Sports
Defending champion Arnya Sabalenka sails through third round at Miami Open
Mar 22, 2026; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Aryna Sabalenka hits a forehand against Caty McNally (USA) (not pictured) on day six of the 2026 Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka won 10 of the last 12 games in dispatching Caty McNally 6-4, 6-2 in one hour, 25 minutes in a third-round match on Sunday night at the Miami Open.
Sabalenka of Belarus, coming off the BNP Paribas Open championship at Indian Wells, Calif., is defending her title in Miami Gardens, Fla.
It wasn’t all that easy, as Sabalenka blew a 4-2 lead in the first set for 4-4, then needed six deuces to hold serve — despite a 15-30 start — before breaking McNally’s serve for the third time to win the set.
Sabalenka converted 5 of 8 break points in the match, to 2 of 3 for McNally, and won 67.4% of her first serve points (29 of 43), to 55.3% (21 of 38) for her American opponent.
Next up for Sabalenka is No. 23 Qinwen Zheng of China, who had a much tougher match in beating 15th-seeded Madison Keys of the United States 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 in two hours, 17 minutes.
“The ball was just like a bomb for me at the beginning,” Zheng said of the early going against Keys. “I couldn’t react. I haven’t had this speed of match in a long time.”
Zheng would catch up, finishing with 31 winners — 23 in the last two sets — to Keys’ 15. Zheng had more aces (11-4) and fewer double faults (3-5). She converted four of 13 break-point opportunities, but Keys succeeded on just 2 of 12.
Sabalenka won the first six meetings against Zheng, who won two of the next three of nine total.
“I’ll focus on myself. I’ll focus on my game. I’ll try to stay focused from the first point ‘til the last,” Sabalenka said of playing Zheng. “She’s an incredible player. We played a lot of matches. I have a good record against her, but it doesn’t say anything. It’s always tough battles. I’m always looking forward to play her. It’s always a fight and I really enjoy it.”
Third-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan defeated No. 27 Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-3, 6-4. No. 5 Jessica Pegula downed No. 26 Leah Fernandez of Canada 6-2, 6-2.
Other high seeds didn’t make it out of the round. No. 7 Jasmine Paolini of Italy was knocked out by No. 25 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 5-7, 6-2, 7-5. No. 9 Elina Svitolina of Ukaine fell to American Hailey Baptiste 6-3, 7-5. No. 11 Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia was eliminated by No. 34 Jaqueline Cristian of Romania 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (5).
Australia’s Talia Gibson, coming off of a quarterfinal run at Indian Wells where she earned her first three top-20 wins, notched her fifth on Sunday. Gibson, who beat Naomi Osaka in straight sets on Saturday, downed 18th-seeded Iva Jovic of the United States 6-2, 6-2 on Sunday.
Gibson did not face a break point while converting four of eight.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Blaze Alexander, Orioles finish sweep of Rays in dominant fashion
May 27, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson (2) celebrates with Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman (35) after hitting a home run during the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images Gunnar Henderson hit the first of his two home runs in Baltimore’s five-run first inning as the Orioles beat the visiting Tampa Bay Rays 11-2 on Wednesday night to complete a three-game sweep against the team with the best record in the American League.
Rookie Trey Gibson took a shutout into the sixth inning to gain his first victory.
Blaze Alexander drove in six runs with a single, double and home run, Coby Mayo scored three runs and Adley Rutschman added three hits, including two doubles.
Henderson’s two-run shot in the first inning opened the scoring and he drilled a solo blast to lead off the sixth. Alexander, in the No. 8 spot in the batting order, clobbered a two-run homer in the seventh.
Baltimore’s first five batters of the game scored off Tampa Bay starter Steven Matz (4-2). Leody Taveras rapped a run-scoring single and Alexander had a two-run single.
Hunter Feduccia had three hits and Jonathan Aranda posted two hits for the Rays, who’ve lost four games in a row for the first time this season.
Gibson (1-0), who was placed back on the roster earlier in the day as the Orioles slightly shuffled their rotation, worked 5 2/3 innings and gave up one run and six hits and four walks. He struck out one.
The Rays grounded into three double plays across the first five innings.
Matz was charged with six runs on seven hits in three innings.
The Orioles pushed their lead to 6-0 in the third on Tyler O’Neill’s single. Alexander’s two-run double in the fifth added to the margin.
The Rays used Hunter Bigge and Jonathan Heasley, who allowed two runs in his first inning and one more in his next inning, in relief. In his first appearance of the season, Heasley was tagged for five runs on eight hits over four innings.
Tampa Bay loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth and managed only one run on Ryan Vilade’s walk before three straight strikeouts ended the threat.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Liberty ride 23-0 third-quarter surge to victory over Mercury
May 27, 2026; Brooklyn, New York, USA; New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (30) brings the ball up court while defended by Phoenix Mercury forward Marta Suarez (77) during the first half at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images Marine Johannes scored a game-high 21 points and her New York Liberty went on a 23-0 run to close the third quarter en route to an 84-74 win over the visiting Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday.
Johannes made a career-high seven 3-pointers, missing just twice from long range. The Liberty also got 17 points and 12 rebounds from Jonquel Jones, while Breanna Stewart contributed 11 points and six boards.
Kahleah Copper led Phoenix with 19 points, but she shot just 6 of 18 from the floor. Natasha Mack added 14 points, and Alyssa Thomas posted nine points, seven rebounds and nine assists.
New York (4-4) broke a three-game losing streak, its worst skid since 2002. Phoenix (2-6) took its fourth loss in a row.
The contest was a rematch of last year’s playoffs, when Phoenix eliminated New York by winning two of three in a first-round series.
Two players made their season debut: New York’s Leonie Fiebich and Phoenix’s Monique Akoa Makani. Fiebich, who was late to the party because she was finishing her Spanish League season, scored nine points in 33 minutes. Akoa Makani, who was finishing her season in France, put up nine points in 19 minutes.
In addition, New York’s Betnijah Laney-Hamilton returned after missing three games due to personal reasons. She scored seven points off the bench.
New York was without All-Stars Sabrina Ionescu (sore back) and Satou Sabally (illness). Sabally played for Phoenix last year.
The Liberty led 24-22 after an exciting first quarter that included 12 points and three assists from Johannes. She made 4 of 5 from 3-point range and also had a behind-the-back pass for an assist.
Phoenix took its first lead of the game, 31-29, on a Copper 3-pointer with 7:03 left in the second quarter, capping a 7-0 run. By halftime, Phoenix led, 43-42.
The second quarter featured six Liberty turnovers and none by Phoenix.
Johannes led all first-half scorers with 15 points on 5-for-6 shooting from beyond the arc. Copper topped Phoenix with 10 points before the break.
Jones scored 10 points in the decisive third quarter. At one point, New York forced five consecutive turnovers, and the Liberty entered the fourth with a 72-55 lead.
The Mercury never got the margin down to single digits in the final quarter.
For the game, New York shot 14-for-30 (46.7%) on 3-point attempts. Phoenix shot 10-for-30 (33.3%), and the Liberty also had a 26-9 edge in points off turnovers.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Ian Happ breaks out of slump, Cubs snap 10-game skid vs. Pirates
May 27, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Chicago Cubs left fielder Ian Happ (8) hits a two-run single against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Ian Happ drove in five runs and ignited a six-run seventh inning with a three-run home run that eventually helped the Chicago Cubs snap a 10-game losing streak with a 10-4 win over the host Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night.
The Cubs last scored 10 runs in a game in their prior win May 15th before the losing streak began. The skid was the longest active losing streak in the majors and the longest for the Cubs since June 4-16, 2022. Chicago won for only the third time in its past 17 games.
Happ finished with two hits, marking his first multi-hit game since May 15th after he entered the game mired in a 2-for-31 slump.
Happ’s 11th home run of the season off Pittsburgh reliever Yohan Ramirez (2-2) helped the Cubs break a 4-4 tie on the way to snapping the Pirates’ three-game winning streak.
After Seiya Suzuki Happ’s homer with a single, Michael Conforto belted his fourth homer of the season off Justin Lawrence to add two more runs. Michael Busch capped the frame with an RBI single.
The Cubs opened the game with two runs in the first on a 2-run single by Happ and another in the second on an RBI single by Nico Hoerner. Pirates starter Bubba Chandler allowed four runs on eight hits, walked two and struck out five over five innings.
The Pirates tied the game in the bottom of the third when Brandon Lowe smacked his 14th home run of the season off Cubs starter Jameson Taillon.
Chicago took a 4-3 lead in the top of the fourth on back-to-back doubles by Dansby Swanson and Pete Crow-Armstrong before the Pirates tied it again on rookie Konnor Griffin’s fourth home run in the bottom of the inning.
Taillon, who allowed four runs on five hits and two walks while striking out four against the team that drafted him, combined with relievers Jacob Webb (1-1), Phil Maton, Caleb Thielbar and Ethan Roberts to keep the Pirates scoreless over the final five innings.
Hoerner finished with two hits and an RBI while Swanson, Carson Kelly and Alex Bregman each had two hits for the Cubs, who totaled 14 overall.
Bryan Reynolds had three hits, including a double, for Pittsburgh.
–Field Level Media
Blaze Alexander, Orioles finish sweep of Rays in dominant fashion
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