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NEW YORK -- The jaw-dropping drive that will make all of the highlight reels from Monday's 14-1 Yankees victory over the Twins was Giancarlo Stanton's fifth-inning blast to the left-field bleachers, a titanic drive that showcased the superstar's power in convincing fashion.

Yet the plate appearance that excited the Yankees almost as much may have been -- of all things -- a first-inning walk. They believe that free pass teed up Stanton's 4-for-4 performance, as well as the Yankees' persistent attack against Minnesota starter Jake Odorizzi.

"I've been feeling more comfortable," Stanton said. "It was a good day of five good [plate appearances]. Give myself a good chance every at-bat of the game."

As manager Aaron Boone later recounted, Stanton had been at bat in the first inning with Brett Gardner at second base, two outs, and facing an 0-2 count. Stanton spit on a slider, cutter and two fastballs from Odorizzi to work the free pass, then raced home when Gary Sanchez ripped a two-run double two pitches later.

Video: MIN@NYY: Sanchez opens scoring with a two-run double

"He kind of set the tone. He was the guy," Boone said of Stanton. "0-2 count, first inning -- battle, battle, battle, walk. Then he gets the hit. Then home run. Then a couple of sharp-hit balls for add-ons. Really good night for him, and hopefully something that continues to build a little bit of momentum for him toward being the guy that we know he is."

Video: MIN@NYY: Boone on Stanton, Torres, Tanaka after win

Stanton banged a third-inning single to right field before delivering the knockout blow on Odorizzi in the fifth, slugging his fifth home run as a member of the Yankees. The blast came off his bat at 115.7 mph and traveled a Statcast-calculated 435 feet, making it the fourth-longest homer hit by a Yankee so far this year.

Video: MIN@NYY: Statcast™ tracks Stanton's 115.7-mph HR

Stanton drilled a run-scoring single to greet Alan Busenitz in the seventh inning and singled again off Tyler Kinley in the eighth to notch his first four-hit game with the Bombers, raising his average from .185 to .224. It marked Stanton's seventh career game reaching base at least five times, and his fifth career game with four or more hits.

Video: MIN@NYY: Stanton plates Judge with an RBI single

Stanton hadn't enjoyed a multihit game since April 11 at Boston. Standing in front of his locker Monday, he grinned and mentioned that nothing has been easy thus far. When someone followed up on that comment, the slugger quipped: "You ever see a 95-mph fastball?"

"I'm getting to work, man," Stanton said. "Just working, working. Getting the feel right. I've got more to do."

After Stanton endured a 50-at-bat homerless streak between an April 4 homer and his fourth Yankees homer on Friday against the Blue Jays -- the ninth-longest such streak of his career -- the Yanks are delighted to see signs that Stanton's timing is coming around.

"As a hitter, you always love those nights, especially when it's early and you're off to a tough start," Boone said. "You want to start gaining some traction. It can help settle you in and get more and more comfortable."

LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers top prospect Walker Buehler pitched like it in his first MLB start Monday night, throwing five scoreless innings against the Marlins and leaving with a 1-0 lead on a home run by Kiké Hernandez.

Buehler, ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 12 prospect in the game, allowed four hits with five strikeouts and three walks that ran up his pitch count to 89 and prompted his removal.

Buehler had a taxing 26-pitch first inning, with a pair of singles and a walk, escaping the bases-loaded jam by striking out J.B. Shuck on a foul tip, his fastball peaking at 99.5 mph. He struck out the first two batters in the second, then made extra work for himself by walking the pitcher, but got out unscathed.

Slick defensive plays by Hernandez at short and Kyle Farmer at third base made for a 1-2-3 third inning, and the Marlins ran themselves out of the fourth when Cameron Maybin, who led off with a single, was thrown out by catcher Yasmani Grandal trying to steal second.

Buehler's fastball dipped to a peak of 96.4 mph in the fifth inning, and he had to pitch around the second hit by J.T. Realmuto, but he closed out an impressive first career start.

HOUSTON -- Having just shuffled through a tough six-game stretch that produced only one win, the Angels knew they were in for a test against the Astros this week.

They passed the first one with high marks, topping the Astros, 2-0, to take the opener on Monday night at Minute Maid Park before they send Shohei Ohtani to the mound for the second game of the series.

An Astros ninth-inning rally ended on a replay when a safe call on Yuli Gurriel's slide into third was overturned, marking the final out of the game.

The Angels, who will face the top three ERA leaders in the American League during their series in Houston, managed two runs off Gerrit Cole, whose 0.96 ERA entering this start was the second lowest in the AL. Cole took a perfect game into the fifth before the Angels squeezed out a run on Kole Calhoun's base hit to right, and they added one more in the sixth behind Justin Upton's double, which scored Mike Trout from third.

Video: LAA@HOU: Calhoun grounds an RBI single to right field

Tyler Skaggs made the slim lead stick. The left-hander lowered his road ERA even further with seven scoreless frames, walking one batter and striking out three. For the year, Skaggs has allowed only one earned run on the road, spanning 18 1/3 innings. That's a 0.49 road ERA.

Video: LAA@HOU: Skaggs K's three over seven scoreless frames

Albert Pujols remains eight hits away from 3,000, having gone hitless in Monday's opener.

In the next week, the Angels will play the two teams that met in the American League Championship Series in 2017 -- the Astros, who they're playing in Houston this week, and the Yankees, who they'll host this weekend. Monday's win helped the Angels further distance themselves from a 1-5 homestand that included a sweep by the Red Sox and a series loss to the Giants.

UP NEXT
Ohtani will take the mound for his first career start against the Astros on Tuesday at 5:10 p.m. PT. With another win this month, Ohtani can become the first player in Major League history with three wins and three home runs in April. Charlie Morton starts for Houston.

CHICAGO -- Avisail Garcia left Monday's game at Guaranteed Rate Field against Seattle in the second inning after coming up lame while running to first base on a grounder to third.

The White Sox right fielder, who singled in the first off of Mike Leake among the team's seven consecutive hits, suffered a right leg injury about three-quarters of the way down the first-base line and then fell to the ground after getting past first. Trayce Thompson replaced Garcia in the top of the third with the White Sox leading, 7-0. Chicago went on to win, 10-4.

He was diagnosed with a right hamstring strain, and will be re-evaluated Tuesday.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Mac Williamson flexed his muscles again Monday night by clobbering a two-run, sixth-inning homer that helped cement the San Francisco Giants' 4-2 triumph over the Washington Nationals, who lost their third game in a row.

The Giants have won three of their last four games, a stretch that coincides with Williamson's recall from Triple-A Sacramento. He has hit safely in each of those games.

His latest hit was one of his biggest, projected at 464 feet, according to Statcast™. With the Giants clinging to a 2-1 lead, Brandon Belt walked before Williamson rocketed reliever Shawn Kelley's first pitch over the right-center-field barrier to pad San Francisco's cushion. Williamson also had a key home run in his season debut with the Giants last Friday in Anaheim.

Giants starter Chris Stratton (2-1) worked 6 2/3 innings, yielding two runs and four hits while walking three and striking out five.

ARLINGTON -- Marcus Semien's first-pitch go-ahead home run jump-started a six-run ninth inning to help the A's pick up their third straight win, a 9-4 series-opening victory over the host Rangers on Monday at Globe Life Park.

The A's have recorded wins in seven of their last eight games to push past the .500 mark (12-11) for the first time since winning the season opener after starting out 4-8.

Semien's solo shot against right-hander Kevin Jepsen was his third of the season. He also singled and scored in the third in support of right-hander Trevor Cahill, who worked five innings in his second start.

The veteran Cahill held the Rangers to just four hits -- among them a game-tying two-run homer to Robinson Chirinos in the fourth. He was also charged with a wild pitch that led to Texas' first run in the third, after the A's had given him a 2-0 lead in the top half of the inning.

Khris Davis was responsible, driving in two with a double in the third inning, and the A's tacked on a run in the fourth when Mark Canha doubled and scored on a Chad Pinder base hit. The two-run advantage vanished quickly on Chirinos' home run, and they would wait until the last inning to score again.

Following Semien's homer, Jed Lowrie beat out an infield single, and the insurance runs came pouring in: With two outs, Matt Chapman delivered an RBI triple and scored on another hit by Canha. Matt Olson was intentionally walked, and Jake Smolinski responded with a two-run triple. Jonathan Lucroy capped the busy inning with a run-scoring single.

The Rangers staged a rally in the ninth against right-hander Chris Hatcher, who surrendered back-to-back doubles to Adrian Beltre and Joey Gallo with one out before settling down to end the game.

NEW YORK -- The Yankees are pleased they appear to have an answer for what has kept Brandon Drury out of the lineup, and they have been thrilled by the production that Miguel Andujar has contributed while replacing him.

While Drury moves closer to a big league return, tabbed to play in a Minor League rehab game on Wednesday for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre against Columbus, Andujar has played like a star.

Video: MIN@NYY: Sterling calls Andujar's solo home run

The 23-year-old rookie homered in his first at-bat on Monday during a 14-1 win, marking Andujar's seventh straight game with an extra-base hit. He added a double in the sixth inning.

The blast vaulted Andujar into select company; Joe DiMaggio (1937) and Mickey Mantle (1955) were the only previous Yankees to string seven consecutive games with an extra-base hit before age 24.

Video: TOR@NYY: Andujar maintains hot bat with four-hit game

"He's playing good. He's a good player," Drury said. "That was impressive, this last homestand, to watch. He's doing a good job."

Andujar slugged his third big league homer on the first pitch he saw from the Twins' Jake Odorizzi, giving New York a 4-0 lead at the time. Andujar was summoned to the big leagues six days before Drury went on the disabled list in early April, sidelined with severe migraines that were causing the 25-year-old to have blurry vision.

Video: Boone discusses Drury going on the 10-day DL

A battery of tests have revealed that Drury's issues stem from a tendon that runs from the back of his neck to the top of his head. He has been receiving treatment with acupuncture and stimulation.

"I think they have an idea of what it is, and we're going after it each day to figure out how to get it a little bit better," Drury said. "I've had it for a while. It's just nice to have some answers of what it is. Hopefully I can really get back to 100 percent and play the way I know I can."

In the meantime, Andujar continues to state his case for playing time. Andujar raked a career-high four hits in Sunday's 5-1 win over the Blue Jays, becoming the youngest Yankee to go 4-for-4 or better since Derek Jeter did so at 22 years and six days old on July 2, 1996, vs. Boston.

"I like having the problem, that's for sure," manager Aaron Boone said. "Guys are making progress from an injury front, so the more talented guys that we can have in the mix, I look forward to those options. A couple of weeks ago, we were struggling to get a team out there on a couple of those nights.

"Right now, the thought with Brandon is making sure he's right and he gets through these next couple of workouts and gets through the games. He's starting to make forward progress with some of the issues he's had. If he can get past that, we know we've got a really good player. We'll kind of evaluate it and make decisions on that front as we go."

Return to action
Clint Frazier was back in a lineup on Monday for the first time since late February, playing five innings and logging five at-bats in an extended spring game in Clearwater, Fla.

Prior to that contest, Frazier had not taken the field in a game situation since sustaining a concussion in the Yankees' second game of the spring. Boone said that Frazier got a hit, reached on an error and stole a base, coming out feeling "really good."

"It's a really positive step for him," Boone said. "Clint feels like he's finally through it and on his way now. Now it's about getting games under his belt and bouncing back every day."

Boone said that Frazier is scheduled to play in another extended spring game on Tuesday, then work out with Class A Advanced Tampa on Wednesday before playing on Thursday against Charlotte.

Slow going
Frazier has moved ahead of Jacoby Ellsbury, who has no set date to play in Minor League games. Ellsbury played in six Grapefruit League games this spring and has since dealt with a right oblique strain, left hip soreness and plantar fasciitis in his right heel.

"I do expect him to be a player for us at some point this season," Boone said. "He is doing baseball activities and moving in the right direction. As far as a timetable, I'd kind of be guessing at that."

Bombers bits
• Boone said that the Yankees expect a ruling "in the next couple of days" regarding infielder/outfielder Tyler Austin, who is continuing to play following his appeal of a five-game suspension for his role in an April 11 benches-clearing incident against the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

Video: NYY@BOS: Benches clear after Austin is hit by pitch

• The first 18,000 guests on Monday received bobbleheads in commemoration of David Wells' perfect game, which was pitched against the Twins 20 years ago (with a 10-year-old Dellin Betances in the bleachers). Wells was on hand at Yankee Stadium to throw out Monday's ceremonial first pitch.

Long before Louis Eljaua rose to special assistant to the president and general manager of the Cubs, he was the young and energetic top international scout for the Marlins. Back then, his boss was Al Avila, now the general manager for the Tigers.

Eljaua vividly recalls a conversation with Avila in 1998 like it happened yesterday. Each time he tells each the story of that famous call he puts his right thumb to his ear and talks into his right pinkie like it's the old hotel phone he used.

• Top 30 International Prospects list

"I found the guy, Al! I found the guy our owner was looking for. He's 15. Come to Venezuela," Eljaua shrieked through the phone.

Avila, who was in Miami at the time, was not pleased to hear the news. The Marlins had never spent more than $30,000 on an international teen.

Top International Prospects

"Are you crazy, Louis? [Owner] John Henry gives us money and you are going to spend it all on your first trip and the first kid you see? Are you trying to get us all fired? What is wrong with you?"

"I know, I know," Eljaua answered. "Just come see the kid. He's good. You won't be sorry."

That kid was Miguel Cabrera. And less than a year later, the teenager signed with the Marlins for $1.8 million to launch his future Hall of Fame career and forever set the standard for international teenage prospects.

The hunt for the next Cabrera continues, and each year an increasing number of prospects sign when the international signing period begins on July 2; hundreds more will join Major League organizations later this summer.

Led by catcher Diego Cartaya -- who like Cabrera is from Maracay, Venezuela -- the players on MLB Pipeline's 2018 Top 30 International Prospects list represent some of the greatest young talent from across the globe eligible to sign on July 2.

The ultimate goal is nabbing a baseball unicorn like Cabrera. But signing a horse like Cartaya, a hard-hitting catcher with advanced skills, or other emerging international prospects also offer teams options.

Video: Top International Prospects: Diego Cartaya, C

Remember, the Cubs traded top teen Gleyber Torres of Venezuela to the Yankees as part of a deal for Aroldis Chapman in 2016, and the rest is World Series history. Last year, they traded the Dominican Republic's Eloy Jimenez to the White Sox in a deal for Jose Quintana. Both are the top prospects in their organizations. Back in '16, the Red Sox traded Yoan Moncada in a package to the White Sox for pitcher Chris Sale. The A's acquired Franklin Barreto from the Blue Jays in a deal for third baseman Josh Donaldson in '14.

"If you are not investing time and money and effort to sign international players, you are missing out on making your organization one of the best in the game," Eljaua said. "Why would you ignore a market and just focus on one or two ways to acquire talent when these guys are going to play in your system, hopefully in the big leagues, or be a part of a package that helps you fill a missing piece? And it's not all about the money and paying the most money. It's about scouting and working and finding out about makeup and helping your entire system."

Who is signing whom
More than 950 prospects have signed during the international signing period that started July 2, 2017, and that number could increase during the 2018-19 period, because there are thousands who have registered to become eligible.

In addition to prospects from traditional baseball hot spots like the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil and the Bahamas, there are also prospects from places like Europe, the Caribbean islands and Asia who have also registered.

Video: Top International Prospects: Marco Luciano, OF

As far as the list is concerned, Marco Luciano, a power-hitting outfielder from the Dominican Republic, a close second behind Cartaya in the rankings, is linked to the Giants. Outfielder Misael Urbina of Venezuela, who is ranked No. 3, is an advanced hitter expected to have an above-average hit tool and plus speed. He is linked to the Twins. Rounding out the top five is Venezuelan right-handed pitcher Richard Gallardo, linked to the Cubs, and Orelvis Martinez, a power-hitting shortstop from the D.R. sometimes compared to a young Adrian Beltre. The Blue Jays are the favorite to sign Martinez.

Video: Richard Gallardo named top int'l pitching prospect

Breakdown
This year's Top 30 International Prospects list includes 10 players from Venezuela, 16 from the Dominican Republic, three from Cuba and one from Colombia. The positions break down like this: 11 outfielders, eight infielders, seven pitchers and four catchers.

The best athletes at premium positions are the most appealing to international scouts. Three of the top 13 are catchers and three of the top 10 are pitchers. Shortstops and center fielders are also highly coveted in this year's class.

International signing rules, spending
There are specific guidelines for signing prospects like Cartaya: An international player is eligible to sign with a Major League team between July 2 through June 15 of the next year if he is 17 or will turn 17 by the end of the first season of his contract.

Video: Cartaya tops MLB's international prospects list

The rules for signing international prospects are these: Clubs that receive a Competitive Balance Pick in Round B of the Rule 4 Draft receive a pool of $6,025,400 while clubs that receive a Competitive Balance Pick in Round A of the Rule 4 Draft receive $5,504,500. All other clubs receive $4,983,500.

• International amateur free agency & bonus pool money explained

Teams are allowed to trade as much of their international pool money as they would like, but can only acquire 75 percent of a team's initial pool amount. Additionally, signing bonuses of $10,000 or less do not count toward a club's bonus pool, and foreign professional players who are at least 25 years of age and have played as in a foreign league for at least six season are also exempt.

In terms of spending, the Blue Jays, Brewers, D-backs, Mariners, Phillies, Rangers, Red Sox, Rockies, Tigers, Twins and Yankees are expected to be aggressive in the upcoming signing period. The Cubs, Dodgers, Giants and Royals -- teams that will no longer be in the penalty for exceeding their past international bonus pool spending -- are also expected to be very active.

The A's, Astros, Braves, Cardinals, Nationals, Padres, Reds and White Sox are in the maximum penalty, so cannot sign players for more than $300,000 during the upcoming period.

"We are all looking for the next Miguel Cabrera, but I think it's unfair to compare anybody to him because he was just on another level," Eljaua said. "But the reality is, my old team already paid me for that sign. I'm getting paid to find another one. That's what the job is."

BALTIMORE -- Kevin Gausman had his best start of the season on Monday night at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

The righty, working with a tweaked delivery he started using during his last outing in Detroit, worked in and out of the zone. He held Cleveland to four hits over eight brilliant innings. He even recorded an immaculate seventh inning, needing nine pitches to strike out Yonder Alonso, Yan Gomes and Bradley Zimmer.

But it didn't matter. Gausman's effort went for naught as the Orioles' offense continues to struggle at historic proportions. Baltimore was flummoxed by Tribe starter Carlos Carrasco, falling 2-1 to mark its 11th loss in 13 games. After winning the opener on Friday, the Orioles -- held to three or fewer runs for the 16th time in 23 games -- lost three of four to the Indians.

"If we consider ourselves a playoff team, then we've got to compete with those teams, whether it's early in the season, late in the season, whenever," Orioles first baseman Chris Davis said of a tough stretch in the schedule that included 2017 postseason teams like Cleveland.

"We've got to find a way to push a runner across. I hate to try to take anything positive away from a loss, but we're in these games all the way to the end. We've just got to find a way to scratch [across] a few more runs."

Video: CLE@BAL: Showalter talks loss to Indians, Gausman

Ten times already this season the Orioles have scored two or fewer runs. They entered the day with the worst batting average and on-base percentage in the Majors. And Gausman suffered the same fate as his rotation brethren the past two weeks, the hard-luck loser despite an outing that he should be proud of.

Gausman has made three consecutive quality starts and, like Dylan Bundy and Andrew Cashner, is pitching well enough to win games. On Monday, he got better as things went along, ending things emphatically with an eighth-inning strikeout of Jason Kipnis.

"When you get kind of hot like that, as a starter, it makes it a lot easier," Gausman said. "You get quick outs and are able to get some strikeouts in there on really good pitches. I threw too many pitches early in the game, but I was able to come back and get some big outs."

Video: CLE@BAL: Gausman tosses eight outstanding innings

But as Baltimore falls further and further back in the standings, it is becoming tougher and tougher to see the positive in each defeat.

The Orioles are frustrated, as evidenced by center fielder Adam Jones slamming down his helmet after stranding two runners in the eighth. They aren't getting the breaks or the bounces, and they're squandering some really good starting pitching.

"There's things that we gained from them pitching well in the bullpen. You're talking about W's and L's. Yeah, when you get that type of pitching performance, you feel like you need to win the game," O's manager Buck Showalter said. "But they got a good pitching performance, and that's why they're as successful as they are. You're sitting there looking at Carrasco and you're looking at [Andrew] Miller and [Cody] Allen. It's pretty tough going. So, when you get a chance to cash something in, you better do it."

The only two runs allowed by Gausman came on Alonso's homer in the second inning. He retired 21 of the next 23 batters after that, striking out seven and walking just one.

Video: CLE@BAL: Alonso crushes a two-run shot to center

But those two runs were all Carrasco would need. The righty, who threw just 49 pitches to get through five innings, held the O's to one run over 7 1/3 frames to improve to 4-0 and run his consecutive win streak to 10.

The Orioles looked poised to have a big inning in the second after a pair of singles by Jones and Davis put runners on the corners and, one out later, Chance Sisco's single brought the O's within a run. But Carrasco snagged Anthony Santander's screaming liner back up the middle and fired to first base to easily double up Davis.

Video: CLE@BAL: Sisco drives in Jones with an RBI single

Carrasco pitched around a one-out double in the seventh by Danny Valencia, striking out Sisco and getting Santander to fly out.

"We had a couple hard-hit balls that … I thought the double play with Santander was tough because that ball's probably headed up the middle," Showalter said of the second-inning liner. "When you're having your struggles offensively, those are the type of things that seem to happen."

Video: CLE@BAL: Carrasco catches quick liner, turns DP

MOMENT THAT MATTERED
For the second consecutive game, the Orioles chased a Tribe starter only to deal with Miller. After a one-out single by Tim Beckham ended Carrasco's night, Miller struck out pinch-hitter Trey Mancini. Manny Machado -- named the co-American League Player of the Week -- found a hole at short to give the O's two baserunners, but Jones grounded out to quash the rally.

Video: CLE@BAL: Miller induces forceout to end the inning

MANCINI BACK, BECKHAM HURT
Mancini, who left Friday's game after slamming his right knee into the unpadded part of the outfield wall, pinch-hit for Pedro Alvarez and struck out in the eighth inning.

Beckham, who singled before Mancini hit, was removed for pinch-hitter Luis Sardinas. The infielder is dealing with groin and Achilles soreness.

"I'll know a lot more tomorrow and after tonight, but it's a concern," Showalter said of Beckham, who was examined by head athletic trainer Brian Ebel after his one-out single. "I'm a little more concerned about the groin right now. Really, both of them." More >

Video: CLE@BAL: Beckham singles, later exits in the 8th

SOUND SMART
Gausman is the first Orioles pitcher to record an immaculate inning since 1988.

HE SAID IT
"I didn't realize it until I got in the dugout. [My teammates] were a little more pumped up than they'd normally be. Told me I tied Major League history or something. I did it in college once before. But to do it in the big leagues is obviously a little different." -- Gausman, on the immaculate inning

UP NEXT
Alex Cobb will face his former team at 7:05 p.m. ET on Tuesday as Tampa Bay comes to town. Cobb took the loss after surrendering seven runs (five earned) on 10 hits in 3 1/3 innings on Thursday against Detroit. Cobb's Orioles tenure is off to a rocky start, as he has allowed 15 runs (12 earned) through just seven innings in his first two starts. He'll be opposed by righty Jake Faria.