It's a regular-season Major League Baseball Sunday, which means we're treated to 14 day games and one ESPN-telecast night game. Remember, this post is updating all day and night, so keep coming back and/or hitting the refresh button. Let's get to it. 

Final scores/live games

Astros 6, Rays 4 in 10 (box score)
Reds 7, Cubs 5 (box score)
Pirates 2, Yankees 1 (box score)
Red Sox 6, Orioles 2 (box score)
Phillies 5, Braves 2 (box score)
Cardinals 6, Brewers 4 (box score)
Tigers 13, Twins 4 (box score)
White Sox 6, Indians 2 (box score)
Rangers 5, Royals 2 (box score)
Rockies 8, Giants 0 (box score)
Blue Jays 6, Angels 2 (box score)
Dodgers 6, Diamondbacks 2 (box score)
Mariners 11, Athletics 1 (box score)
Marlins 7, Padres 3 (box score)
Nationals 6, Mets 3 (box score)

Nationals win duel, sweep Mets

The pitching matchup in Sunday night's game between the Nationals and Mets had the potential to be good. That's true almost anytime Max Scherzer, the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, is involved. Opposing Scherzer in this case was Zack Wheeler, who has proven to be a capable mid-rotation starter -- albeit one coming off his best start since returning from elbow surgery.

You might look at the runs allowed column (seven combined) and think Scherzer and Wheeler let everyone down. But each enjoyed more moments of brilliance than not.

Take Wheeler for example. He allowed a first-inning grand slam to former teammate Daniel Murphy, then locked in, yielding just one hit in his final six frames. Overall, Wheeler finished the night with six strikeouts and two walks. Not bad. Add in how that grand slam was precipitated by a hit-by-pitch and infield single (plus a more conventional single by Bryce Harper), and Mets fans have reason to feel good about Wheeler's night.

The Mets sure need some good news, given how Josh Smoker subsequently allowed the Nationals to pull away by way of a Ryan Zimmerman home run, thus ensuring the victory and the weekend series sweep.

As for Scherzer, he found some trouble in the first inning, too, as Michael Conforto smacked a leadoff home run to get the Mets on the board. It was the first home run Scherzer had allowed this season. He later allowed his second, a two-run shot, to Michael Conforto. Outside of those blips, Scherzer was his usual dominant self. He struck out nine (walking just one) over eight innings, and allowed just five hits -- three to the aforementioned Conforto. Scherzer also kept this streak alive:

Obviously it's too early to obsess over the standings, but it's worth noting that the Nationals' sweep gives them a 5.5-game lead over the Mets -- the team most everyone had pegged as their top competition in the NL EastApril or not, every game counts -- even if the Mets wished otherwise.

McCarthy offers change of pace for Dodgers

The Dodgers rotation has been a sore spot all season -- what with Rich Hill, Scott Kazmir, and Brock Stewart injured, and Kenta Maeda and Hyun-jin Ryu pitching ineffectively. Consider it a good sign, then, that on Sunday Brandon McCarthy became the first Dodgers starter besides Clayton Kershaw to complete seven or more innings:

McCarthy threw seven frames of two-run ball against the Diamondbacks. He six baserunners and yielded a home run to Paul Goldschmidt, but was also able to fan six before giving way to the bullpen. McCarthy has now allowed two runs or fewer while throwing five innings or more in each of his four starts to begin the year. His 99 pitches were a new season-high.

Stroman throws another complete game

The Blue Jays season has started as poorly as possible, but it's not Marcus Stroman's fault. Stroman threw his second complete game on Sunday, holding the Angels to two runs while striking out five batters. Better yet, unlike his previous coast-to-coast effort, a loss against the Brewers, this time the Blue Jays were able to scratch out a victory. 

Toronto's offense waited until the last two innings to plate all six of its runs. The Jays saw Kevin Pillar, Devon Travis, and Ryan Goins each hit home runs. Pillar also made this play on defense:

For Stroman, the game represented a nice rebound effort following a stinker against the Red Sox. Consider that he allowed six runs in that game, as opposed to five runs in his other three starts combined. Sunday also saw Stroman continue his efficient ways, as he finished the day on his 99th pitch. In his other complete game, he threw a season-high 100 pitches. 

Motter's run continues

Earlier on Sunday, the Mariners designated center fielder Leonys Martin for assignment -- a surprising move, albeit one that sees a disappointing team shed a disappointing player. Still, while Mariners fans have plenty to feel sad about -- Martin's demise included -- Sunday provided some feel-good moments, including yet another home run from Taylor Motter.

Acquired from the Rays as part of an afterthought trade, Motter hit his team-leading fifth home run. Not bad considering he has significantly fewer plate appearances than the likes of Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz, Kyle Seager, and even Mitch Haniger. Oh, and by the way? It was Motter's first big-league grand slam:

Seattle's roster shakeup doesn't necessarily mean more playing time is coming Motter's way -- Jean Segura is expected back soon; Kyle Seager's hip injury seems minor; Dan Vogelbach is probably getting the burn at first base; and so on -- the Mariners will have to find an everyday spot for him soon if he keeps up this level of production.

Red Sox power up, get some revenge

Let's set the table here. The Red Sox dropped the first two games in Baltimore for the weekend series, scoring only two runs total. They were dead last in home runs and hadn't yet hit multiple home runs in a game. Also, Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez was originally signed by the Orioles, then traded to the Red Sox for Andrew Miller in 2014 just in front of the trade deadline. Further, Dustin Pedroia was injured on Friday by a Manny Machado slide that seemed to lack intent to injure, but did injure nonetheless. 

Got all that? Good. Onward ...

The Red Sox would homer twice in the first inning, making them the last of the 30 MLB teams with a multi-homer game. Mookie Betts hit his second home run of the season (a three-run shot that can be seen here) while Hanley Ramirez finally got on the board with his first. Later, Mitch Moreland would homer. 

Meantime, Rodriguez worked six scoreless innings, no-hitting the Orioles for several innings and only allowing one hit (he did walk five, though). 

In the eighth inning, with a 6-0 lead, Red Sox reliever Matt Barnes hit Manny Machado with a pitch, too, causing old school types to celebrate while new-school types were infuriated. Barnes was tossed, but there wasn't a fight. Cameras did catch Pedroia telling Machado "that wasn't me" and "you know it and I know it" with Machado appearing to say all was cool between the two of them (video on Twitter here). 

Regardless, one could probably find about four ways the Red Sox got some measure of "revenge" in this one.

The Red Sox move to 11-8 while the Orioles still have the best record in the AL at 12-5. 

Nova quiets former team

Since joining the Pirates last season, former Yankees starting pitcher Ivan Nova has been very good. He headed into Sunday with a 2.87 ERA in 14 starts for the Pirates. Things weren't much different on Sunday against his former squad. 

Nova would work seven innings, allowing only one run on four hits. He struck out seven and walked one. Nova has now thrown 91 2/3 innings with the Pirates and walked only four batters. He's also completed four games. Consider that your stat of the day.

ivan-nova.jpg
Nova threw the ball as well as those uniforms on Sunday looked.  USATSI

Phillies power up late

The Braves and Phillies were locked in a pitchers' duel going into the eighth inning, with a 1-1 tie. In the matter of just a few minutes, the Phillies had a 5-1 lead. 

Cesar Hernandez gave the Phillies the lead with a two-run shot (video here), followed by an Aaron Altherr homer (video here), which was then followed by an Odubel Herrera bomb (video here). 

The Phillies went back-to-back-to-back, safely putting the game away. 

Hernandez and Altherr are off to great starts to the season, too. The lines: 

Hernandez: .338/.376/.563, 4 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 3 SB
Altherr: .364/.417/.667, 4 2B, 2 HR, 2 SB

The Phillies completed a sweep on Sunday over the Braves, moving them to 9-9 on the year while the Braves drop to 6-12. 

cesar-hernandez.jpg
Cesar Hernandez is off to a great start this season. USATSI

Reds stave off Cubs comeback

On Tuesday, the Cubs came back to beat the Brewers after trailing 5-0. On Wednesday, it was a 4-1 deficit that the Cubs overcame to win. On Friday, it was 5-2 entering the ninth before an extra-innings win. On Saturday, the Cubs just pounded the Reds with the longball. 

So when the Reds got out to a 7-2 lead in the sixth inning on Sunday, we'll forgive anyone who assumed the Cubs would come back to win the game. They did get the first two runners on in the seventh, but could only muster one run. 

In the ninth, Reds fans definitely had to sweat this one out. Ben Zobrist doubled, Addison Russell and Jason Heyward followed with singles and it was 7-5 with with one on and no out. 

Uh oh.

Instead, Reds reliever Raisel Iglesias kept his composure and induced an inning-altering double play off the bat of Miguel Montero. Willson Contreras followed with a harmless fly out to left and the Reds salvaged one of their three games against the defending champs. 

The Reds are back above the .500 mark at 10-9 while the Cubs hold onto first place at 10-8. 

Stick around for many updates throughout the day

Quick hits