Tim Beckham cranked a three-run home run off Astros starter Scott Kazmir to cap a two-out rally and a four-run outburst in the first inning that lifted the Rays to a 9-2 win in the series opener Monday night at Minute Maid Park.

Colin Rea won for the second time in as many Major League starts and Matt Kemp had a home run Monday night as the Padres topped the Braves, 5-3, at Petco Park.

Facing one of baseball’s premium pitchers on Monday, the Orioles continued to soar, using a key three-run homer from Steve Clevenger — in a fourth inning that featured the first of three Oakland errors — to hang on for a 4-2 win and a four-game sweep of the A’s at Camden Yards.

The St. Louis Cardinals now have an entire outfield on the disabled list. But they also have the best record in the Major Leagues. There aren’t too many clubs that can pull off that kind of contrast.

Yankees right-hander Bryan Mitchell sustained a small nasal fracture after being struck in the face by a line drive during his start against the Twins on Monday evening, leaving the game in the second inning before the Yankees walked off in the 10th for an 8-7 win.

No need to remind Michael Wacha of the time and place he last faced the Giants before taking the mound in the Cardinals’ 2-1 win on Monday night in the series opener against the defending World Series champs. He’ll relive the moment forever, be it on unwelcome postseason highlight reels or in his own mind.

Rookie left-hander Justin Nicolino pitched into the seventh inning and Derek Dietrich hit a two-run home run as the Marlins won for the fifth time in seven games, 6-2, over the Brewers on Monday night at Miller Park.

Shin-Soo Choo has been rolling at the plate since the All-Star break. On Monday night in a 4-3 victory over the Mariners, he added another element to his growing contributions to the Rangers’ playoff surge.

Having already put a third outfielder on the disabled list earlier in the day, the Cardinals watched Jason Heyward last only two innings in Monday night’s 2-1 win over the Giants. Heyward was removed due to left hamstring tightness, the club announced.

With a dominant but overworked bullpen and a grueling stretch schedule laid out on either side of them, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle openly wished Monday afternoon for a seven-inning start at some point in the near future.

Adrian Beltre walked with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth against reliever Fernando Rodney to give the Rangers a 4-3 victory over the Mariners on Monday night. The Rangers have won five straight games, and eight in a row at home.

The Dodgers dismissed a significant portion of their international scouting department on Monday, including vice president Bob Engle. Also dismissed were Patrick Guerrero, the Dodgers’ scouting coordinator in Latin America; Franklin Taveras, the club’s scouting coordinator in the Dominican Republic; Joseph Reaves, the director of international and Minor League relations; Rafael Colon, special advisor for international player performance; Hidenori Sueyoshi, senior manager of international scouting; and Bruce Hurst, Latin America field coordinator, a source told MLB.com. The club did not confirm the front-office changes.

A’s center fielder Billy Burns robbed Orioles slugger Chris Davis of a home run for the second out of the seventh inning in an otherwise rough 4-2 series-sweeping loss on Monday at Camden Yards

The Rangers won their first game with Cole Hamels on the mound on Monday night.

This all could be so easy. This 2015 season has been defined, in large measure, by baseball’s youth, and Mike Trout is the face of the youth movement. But Josh Donaldson is not making this easy.

Before a pitch was even thrown in Monday night’s game between the Red Sox and Indians, a 14-year-old boy stole the show at Fenway Park. Christopher Duffley, who is blind and autistic, delivered a moving performance of the national anthem on Autism Speaks Night and was loudly cheered before and after he sang.

Steve Clevenger was born on Aug. 5, 1986, in Baltimore. He went to high school at Mount St. Joseph in Baltimore. He was traded to the Orioles in July 2013, ultimately ending up in Baltimore. The Orioles’ catcher fulfilled a lifelong dream of most kids who grow up in Baltimore playing baseball: hit a home run at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.