Harper's grand slam inspires Nats, Jays go back-to-back

Trailing 1-0 in the third inning, Harper blasted his 100th homer of his career via a maiden grand slam as the Nationals saw off the Braves in Washington.

Josh Donaldson and Troy Tulowitzki both homered to lead the Toronto Blue Jays past the New York Yankees 4-2.

Donaldson's fifth home run of the season sparked a turnaround in Toronto, as the Blue Jays won the three-game series, after dropping the opener.

The Baltimore Orioles suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time this season, beaten 6-3 by the rallying Texas Rangers and a nine-run fifth inning helped the Colorado Rockies to an 11-6 win over the San Francisco Giants.

Nick Castellanos starred as the in-form Detroit Tigers clinched their series against the Pittsburgh Pirates courtesy of a 7-4 victory.

The Cleveland Indians blanked the Tampa Bay Rays 6-0, the St Louis Cardinals shut out the Milwaukee Brewers 7-0 and the Philadelphia Phillies were 3-0 shut-out winners against the San Diego Padres.

World Series champions the Kansas City Royals accounted for the Houston Astros 6-2, the Chicago Cubs crushed the Cincinnati Reds 8-1, the Chicago White Sox downed the Minnesota Twins 3-1, while the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-2.VELASQUEZ SHUTS OUT PADRES, DONALDSON LIFTS JAYS

After tossing six scoreless innings against the New York Mets last week with nine strikeouts, Phillies starting pitcher Vincent Velasquez backed it up by throwing a three-hit shutout with 16 strikeouts in a win against the Padres. Velasquez had no walks in his first career complete game.

Donaldson produced when it mattered most, going deep with a three-run homer down centre field in the fifth inning.

BRYANT GOES DEEP AGAIN

After failing to hit a home run in his first seven games, Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant bashed his second homer in as many games.

HARPER MAKES HISTORY, TWINS AND BRAVES REMAIN WINLESS

The Nats star became the first player in MLB history whose 100th career home run was his first career grand slam. He also became the eighth-youngest to reach the milestone after sending a Julio Teheran offering into the seats.

The Twins and Braves both fell to 0-9, which marks just the second time in the modern era (since 1900) that two teams have dropped this many games to start a season.ROCKIES AND CUBS TO CLASH IN BLOCKBUSTER

Two of the best line-ups in MLB face off as the Rockies try to bring some of their home success to the road against the Cubs in Chicago on Friday. The Tigers have been on a tear offensively this season. There are still questions surrounding their bullpen, but everything is pointing towards a return to the post-season if everyone can stay healthy as they prepare to meet the Astros.