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

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

The Los Angeles Dodgers returned infielder Kike Hernandez to the injured list on Wednesday due to a left oblique strain. With Hernandez back on the shelf after a mere two-game return, infielder Alex Freeland has been recalled in a corresponding move.

Hernandez, who started the season on the IL due to offseason elbow surgery, was activated Monday and started his season 4-for-4 with a homer, two doubles and two RBIs before exiting Tuesday’s 15-6 win over the Colorado Rockies with the injury.

While Dodgers manager Dave Roberts didn’t share a timeline for how long Hernandez will be out, he did admit that his MRI showed a “significant tear.”

Hernandez, 34, is in the fourth year of his second stint in Los Angeles. He’s a career .237 hitter with 131 homers and 472 RBIs over 1,278 games.

Freeland, 24, started the season on the Dodgers’ roster. He hit .235 with two home runs, four doubles and eight RBIs in 33 games before being optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City, where he hit four homers and drove in 16 runs in 11 games.

A third-round pick by Los Angeles in the 2022 MLB Draft, Freeland made his debut for the Dodgers in 2025 and hit .190 with two homers and six RBIs in 29 games.

–Field Level Media