOES DEEP

Mark Reynolds crushed an effort for the Rockies, hitting the second longest homer recorded by MLB Statcast this season of 484 feet.

BRUTAL LIRIANO

Left-hander Francisco Liriano's 13 strikeouts without a walk against the Brewers are the second-most by a Pirates pitcher in a game in the last 100 years (Jose DeLeon, 14).

Meanwhile, the Orioles avoided a sweep against the Yankees on the arm of Tillman, who became the first Baltimore pitcher to win 14 games through 21 starts in a season since Sidney Ponson in 2003. 

PIRATES TAKE ON PHILLIES

The battle for Pennsylvania renews as Gerrit Cole (5-5, 3.11 ERA) takes the hill for the Bucs in his second start since returning from the disabled list. He gave up four runs on seven hits on Sunday. Zach Eflin (2-3, 4.14 ERA) toes the rubber for the Phillies looking for his sixth consecutive quality start.