The fans had already seen what they came for. They had greeted Chase Utley upon his return to Philadelphia with a standing ovation of nearly 90 seconds. And Utley had returned the favor with a home run and subsequent curtain call in the fifth.

Not one of Jose Altuve’s 3,464 Major League plate appearances had come against this pitcher — Cardinals closer Seung Hwan Oh. Another hitter might take a pitch, maybe get a feel for the delivery and the fastball movement. Baseball’s best hitter had a different thought process.

Noah Syndergaard helped the Mets avoid falling back below .500, prevented them from losing ground in the National League Wild Card race and notched his first victory since July 3. He even helped himself out with a two-run homer in a 7-5 win over the D-backs on Tuesday night at Chase Field.

As Cubs pitcher Jason Hammel was leaving the interview room Tuesday night, he quipped: “It only took me 10 years to get to .500.”

Twins right-hander Ervin Santana tossed seven scoreless innings against the Braves, notching his third straight win and fifth straight quality start.

The Owners Meetings will be held this week in Houston, with the status of negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement expected to dominate both the formal and informal discussions.

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo showed his daredevil acrobatic skills in the fifth inning Tuesday night.

Corey Kluber made it known early that Chicago would be in for a long night in what developed into a 3-1 victory for the Indians on Tuesday.

Alex Bregman notched his first career home run, a two-run shot over the right-field wall in the first inning of Tuesday night’s 8-5 loss to the Cardinals. The homer tied the score at 2 and gave Bregman, who started his career 2-for-38, his 14th career hit.

Batting practice for the Rays ended at 5:15 p.m. ET, just about two hours before first pitch. And when the game started, Tampa Bay picked right up where it left off in a 15-1 win over San Diego on Tuesday.

It was shaping into a painful Tuesday night for the slumping Brewers.

The Royals won a battle of solo home runs, including Raul Mondesi’s first Major League homer off Justin Verlander, in a 6-1 win over the Tigers on Tuesday night.

Jason Hammel continued his stingy ways, and got some stellar help from his defense, including first baseman Anthony Rizzo, as the Cubs blanked the Brewers, 4-1, on Tuesday night to sweep the doubleheader. Chicago won Tuesday’s first game at Wrigley Field, 4-0.

With another five games to play at Camden Yards this season, Mookie Betts has already put on the best power display by any visiting player in the history of a venue that opened in 1992.

Experience the joy of Anthony Rizzo’s catch through the faces of the people who were there.

Thor go boom.

Indians ace Corey Kluber continued his recent dominance, outdueling left-hander Jose Quintana to lift the Tribe past the White Sox, 3-1, on Tuesday night at Progressive Field. First-place Cleveland has now won seven straight games over Chicago. In all seven games, the White Sox have scored three runs or fewer.