Kennedy Wesley scored and had an assist during a 17-minute, second half eruption when the U.S. women’s national team scored all its goals for a 3-0 victory over Japan in Commerce City, Colo., on Friday.

The U.S. won two of three in the series vs. Japan over the past week, prevailing in the finale on goals by Naomi Girma (47th minute), Rose Lavelle (56th) and Wesley (64th).

Wesley, who entered at halftime, got her first U.S. goal contribution in her sixth match on the opening score. She headed a corner kick by Lavelle to Girma in front of the goal for another header and Girma’s third career goal.

Lavelle stretched the lead to 2-0 after a pass by Trinity Rodman split the defense to send her on a break. Lavelle calmly scored from the top of the box to the left corner. She has 29 goals in 120 appearances for the USWNT.

Another corner kick, this one by Jaedyn Shaw, found the right foot of Wesley to extend the lead.

Several inches of snow were cleared from the field hours before the match and the kickoff temperature was 36 degrees.

Claire Hutton was the lone holdover starter from the United States’ 1-0 loss to Japan in Seattle on Tuesday. However, nine starters for this match also started in the 2-1 U.S. victory on April 11.

The U.S. outplayed but couldn’t outscore Japan in the first half with 70% possession, nine shots with two on goal while Japan’s one attempt was a comfortable for goalkeeper Claudia Dickey in the 5th minute.

There were three prime chances for the U.S. beginning with Colorado native Sophia Wilson’s try in the 20th minute. Tierna Davidson headed a pass to her in the center of the box, and Wilson put the shot on target, but goalie Chika Hirao parried it over the crossbar.

Nearly 20 minutes later on a break, Hutton took a setup in stride from Alyssa Thompson and ripped a shot off the bar from outside the box. In fourth minute of first-half stoppage time, Girma forced a close-range save.

–Field Level Media

Nolan Gorman clubbed a three-run home run in the top of the seventh inning to give the St. Louis Cardinals plenty of breathing room as they claimed a 9-4 win in the opener of a three-game interleague series against the Astros in Houston on Friday.

Gorman smacked his third homer of the season 353 feet to right field to break open a nip-and-tuck affair. He plated Alec Burleson and Jordan Walker by turning on an inside fastball from scuffling Astros reliever Bryan Abreu while countering the three solo homers the Astros hit to climb back into contention.

Cardinals right-hander Kyle Leahy (2-2) surrendered all three homers but was otherwise effective. He allowed five hits and did not issue a walk while recording six strikeouts across five innings. Leahy stranded Yordan Alvarez in the bottom of the first and left the bases loaded in the fourth when he struck out Christian Vazquez and pinch-hitter Isaac Paredes in succession.

The Cardinals spotted Leahy a 3-0 lead before the Astros rallied.

JJ Wetherholt, Burleson and Walker all singled in the first off Houston right-hander Peter Lambert (0-1), the fourth consecutive pitcher making his first start for the Astros’ injury-marred rotation. Walker plated Wetherholt with his single to center for a 1-0 lead, an advantage the Cardinals upped in the third when Masyn Winn roped a two-run single that plated Wetherholt and Ivan Herrera.

Lambert loaded the bases with no outs in the third before nearly escaping unscathed. He struck out Walker and Gorman and had two strikes against Winn, but could not hold the deficit to one. Lambert allowed four runs on seven hits and one walk with eight strikeouts over five innings, with Herrera delivering an RBI single in the fourth that scored Pedro Pages for a 4-2 lead.

Vazquez and Alvarez smacked homers off Leahy in the third, with Vazquez leading off that frame with his second home run of the season before Alvarez added his eighth three batters later. Jose Altuve led off the fifth with his third homer to shave the deficit to 4-3.

But after Gorman provided the Cardinals some cushion, Herrera socked a two-run homer that scored Wetherholt in the eighth. Wetherhold scored three runs; Gorman and Herrera had three RBIs apiece.

–Field Level Media

Heliot Ramos hit a three-run home run, Drew Gilbert and Casey Schmitt added solo shots and the San Francisco Giants beat the host Washington Nationals 10-5 on Friday night.

Matt Chapman had three hits and drove in three runs for the Giants, who have won two straight.

Logan Webb (2-2) went six innings for the win, allowing four runs on seven hits.

After scoring three or fewer runs in five straight games, the Giants jumped in front with a six-run second inning.

James Wood and Daylen Lile homered and Jose Tena had three hits for the Nationals.

Washington’s Zack Littell (0-2) gave up eight runs on 11 hits over four innings.

Schmitt and Jung Hoo Lee opened the second inning with singles and Ramos followed with his first homer of the season, a three-run shot to center, to make it 3-0.

After Daniel Susac singled and was thrown out attempting to steal, Gilbert walked and Willy Adames singled. Littell retired Luis Arraez on a groundout as both runners advanced, and Chapman lined a single to left center to make it 5-0. Rafael Devers doubled over the head of Wood in right and the lead was 6-0.

The Nationals got one back in the third. Tena singled and went to third on a single by Keibert Ruiz. Wood struck out, but Brady House grounded into a fielder’s choice and Tena scored.

Gilbert homered leading off the fourth to make it 7-1. Adames doubled and went to third on a ground out. With the infield in, Chapman singled between short and third to increase the lead to 8-1.

Joey Wiemer singled leading off the bottom half and Lile homered to center to pull Washington within 8-3.

Lile walked with one out in the sixth and scored on a two-out single by Tena.

Schmitt homered in the seventh to make it 9-4, but Wood answered in the bottom half to make it 9-5.

Ramos walked with the bases loaded in the ninth to push the lead to 10-5.

Luis Arraez had two singles and has hit safely in each of his 12 career games at Nationals Park.

–Field Level Media