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NEW YORK -- Mike Trout managed to eclipse even his own remarkably high standards on Saturday night, collecting a career-high five hits and 11 total bases to help the Angels roll to an 11-4 rout of the Yankees at Yankee Stadium.

Trout produced three doubles, a home run, a single and four RBIs, falling a triple shy of the cycle. It was the first time the 26-year-old superstar recorded four extra-base hits in a game.

Trout wasn't the only Angel who enjoyed a productive day at the plate, as the club pounded out 11 hits to come back from a 4-1 deficit in the second inning. Rookie catcher Jose Briceno went 2-for-4 with a home run in his MLB debut, while Zack Cozart finished 2-for-5 with three runs scored.

Video: LAA@NYY: Briceno launches his 1st Major League homer

With the win, the Angels improved to 29-23 and snapped a four-game losing streak against the Yankees this season.

Trout was locked in from the beginning, ripping a first-pitch RBI double off the left-field wall to put the Angels on the board in the first inning. Trout's line drive had an exit velocity off 109 mph, according to Statcast™, and netted him his 600th career RBI.

Video: LAA@NYY: Trout opens the scoring with an RBI double

The Yankees took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first after Brett Gardner and Aaron Judge opened the inning with back-to-back home runs off rookie Jaime Barria, who was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake to make his sixth start for the Angels prior to Saturday's game. Austin Romine then homered off the right-field foul pole in the second to extend the Yankees' advantage to 4-1.

Video: LAA@NYY: Gardner, Judge hit back-to-back jacks in 1st

But the Angels pulled within one in the third. After yielding a single to Cozart and a double to Trout, Gray walked Justin Upton to load the bases with no outs. Shohei Ohtani then drew a one-out walk to force in a run, and Andrelton Simmons brought in another run with a sacrifice fly to center field.

The Angels went ahead for good on Trout's two-run homer in the fourth inning. Trout pounced on a slider in the lower third of the strike zone from Gray, launching it a projected 419 feet to left-center field for a two-run shot that gave the Angels a 5-4 lead. It was Trout's third home run in as many games and his 17th of the season, tying him with the Red Sox's Mookie Betts for the MLB lead.

UPTON EXITS
Angels left fielder Upton departed the game with a left forearm contusion after being hit by a pitch in the fourth. X-rays showed no major damage. Chris Young entered the game in the sixth inning to replace Upton.

Video: LAA@NYY: Upton gets hit by a pitch, later exits game

UP NEXT
Angels right-hander Garrett Richards (4-3, 3.31 ERA) will celebrate his 30th birthday by facing the Yankees in Sunday's series finale at 10:05 a.m. PT. The Yankees will counter with right-hander Masahiro Tanaka (5-2, 4.95). Richards is 0-4 with an 8.10 ERA in six career appearances (five starts) against the Yankees. Ohtani had initially been expected to pitch, but the Angels decided to push his start back for "workload management." Ohtani, who started at DH in the first two games of this series, will likely get the chance to hit against Tanaka. Ohtani last faced Tanaka in 2013, when he went 0-for-11 with six strikeouts, a walk and a hit-by-pitch as a 19-year-old rookie in Japan.

PHILADELPHIA -- When Aaron Nola finished a scoreless first inning in the Phillies 2-1 win, a tiny "F" appeared on the out-of-town scoreboard on Citizens Bank Park's right-field fence. The Braves had lost at Fenway Park and first place was up for grabs.

At that point, Nola had one frame in the books. It included a four-pitch walk. A week earlier, he had thrown his worst start of the season, a four-run, six-inning outing in St. Louis.

Any doubt that Nola wasn't at his absolute sharpest on Saturday quickly vanished.

"He just continues to be creative," manager Gabe Kapler said. "He continues to refine his arsenal. His curveball just seems to keep getting better. He knows how to mix his pitches. He was tremendous."

Nola needed 13 pitches for a brief second inning. Another 1-2-3 third followed. His pitch count rose, but Nola finished the sixth inning having retired 17 straight Blue Jays, striking out the last five and not allowing a ball to reach the outfield. A "0" remained under the Blue Jays' hit column on the scoreboard from pregame.

Video: TOR@PHI: Franco hammers a solo home run to deep left

A rain delay kept Nola away from action for roughly 22 minutes following the conclusion of the sixth inning. The no-hitter and a 1-0 lead delivered via a Maikel Franco solo shot vanished in an arduous seventh inning on Nola's 113th pitch. Nola left to a thunderous ovation from the 26,788 fans on hand, and his late fade mattered little after Nick Williams reclaimed the lead with a pinch-hit home run in the eighth.

Video: TOR@PHI: Blue Jays, Phillies enter short rain delay

Seranthony Dominguez replaced Nola in the seventh and pitched a scoreless eighth to earn his first Major League win. Luis Garcia closed out the ninth with little resistance. He is the fifth Phillies pitcher to earn a save this season.

Video: TOR@PHI: Garcia induces double play, locks down save

The Phillies, behind their bona fide ace, were alone atop the National League East.

"That," Kapler said, "means a lot to the clubhouse."

In his prior three seasons with the team, Nola had never experienced being atop the division.

"It's pretty cool," Nola said. "It's the first time I've been in first place since I've been up. We still have to go play baseball."

"Really wanted to give [Nola] a chance to get through that inning," Kapler said. "He earned it."

With his dominance against a Blue Jays lineup that put up 11 hits the night before, Nola showed yet again what he has quickly become. At the beginning of last season, Nola's status for the future was not clear. He had a history of injuries, and was inconsistent because of missed games. Those days appeared distant while Nola cruised through the first six innings.

Nola has proven that he will give the Phillies a chance to win every time he is on the mound. He continues to build an impressive resume toward becoming the first Phillies starting pitcher since Cliff Lee in 2013 to become a National League All-Star. As it stands, Max Scherzer and Nola seem like the frontrunners to start the Midsummer Classic in Washington.

"I admire talent," Kapler said, "but I admire being prepared, and competitiveness, and a baseball savvy -- and mental toughness more than anything. And all of those things describe Aaron Nola."

 Video: TOR@PHI: Kapler on Nola's terrific outing, 2-1 Win

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Williams blasted the second pitch he saw into the right-center-field seats, quickly uplifting a club that just saw Nola's no-hit bid slip away an inning earlier.

Video: Must C Clutch: Williams lifts Phils with pinch-hit HR

"I was just looking for something up, something to drive," Williams said. "Something that I could hit hard. Especially in that situation. I was trying to get something going."

After complaining about playing time a week into the season, Williams has adjusted to thrive off the Phillies' bench. He is 9-for-19 as a pinch-hitter with three home runs. Greg Dobbs had 23 pinch-hits for the Phillies in 2008 and Williams is on pace to threaten that record.

SOUND SMART
The Phillies have not held sole possession of first place in the NL East [this late in a season] since the end of the 2011 season, when they won 102 games. That team was 30-19 through 49 games. These Phillies are 29-20.

YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
Scott Kingery, a natural second baseman, has been adjusting to playing more shortstop since J.P. Crawford went on the DL earlier this month. He made two impressive plays Saturday, including a putout of Yangervis Solarte in the fifth. After starting the play shaded to the right of second base, Kingery attacked a grounder up the middle and threw across his body while fading away from first base.

Video: TOR@PHI: Kingery reaches to make nice defensive play

"Scott Kingery had a nice game," Kapler said. "Nice ballgame. Really good on defense. Looked like a shortstop today."

HE SAID IT
"Don't let anyone tell you they aren't paying attention to the standings in May. I don't think that's true of any baseball man that I've been around, or any baseball fan that I've been around. You pay attention, you care and it means something. It's special. Being in first place at any point is special." -- Kapler

UP NEXT
Nick Pivetta (4-2 3.23 ERA) will start for the Phillies in Sunday's 1:35 p.m. ET game at Citizens Bank Park. He's allowed one run and struck out 25 in his last three starts combined. On the bump for the Blue Jays will be a familiar face in former Phillies pitcher J.A. Happ, who owns a 6-3 record and a 3.97 ERA.

ARLINGTON -- Rangers outfielder Shin-Soo Choo has passed Hideki Matsui for the most home runs (176) by a player from Asia, but Bartolo Colon is still one short of tying Juan Marichal for most wins by a pitcher from the Dominican Republic.

But neither player was wrapped up too much in milestones on a hot Saturday afternoon at Globe Life Park. They were far more excited about the way the Rangers won this one, as Choo hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th for a 4-3 victory over the Royals.

"The most important thing is we won," Colon said. "If I didn't get the win, that's fine. I don't think about Marichal too much. If it comes, it comes. The most important thing is we won."

Video: KC@TEX: Colon freezes Gordon to retire side in 6th

Colon, going for his 243rd career victory, allowed three runs in the third inning to give the Royals a 3-0 lead. But he made an adjustment by going with more curveballs to keep the Royals off-balance. He ended up retiring 14 of the last 16 batters he faced and that allowed the Rangers to mount a comeback, finished off in the 10th with Choo's home run.

"Those guys are unbelievable," Rangers outfielder Joey Gallo said. "I always say Choo is one of the best hitters I've seen, the way he takes his at-bats every day. I went into the dugout and I was like, 'He's gonna hit a bomb right here.' You could just feel it with him because his swing has been so good lately. As soon as he hit it, I was like, 'There it is.'"

Video: KC@TEX: Banister discusses Choo's walk-off HR in win

The game-time temperature was 97 degrees and still in the mid-90's when Choo stepped to the plate to face reliever Kevin McCarthy in the 10th. Shadows had started covering the infield but home plate was bathed in sunshine from a portal on the first-base side.

"It was tough seeing the ball," Choo said. "I asked the catcher [Salvador] Perez if it was tough to see and he said, 'A little bit.' I saw two pitches and couldn't see them all. The ball was really dark and I couldn't see the spin. But it was a 3-1 count so I looked in just one area and swung hard."

Choo didn't realize that he had tied Matsui with his home run on Friday night. He'll remember this one. It was the third walk-off home run of his career and that meant more than Matsui.

"I'm not really worried about it," Choo said. "I care about it, but like I said earlier this morning, I've played a long time in the big leagues, played healthy, played hard, those numbers are coming. I'm not really a home run hitter, in my career. I never think that way, I always try to stay healthy, try to help the team win the World Series."

Video: KC@TEX: Profar flashes speed on triple in the 4th

The Rangers have now won four of their last five and three of those have come when the opposing team scored first. The Rangers had won just two of their first 24 such games this season.

"Every victory is huge for us but I thought just the way pitching and defense was solid today, some timely hitting, some guys ran the bases well today," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. "When you play clean baseball games in this type of situation, it's huge. It's a confidence builder when you see the group of guys inside the dugout. Again, the walk-offs are huge, they give you momentum going into the next day."

MOMENT THAT MATTERED
Right fielder Nomar Mazara made a terrific running catch of Jorge Soler's drive into the right-center gap in the sixth. Colon watched it from the mound and led the crowd in applauding Mazara.

Video: KC@TEX: Colon applauds as Mazara makes running grab

YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
Gallo had an RBI double in the sixth inning that hit off the 407-foot sign in deep center field. That's as far as you can hit the ball at Globe Life Park without getting a home run.

"I just wanted to get the guy in so that was a good at-bat for me," Gallo said.

Video: KC@TEX: Gallo slugs an RBI double to score Profar

HE SAID IT
"I am really enjoying watching our young players play. They are improving every game and really understanding the game. I really enjoy watching them." -- Choo

UP NEXT
Cole Hamels closes out the four-game series against the Royals at 2:05 p.m. CT Sunday at Globe Life Park. Hamels is working on a streak of five straight starts allowing two earned runs or fewer. He allowed two runs in seven innings in a 6-4 win over the Yankees in his last start, leaving him 2-1 with a 2.08 ERA over his last five starts. Jason Hammel pitches for the Royals.

CHICAGO -- Cubs right-hander Yu Darvish is back on the disabled list for the second time this season, this time because of right triceps tendinitis, and he will undergo an MRI to determine the extent of the injury.

Darvish (1-3, 4.95 ERA) was scheduled to start on Sunday night for the Cubs' series finale against the Giants. The DL move is retroactive to Wednesday.

"We're not overly concerned," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said after Saturday's 5-4 loss to the Giants at Wrigley Field. "We're just going precautionary method right now to make sure everything is good based on the fact the guy has had a history. When I talked to him in my office, it didn't sound awful, but it sounded like something was there. As opposed to throwing him out there and be proven wrong, listen to your athlete. We thought it as the best way to do it."

In 2015, Darvish underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the entire season. Maddon said Darvish has been bothered by soreness in his triceps all week and tried to work through it. He will be eligible to pitch next Saturday in New York.

"He's been bothered a little bit recently," Maddon said. "We thought we could work through it, but there's some inflammation. We're calling it tricep tendinitis, so we want to back off to make sure it's all well."

The 31-year-old right-hander, who signed a six-year, $126 million contract with the Cubs in February, went on the DL on May 7 (retroactive to May 4) because of flu-like symptoms and returned to go four innings against the Braves on May 15, then started five days later against the Reds, giving up one run on two hits over six innings to pick up his first win with the Cubs.

In eight starts this season, Darvish has been unable to pitch past the fifth inning in five outings. He has a 25.20 ERA in the fifth this season, allowing 14 runs.

The Cubs recalled lefty Randy Rosario from Triple-A Iowa as the corresponding roster move. Rosario, 24, made 12 relief appearances this season for Iowa, posting a 0.47 ERA.

Tyler Chatwood (3-4, 3.74 ERA), scheduled to start on Monday, will now go on Sunday night in Darvish's place. The Cubs have yet to name a starter for Monday's series opener against the Pirates, but they may use lefty Mike Montgomery.

MILWAUKEE -- It was the Brewers' bats to the rescue for Chase Anderson on Saturday.

Anderson surrendered three runs in a 42-pitch marathon of a first inning, and the Brewers answered right back with three in the bottom half. Anderson was bit by season-long trouble with the home run leading off each of the next two innings, and the Brewers answered again. And again. And again.

They kept answering, all the way to their highest run total in eight years in a 17-6 win at Miller Park.

By the time third-base coach Ed Sedar stopped waving runners home, the Brewers were 13 games over .500 for the first time this season at a National League-best 33-20. It was their fifth victory in six games on the current homestand and 12th in their last 16 games overall.

"We were relentless on offense today," said Brewers manager Craig Counsell, who was playing for the team the last time it scored as much in a game -- an 18-1 win at Wrigley Field in August 2010. "There were tough at-bats all the way through."

Video: NYM@MIL: Counsell on dominant offense, Anderson

Christian Yelich gave the Brewers their first lead with a run-scoring triple in the fourth inning and finished a home run shy of the cycle. Lorenzo Cain reached five times, while Yelich, Jesus Aguilar and Hernan Perez drove in three runs apiece and Erik Kratz homered in his Brewers debut. Milwaukee tallied a season-high 19 hits at the expense of Mets starter Jason Vargas and four relievers.

Those hitters had company. Nine players scored at least once and drove in at least one run, a franchise record. Milwaukee surpassed its season high for runs and hits during a game-breaking seven-run seventh inning.

Video: NYM@MIL: Yelich legs out an RBI triple to right field

All those runs helped wash away a troubling start for Anderson, the latest Brewers pitcher to encounter struggles in the wake of an Opening Day start.

"It was early," said Yelich. "We hadn't even come to bat yet. The way we feel as a team right now, it was just chip away. We didn't necessarily think we had to get all three back there in the first, but chip away, and we felt that as the game unfolded, we would be able to be in it at the end."

Video: NYM@MIL: Yelich on offensive surge in 17-6 win

Said Mets left-hander Vargas: "They weren't ready to lay down at all. They were ready to come right back. I didn't think I made many bad pitches."

Anderson, meanwhile, cited a mechanical issue he described as fixable to explain his 80-pitch, three-inning slog. His long first inning was filled mostly with close misses and soft hits, but the ensuing home runs in the second and third are a problem -- Anderson has allowed 13 this season in 55 innings on the way to a 4.42 ERA. The right-hander was removed after 3 2/3 innings, having allowed five runs on seven hits and three walks.

During his breakthrough in 2017, Anderson allowed 14 home runs in 141 1/3 innings with a 2.74 ERA, and he was rewarded in the offseason with a contract extension.

"I was battling a couple of [mechanical] issues with the 'break' in my hands. I couldn't get on top of pitches," Anderson said. "I'll get it right. I'm not really worried about it."

Of the Brewers' offense, Anderson said, "It's dangerous. Shoot, if we can continue just to score three, four, five runs a game, I know this pitching staff can give our team a chance to win."

On Saturday, they scored a lot more than that.

Video: NYM@MIL: Aguilar rips a 2-run single to center

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Brand new ballgame: The Mets had a 3-0 lead before many of the 37,258 fans had found their seats, but Yelich and Braun took walks from Vargas in the bottom of the first inning before the Brewers evened the score through Travis Shaw's RBI single and Perez's two-run double.

"It was ballgame for us from then on, really," said Counsell. "The fact that we got right back in it, you felt like you made it a game."

Video: NYM@MIL: Perez rips a 2-run double down the line

First impression: Kratz, acquired from the Yankees on Friday for future considerations, became the 27th player to homer in his Brewers debut. His first Major League home run since 2016 came with two outs in the fifth inning and Milwaukee leading by a single run. After Kratz extended the frame, it turned into a three-run inning.

"I'm sure the game didn't start off the way he wanted to, either, trying to get Chase through that first inning," Counsell said. "The home run, that was a big spot. Two outs, nobody on, nothing going on. We go from zero to a three-spot right there pretty fast."

Video: NYM@MIL: Kratz clobbers a solo home run to left field

SOUND SMART
Kratz, at 37 years, 345 days old, became the most "seasoned" Brewers player since the final game of Counsell's playing career. Counsell was 41 years, 38 days old for his final regular-season game in September 2011.

YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
Brewers reliever Dan Jennings had an eventful fifth inning. With a runner aboard and one out, he started Mets first baseman Adrian Gonzalez with a 69-mph fastball for a called strike. Gonzalez appeared as if he couldn't believe it.

"Somebody yelled, 'Step off!' I think the runner was dancing off [first base]," Jennings said. "It was right as I was lifting my leg, so rather than balk, I decided I would rather take a 1-0 count. It didn't really work out that way.

"[The strike] was a total accident. I tried not to laugh, and I looked back at [shortstop Tyler] Saladino and he was cracking up so hard. I was like, 'Can't we at least act like I meant to do that?'"

Video: NYM@MIL: Jennings tosses 69-mph pitch to avoid balk

Then, in the bottom of the inning, he singled for his second hit this season in three at-bats. Jennings was a good hitter in high school in Des Moines, Iowa, "but that was a long time ago," he said. He wound up scoring on Yelich's two-run double.

"You have to give 'Murph' credit on that one," said Jennings, referring to bench coach Pat Murphy. "He goes, 'If [Kratz] hits a homer, you're hitting. Not two seconds later, he hit a homer. Otherwise, [pinch-hitter Domingo Santana] was going up. … Cain was mad at me because I took his bat to the plate. I didn't expect to hit."

Video: NYM@MIL: Yelich ropes a 2-run double to left field

HE SAID IT
"Maybe. I mean, it's rare when you're in those opportunities. It's so hard to do. A lot of things have to go right to be even in that position, and a lot of guys were having fun with it on the bench, for sure." -- Yelich, asked whether he was thinking about the cycle during his final at-bat in the seventh that saw him ground out after a few big hacks

MITEL REPLAY OF THE DAY
Amid the Brewers' big rally in the seventh inning, Perez was initially called out at first base after Jose Reyes bobbled his ground ball, but it required only 25 seconds to overturn that call. Milwaukee made the most of that out, using it to score the final three of their seven runs in the frame.

UP NEXT
In Jhoulys Chacin, the Brewers will send their most consistent starting pitcher to the mound for the start of Sunday's 1:10 p.m. CT series finale against the Mets. Chacin is 3-0 with a 2.28 ERA over his last eight starts, and the team is 8-3 this season when he takes the mound. He'll work opposite Mets starter Zack Wheeler, the right-hander who nearly became a Brewer in July 2015 before Mets officials nixed the teams' trade.

Cardinals No. 1 prospect Alex Reyes, the No. 17 prospect overall, according to MLB Pipeline, will make his season debut on Wednesday against the Brewers in Milwaukee, the team announced. The 23-year-old right-hander hasn't pitched in a Major League game since Sept. 29, 2016, before undergoing Tommy John surgery following that season.

Reyes was given an extra month to rehab after St. Louis signed Greg Holland, and the delayed return to the mound could mean Reyes pitches in October should the club reach the postseason. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak said the organization does not foresee any restrictions being placed on Reyes, other than standard pitch-count and stressful inning assessments.

Reyes made his MLB debut in 2016 and appeared in 12 games (five starts), posting a 1.57 ERA (eight earned runs in 46 innings). He struck out 52 of the 189 batters he faced (28 percent). In four rehab starts with Class A Peoria, Class A Advanced Palm Beach, Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis, he tossed 23 scoreless innings while fanning 44 of the 82 batters he faced.

The unofficial start to the summer season kicked off with the annual Hall of Fame Classic held at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, N.Y., on Saturday.

Fans lined up to see some of their favorite retired MLB players join together for a seven-inning affair on the baseball diamond. Each MLB team had a representative in the game. Also, several Hall of Famers like Rollie Fingers, Goose Gossage, Eddie Murray, Gaylord Perry, Tim Raines and Ozzie Smith showed up at the birthplace of baseball at Doubleday Field.

The Hall of Fame Classic was the star attraction during an exciting weekend for fans in Cooperstown. Fans were treated to tours of the National Baseball Hall of Fame Museum and a sweet home run derby contest prior to the game. Once the action got rolling, it was nostalgic to see former MLB players in their natural habitat.

The players were broken down into two teams and the action was competitive. Former Phillies and Red Sox great Shane Victorino had two hits and two RBIs. He took home the MVP trophy and raised eyebrows among his teammates.

"It's nice, and what makes it fun for all of us is guys are talking about the game we love and coming out here to play and enjoy it," Victorino said. "We were playing for fun and sometimes at the [MLB] level it becomes a job and a career. Sometimes you got to have fun. Coming out here, we had a blast."

Video: Victorino's 2-RBI single in HOF classic

Several Hall of Famers also enjoyed the chance to catch up with the legends of the game. Each player, like 2017 inductee Raines, just wanted to talk with buddies and guys he grew up idolizing as a player. He was ecstatic this platform allowed for that opportunity.

"I was having conversations with Eddie Murray and Ozzie Smith and just seeing the guys, they're always on me about something," Raines said. "Because I'm the rookie now and they like to get on the rookie. Just hanging out with those guys, we don't get to see each other a lot. There are times where we are at the same event, and we're there for two or three days and we don't have a lot of time to be together. But I got in yesterday, we'll be here until tomorrow. We get a chance to kind of rekindle."

Players also enjoyed being able to put the uniform on one more time. Almost all felt it was extra special to be back at Doubleday Field and playing in the Hall of Fame Classic. Fingers felt honored and compared it to walking into Yankee Stadium for the first time.

"I soak it in," Fingers said. "I mean, a lot of great players have been playing ball here forever, and you think back to guys and the teams that have played on this field. It's like when I first walked into Yankee Stadium when I was a young kid. I walked out on the mound with nobody there and home plate, you think, 'Dang, Babe Ruth stood here, Whitey Ford pitched on this mound.' You think about those things as a ballplayer."

Former Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson agreed. He compared his experience to his first year playing in the Majors. However, this time he felt different putting on the uniform once more at Doubleday Field. It brought back memories of suiting up and feeling like a kid again.

"It's phenomenal, especially for me, I played in Pittsburgh for nine years, I take a lot of pride in wearing the black and gold," Wilson said. "Like all the guys do here, just putting the pants on, the whole thing, the high socks, the cleats -- it brings back memories. The smell of the grass, being in the dirt, it's just awesome."

Another player who enjoyed his experience was former catcher A.J. Pierzynski. He took in all of the festivities and ended the day as the home run derby winner. It was his first derby since high school and he admitted he was nervous.

However, he calmed down after talking with his daughter, who was in attendance. Pierzynski said her playful joking and a text message from a former teammate helped to put him in the zone. He ended up beating former Royals great Mike Sweeney to take home the title.

"Good, now [former White Sox teammate] Aaron Rowand can leave me alone," Pierzynski said. "He texted me when he found out I was coming, and he's like, 'I won the HR derby, I won the MVP and I'm the mayor of this event.' So he's like, 'You better represent,' so at least now he can leave me alone about one thing."

While the players enjoyed their time at the Hall of Fame Classic, they understand that it was an event to honor the game they love. Each player created memories, and that is what made the Cooperstown event special.

"It's hard not to get caught up in it, the fact that I can stand here and say I'm one of the guys who has a plaque over there is very, very special in itself," Ozzie Smith said. "... I think you have to give thanks and feel blessed to have had the opportunity to play this wonderful game, and this is the pinnacle, this is it, and to have that plaque over there in the Hall of Fame is much more than I ever dreamed of in my entire life. I dreamed of being a big league baseball player, and I ended up in Cooperstown."

BOSTON -- A new-look lineup, which now has Mitch Moreland playing most days and Dustin Pedroia back from the disabled list, will be even more dangerous if Andrew Benintendi continues to belt the ball around Fenway Park like he did while leading the charge for the Red Sox in Saturday's 8-6 victory over the Braves.

Benintendi ripped a solo homer to center in the fourth to draw his team within a run and later cranked a triple into the corner in right to give the Red Sox some insurance. The outfielder was a double shy of the cycle, while going 3-for-4 and scoring twice.

It was an enjoyable day for Benintendi, considering he came in hitless in his previous eight at-bats.

"Great," said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. "We had a talk before the game, [and Andrew said] he didn't feel right at the plate lately. He walked three times [in his start against Tampa Bay on Wednesday]. That's a good sign. As long as he stays in the zone, he's fine. He did it early in the season and kind of struggled chasing pitches, but now he's back. The swing's right there, so we're very confident with him."

Video: ATL@BOS: Cora talks win over Braves, Pedroia's return

Overall, Benintendi is trending upward, hitting .400 (14-for-35) with four homers and 12 RBIs in his last 10 games.

"I feel like it's either zero hits right now or multi-hit games," said Benintendi. "But I don't look too much into it. I just try and go up there and get a hit every single time. But, obviously, it's not going to happen."

For the second day in a row, Moreland justified the faith the Red Sox showed in him after they designated Hanley Ramirez for assignment. Moreland smashed a triple and two-run double.

Video: ATL@BOS: Moreland lines 2-run double to give Sox lead

"I don't really feel any extra responsibility," said Moreland. "I get to go out and play the game I love and come in every day ready to do that."

The strong performances by Benintendi and Moreland helped Boston prevail despite another rough outing from Drew Pomeranz, who lasted just 3 1/3 innings while throwing 89 pitches. Pomeranz allowed six hits and five runs while walking three and striking out three.

It was the lefty's third consecutive start of four innings or fewer, as his ERA rose to 6.75. Cora said after the game that Pomeranz will make his next scheduled start at Houston on Thursday.

Steven Wright, a candidate to replace Pomeranz in the rotation if the Red Sox decide to make a switch, pitched three scoreless innings to earn the win.

"My goal, I've already established that, is to help us get back into games," said Wright. "So, for me, right now, like I've said since 2013, it doesn't matter if I'm starting or relieving, I'm just going to go out there and make quality pitches and change speeds on the knuckleball and go as deep into games as I can -- whether it is relieving or starting."

In his 2018 debut, Pedroia went 0-for-4 with a walk but scored a run during a three-run rally by diving head-first into home. The veteran second baseman got a loud standing ovation as he stepped in for his first at-bat in the bottom of the first.

Video: ATL@BOS: Vazquez plates Pedroia with RBI hit

The win put the Red Sox (36-16) 20 games above .500 for the first time this season.

As for the Braves, two of their two most talented youngsters produced on the big Fenway stage. Dansby Swanson belted a solo homer against Pomeranz and also made a couple of nice plays at shortstop. Ronald Acuna Jr. smoked a 97.2-mph heater from Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel for a solo shot in the ninth.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
The Wright Move: With the Red Sox down, 5-4, after four, Cora picked just the right time to go to Wright. The knuckleballer had the Braves off-balance throughout his outing, throwing 26 of his 40 pitches for strikes. The righty stabilized the game and allowed Boston's bats to seize the momentum for good.

Video: ATL@BOS: Bogaerts, Pedroia turn nice DP in the 5th

"Steven Wright was the one who stopped us," said Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman. "You don't face a knuckleballer too often. We got to Drew and got him out of the game. But they had a stopper and the right guy to stop us. We were able to score some runs, but we weren't able to hold them down today."

SOUND SMART
The Red Sox continue to thrive during Interleague Play, as Saturday's win was their ninth straight against a National League opponent. At 231-156 (.597), the Red Sox have the highest all-time winning percentage in Interleague Play since its inception in 1997.

HE SAID IT
"I was just having trouble getting off my back leg today. I think one of the things I've been searching for this whole time is, I'm missing the drive off my back leg, and that's what I had last year. When I'd get in a jam, I'd bring out 93, 94, 95 [mph], and I don't have that right now. Even my curveball. Everything is just a few miles an hour off. It's a pretty good indicator that something key is missing there, that some attachment between my upper and lower body is just not firing right now." -- Pomeranz

UP NEXT
The Red Sox send ace Chris Sale (5-1, 2.17 ERA) to the mound for Sunday's finale of this three-game series against the Braves. Sale was powerful in his last start, striking out nine and allowing one earned run over 7 2/3 innings. This is just his second career start against the Braves. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. ET. The Braves, trying to avoid a sweep, counter with righty Mike Foltynewicz (3-3, 2.72).

Here's a roundup of the latest injury news across the Majors.

Yu Darvish, Cubs
The Cubs placed Darvish on the 10-day disabled list with right triceps tendinitis Saturday (retroactive to Wednesday). It marks the second time Darvish has hit the DL this season, the first being due to flu-like symptoms on May 7. The 31-year-old right-hander has a 4.95 ERA over eight starts this season, his first with Chicago. More >

Andrew Miller, Indians
Miller was placed on the DL with inflammation in his right knee, the same knee that caused him to be placed on the DL twice in 2017. This is the second time that the Tribe's relief ace has gone to the DL this season, the first being in April due to a left hamstring injury.

"Just from talking to him and talking to the trainers, it's just not allowing him to be himself right now," said manager Terry Francona. "That's probably the best way I could put it. So we're going to put our heads together, and I don't know what the next step will be. We're going to try to get him to a place where he can be himself."

Miller has a 4.40 ERA in 14 1/3 innings this season, including seven runs on seven hits over 4 1/3 innings (six outings) since his return from the DL on May 11. More >

Clayton Kershaw and Rich Hill, Dodgers
Kershaw and Hill both threw simulated games for the Dodgers on Saturday, and Kershaw is the closer of the two to returning.

Kershaw threw four innings, and there's an outside chance he could return next week against the Phillies. Hill threw two innings, and he is expected to throw a bullpen session in a few days and then pitch in another simulated game.

"We'll see. I'm not sure," Kershaw said when asked whether his next outing will be in a Minor League game or with the Dodgers. More >

Martin Prado, Marlins
Prado, who was limited to 37 games last season with hamstring injuries, limped off the field with a left hamstring strain after reaching first base on an error during Friday's game vs. the Nationals, exiting the contest in the sixth inning. He was placed on the DL on Saturday and is expected to miss extended time. The 34-year-old infielder is slashing .194/.242/.226 in 24 games for Miami this season. More >

Video: WSH@MIA: Prado on left hamstring injury in 9-5 loss

Zach Britton and Mark Trumbo, Orioles
Baltimore's closer took a big step toward his return from offseason right Achilles surgery when he tossed two innings in a simulated game prior to the Orioles' game against the Rays in St. Petersburg on Saturday.

"I felt, that was probably the best one I've had," Britton said of his simulated game, which featured a few players from extended spring camp who came over to Tropicana Field. "I think maybe it seemed like more of a game situation with guys behind me that could field the ball and stuff like that. So I'm definitely ready to start a rehab assignment."

Britton will likely begin a rehab assignment Wednesday for Triple-A Norfolk. The 30-year-old left-hander posted a 2.89 ERA in 38 games last season, a year after turning in one of the greatest relief seasons in history -- in 2016, he posted a 0.54 ERA in 69 appearances, saving 47 games.

Meanwhile, the Orioles have decided not to put Trumbo (right knee) on the DL, and hope to have him available to play as early as Monday.

"We're going to wait on him," manager Buck Showalter said. "Obviously he's worth waiting on, so we're going to wait at least another day. … I was talking to him in the dugout [Friday] and he was feeling better it seemed like every hour that passed." More >

Video: BAL@TB: Britton throws simulated game in Tampa Bay

Dexter Fowler and Greg Holland, Cardinals
Fowler left Saturday's 4-1 win over the Pirates after being hit by a pitch on the outside of his right knee. The 32-year-old outfielder, hitting .157/.276/.288 with five home runs in 43 games, is considered day to day but could end up requiring a DL stint. More >

Meanwhile, St. Louis placed Holland on the 10-day DL Saturday with right hip impingement. The former All-Star closer has a 9.45 ERA over 18 appearances so far this season, his first with the Cardinals.

"I wasn't pitching well, and I didn't want to use it as an excuse," Holland said. "It got to a point where I think it's affecting me on the mound. It's at a point where I'm not giving us the best chance to win." More >

Video: STL@PIT: Fowler and Matheny discuss hit by pitch

Justin Upton, Angels
Upton exited the Angels' game against the Yankees Saturday with a left forearm contusion after being hit by a pitch. X-rays were negative. The 30-year-old outfielder is slashing .251/.327/.456 with 11 homers in 51 games this season.

Joe Panik, Giants
San Francisco's second baseman is slated to begin a rehab assignment Monday with Triple-A Sacramento as he works his way back from a left thumb sprain he sustained on April 27. Although the club initially thought he would miss 6-8 weeks, Panik could return to the Giants' lineup by the end of next week, which would shave two weeks off that timetable. In 23 games this season, Panik is hitting .267/.323/.389 with three homers. More >

Jordan Zimmermann, Tigers
Zimmermann (right shoulder impingement) will report to Triple-A Toledo on Sunday for what is expected to be a two-start rehab assignment. The 32-year-old right-hander has a 4.88 ERA in seven starts this season, coming off a career-worst 6.08 ERA in 2017. More >

Yoenis Cespedes, Mets
Cespedes took a significant step in his recovery from a strained right hip flexor, beginning a running progression on the field Friday at Miller Park before the Mets' game against the Brewers. He had previously only been hitting and throwing. The 32-year-old slugger, who has been on the DL since May 14 after initially hurting the hip on May 6, is hitting .255/.316/.474 with eight home runs in 37 games this season. More >

Dee Gordon, Mariners
Gordon took ground balls and did some pregame infield work prior to Seattle's series opener with Minnesota at Safeco Field. The second baseman was placed on the 10-day DL with a broken right big toe last Monday, and he's eligible to come off the DL on Thursday.

"It's calmed down, which is exactly what we were hoping would happen," manager Scott Servais said. "We needed to give it some time. Originally, I thought it would be only about 10 days. Everybody said I'm crazy. I still think it's going to be the 10-day period and you can still call me crazy, but I think that's what we're looking at." More >

Troy Tulowitzki, Blue Jays
Tulowitzki has been cleared by doctors to take the next step in his rehab from surgery to remove bone spurs from both feet, but is still "a ways away" from returning to the Blue Jays, according to manager John Gibbons. Tulowitzki, whose 2017 season ended due to a right ankle injury last July, has been cleared to run on flat ground. The 33-year-old shortstop hit .249/.300/.378 with seven home runs in 66 games for Toronto last season. More >

Bradley Zimmer, Indians
Zimmer could return to the Indians sooner than initially expected, according to Francona. The 25-year-old center fielder suffered a left rib contusion on May 15 when he slammed into the wall in right-center field at Yankee Stadium trying to make a play. Zimmer is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Akron on Saturday. Fellow outfielders Brandon Guyer (left cervical strain) and Lonnie Chisenhall (right calf strain) will also have rehab stints with Akron this weekend. More >

Daniel Murphy and Brian Goodwin, Nationals
Murphy was set to begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Harrisburg on Saturday. The 33-year-old second baseman underwent right knee surgery last October after hitting .322/.384/.543 with a National League-best 43 doubles and 23 homers in 144 games for Washington.

"That's great news for us and definitely headed in the right direction," said manager Dave Martinez, who noted that Murphy has played sparingly in extended spring games because of the weather and an illness. "He's played the last couple of days, four or five innings, and now he's ready for a rehab assignment."

Goodwin, who has been on the DL with a left wrist contusion, will join Murphy in a rehab stint with Harrisburg. The 27-year-old outfielder is hitting .250 (6-for-24) with a homer and two steals in 13 games this season. More >

Carlos Rodon, White Sox
Rodon was making a rehab start with Triple-A Charlotte when he was hit in the forehead by a third-inning line drive Thursday night. He had a laceration that required staples, but is on track to make his next rehab start as he gets closer to returning to the White Sox following offseason left shoulder surgery. More >

Ryan Madson, Nationals
Madson was placed on the 10-day DL (retroactive to May 17) with a strained pectoral muscle and is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Monday. The right-hander hasn't pitched since May 13, due in part to weather postponements, so it's unclear how the injury developed. Though he has a 4.19 ERA this season, his FIP is 2.16. More >

CHICAGO -- The Giants needed multiple contributions on Saturday night to interrupt their season-long offensive struggles on the road, but they succeeded at the plate just enough to emerge with a 5-4 victory over the Cubs.

Gorkys Hernandez, Brandon Crawford and Brandon Belt did the most to generate San Francisco's third win in its last 13 games at Wrigley Field and end its three-game skid overall.

Batting leadoff, Hernandez slapped three hits and scored twice. Crawford continued his magical May with a two-run, fourth-inning homer that opened San Francisco's scoring. Belt stroked a fifth-inning RBI single and a seventh-inning sacrifice fly.

Video: SF@CHC: Hernandez scores on Belt's sacrifice fly

That might not sound like much. But considering the Giants' relative shutdown at the plate away from AT&T Park, this was an offensive bonanza. San Francisco entered the game averaging a Major League-worst 3.11 runs per game on the road and had scored three runs or fewer in 17 of 27 road dates. The numbers had grown uglier since this trip began, as the Giants hit .181 (17-for-94) and mustered five runs in the first three games.

Video: SF@CHC: Cutch plates Hernandez with an RBI double

San Francisco's pitchers guaranteed that doubling this scoring total would be enough. Starter Chris Stratton, who sported an 8.59 ERA in his previous five outings, was competent enough to limit the Cubs to three runs and four hits in five innings with six strikeouts.

Reyes Moronta, Sam Dyson, Tony Watson and Hunter Strickland, who converted his 10th save in 12 chances, combined to fend off the Cubs.

Video: SD@CHC: Strickland earns 10th save of the season