Cal Raleigh broke Johnny Bench’s record for home runs by a catcher before the All-Star break, hitting his major league-leading 28th and 29th in the Seattle Mariners’ 9-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Friday.

Legendary Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa returned to Wrigley Field for the first time in more than 20 years before Chicago’s game with the Seattle Mariners.

Sammy Sosa appeared to acknowledge using performance-enhancing drugs during a career in which he hit more than 600 home runs, and the Chicago Cubs said they were ready to welcome him back.

Aaron Judge hit his major-league leading 48th homer and Gerrit Cole allowed one hit in six innings to become the fourth active pitcher to reach 150 career wins as the New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Guardians 6-0.

Shohei Ohtani has hit a 493-foot home run — the longest of his major league career — to become the ninth player to reach 30 homers in a season by July 1.

The Chicago Cubs plan to honor Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg with a statue outside Wrigley Field and put him in an exclusive club that includes Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Ron Santo, Ferguson Jenkins and Harry Caray.

New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge has been voted The Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year.

Aaron Judge has hit his 62nd home run of the season to break Roger Maris’ American League record.

Roger Maris Jr. considers the home run feats of Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa to be illegitimate and says Aaron Judge should be recognized as the holder of the big league season standard if the New York Yankees slugger hits No. 62.

When Aaron Judge’s American League record-tying 61st home run dropped into Toronto’s bullpen, coach Matt Buschmann picked it up.

Shohei Ohtani vs.

Sal Durante was 19 when he caught Roger Maris’ record-breaking 61st home run in 1961.

Aaron Judge and Albert Pujols could make this a milestone week for home runs.

Aaron Judge hit his 58th and 59th home runs of the season to move within two of Roger Maris’ American League record with 16 games remaining and lead the New York Yankees over the Milwaukee Brewers 12-8.

Aaron Judge homered for the fourth straight game, hitting No. 55 of the year in a doubleheader opener against Minnesota to set the New York Yankees’ season record for right-handed hitters.

The playoff-hopeful Seattle Mariners are holding their collective breath that All-Star rookie Julio Rodríguez isn’t seriously injured.

Aaron Judge became the second-fastest player in major league history to reach 200 career home runs, and the New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals 8-2.

Yankees star Aaron Judge became the second-fastest player in major league history to reach 200 career home runs with a two-run drive in the second inning for New York against the Kansas City Royals.

The McGwire family is set to see the other side of things in one of baseball’s best rivalries.

Ryan Mountcastle, Trey Mancini and the surprising Baltimore Orioles try on Sunday for their eighth straight win, which would match their best streak in 17 years.

Baseball fans reacted with a mix of resignation, dismay, sadness and anger when MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced Tuesday that opening day on March 31 has been canceled over a labor dispute.

With Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling off the ballot, next year’s Baseball Hall of Fame vote figures to be a bit less contentious.

David Ortiz, Ryan Howard, Tim Lincecum and Alex Rodriguez are among 13 first-time candidates on the Hall of Fame ballot of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, joining 17 holdovers.

Pete Alonso danced to his second straight Home Run Derby title, besting Shohei Ohtani, Trey Mancini and Juan Soto on a night of record long balls in the thin Rocky Mountain air of Coors Field.

The Shohei Ohtani Show at Coors Field starts with the All-Star Home Run Derby, with fans wondering how far the Angels’ two-way sensation and other sluggers can hit the ball in Denver’s thin air.

Shohei Ohtani went deep twice to reach 30 home runs on the season and then scored the winning run on Jared Walsh’s two-out single in the ninth inning, giving the Los Angeles Angels an 8-7 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

Kyle Schwarber’s exploits have now progressed into truly rarified air.

Kyle Schwarber led off the first inning with his 12th home run in 10 games, and the Washington Nationals beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 to move above.

Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani is expected to become the second player and first since Babe Ruth to start on the mound and hit in the top half of the batting order in the Bronx.

Washington’s Kyle Schwarber led off the first inning against Tampa Bay with his 12th home run in 10 games, tying Albert Belle in 1995 for the most over that span since at least 1901.

Los Angeles Dodgers' Mookie Betts hits his third home run of a baseball game during the fifth inning against the San Diego Padres, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)LOS ANGELES Mookie Betts hit three home runs Thursday night for the sixth time in his career, matching a major league record held by Sammy Sosa and Hall of Famer Johnny Mize. With a chance to tie the big league mark of four home runs in one game, Betts reached on an infield single in the seventh. Betts batted in the leadoff spot, where manager Dave Roberts has been reluctant to lock him in. The 2018 AL MVP said when he was acquired from Boston in a blockbuster trade during the offseason that he thought he'd be hitting leadoff with Los Angeles.

With a chance to tie the big league mark of four home runs in one game, Betts reached on an infield single in the seventh. Betts was hit by a pitch and scored on Corey Seager's two-run shot to right on an 0-2 pitch from Chris Paddack (2-2). Betts connected on a two-run shot to left field with two outs in the second for a 5-2 lead. Austin Barnes and Betts went deep back-to-back in the fourth, extending the Dodgers' lead to 9-2. Barnes' two-run shot landed in the left-field pavilion and Betts followed with a solo shot to the same area.

The last two episodes of the 10-part Michael Jordan documentary, strung out over the last five Sunday nights, averaged 5.9 million viewers, the Nielsen company said. ABC averaged 3.9 million viewers, NBC had 3.5 million, Fox had 2.8 million, Univision had 1.5 million, ION Television had 1.2 million, Telemundo had 900,000 and the CW had 660,000. Fox News Channel was the most-watched cable network in prime time, averaging 3.39 million viewers. ABC's World News Tonight led the evening newscasts with an average of 10 million viewers last week. NBC's Nightly News had 8.8 million viewers and the CBS Evening News had 6 million.