Corbin Carroll had three hits and four RBIs for the Arizona Diamondbacks in a 9-5 win against the Minnesota Twins in the opener of their three-game series on Friday night in Phoenix.

Ketel Marte homered, Nolan Arenado had two hits and scored a run, and Ildemaro Vargas drove in two runs for the Diamondbacks, who have won four of five.

Arizona starter Michael Soroka lasted just one inning before posterior left hip discomfort ended his night early. He had allowed two hits in the first inning before departing after throwing one warmup pitch in the second.

Jonathan Loaisiga (2-2) threw 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.

Victor Caratini, Josh Bell and Royce Lewis homered for the Twins, who were trying to win five in a row for the first time this season.

Twins rookie left-hander Connor Prielipp (2-5) allowed six runs (three earned) and nine hits in six innings. He struck out four and walked three.

Taylor Clarke replaced Soroka and retired the first two batters before Caratini homered to deep right field to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead.

Ryan Thompson came on to pitch the third for the Diamondbacks and he surrendered a leadoff single to Luke Keaschall, who came around to score on a two-out fielding error by Arenado at third to extend the lead to 2-0.

LuJames Groover led off the bottom of the third with a double to left and he came home on a one-out single by Carroll that cut the deficit to 2-1.

Drey Jameson came out for the fourth and he issued back-to-back one-out walks before Tristan Gray made him pay with an RBI single to center that made it 3-1.

Arizona got to Prielipp in the fifth after a leadoff walk and one-out double by Carroll. Twins third baseman Brooks Lee booted a ground ball to bring home a run, and another came home on a fielder’s-choice groundout to tie the score 3-3.

After a single by Arenado and a balk moved both runners up, Vargas came through with a two-run single to give the Diamondbacks a 5-3 lead.

Prielipp came back out for the sixth and gave up a one-out solo home run to Marte to stretch the lead to 6-3.

Kevin Ginkel came out to pitch the eighth for Arizona and was met with back-to-back homers by Bell and Lewis to cut the lead to 6-5.

Carroll gave the Diamondbacks some insurance when he tripled into the right-field corner with the bases loaded in the eighth to make it 9-5.

–Field Level Media

SEATTLE — Mauricio Pochettino’s plan to take the long view to the United States men’s national team’s run at the 2026 World Cup proved wise on Friday.

The U.S. coach kept star Christian Pulisic on the bench against Australia, and his side responded with a 2-0 win over the Socceroos at Seattle Stadium to secure a spot in the knockout round.

When Paraguay defeated Turkey 1-0 late Friday night, the U.S. sealed first place in Group D.

With Pulisic recovering from a calf injury sustained in the opening win over Paraguay, Pochettino opted to start Folarin Balogun and Ricardo Pepi up front. The pair kept constant pressure on Australia, which struggled against the Americans’ speed despite playing five defenders.

It was Balogun who forced the issue with a run down the left wing in the 11th minute. His pass into the six-yard box was intended for Pepi but never reached its target. That’s because Swansea City defender Cameron Burgess got in between, only to have the ball deflect off him and past goalkeeper Patrick Beach.

“(Pochettino has) always given us different ideas to attack. So, to play with Pepi today wasn’t a shock,” said Balogun, who added that he did not know Pulisic’s status until before the match. “It wasn’t like a plan B before CP was out. It didn’t feel like that to me.

“It just felt like another solution to win the game.”

It was the second own goal the Americans have benefited from in as many matches and set the tone for the remainder of the day. The U.S. added a second goal when defender Alex Freeman headed a ball past Beach. Initially ruled offsides, the call was overturned by VAR.

The victory gave the Americans (2-0-0) six points in Group D. By topping the group, the U.S. will play their round-of-32 match in Santa Clara, Calif., on July 1.

Australia (1-1-0) remain in contention to advance with their final group game coming Thursday against Paraguay (1-1-0).

Despite Pulisic being seen at team training on Wednesday, Pochettino said after the game that it was “impossible” for him to play Friday. While saying earlier in the week that Pulisic would face Turkey if he wasn’t able to play against Australia, after the match he offered only that he hopes Pulisic can “help the team as soon as possible.”

For Balogun, Friday continued a torrid start to the World Cup, which began with two goals against Paraguay. He also helped force an own goal in that game, making the United States the first team in World Cup history to benefit from own goals in consecutive games.

Freeman’s third international goal came just minutes after he and Australian midfielder Paul Okon-Engstler were attended to following a head collision. The son of former NFL wide receiver Antonio Freeman, who once scored a touchdown in the same stadium, Alex Freeman admitted he was anxious while waiting for the VAR.

“When it was a goal, I looked back and I saw all my teammates running at me,” Freeman said. “I was like, ‘Oh Lord, now they’re running.’ And then, I ended up running and celebrating with them, and I think it just made me very emotional in the moment.”

Both teams managed only a pair of shots on goal. The Aussies’ first came in the opening minute of play, when Mohamed Toure’s attempt was easily saved by goaltender Matt Freese. The Americans would dominate the remainder of the half.

Australian coach Tony Popovic attempted to switch the flow with a trio of substitutions coming out of halftime. That included removing Toure and playing Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe up top. While the Aussies did apply more pressure on Freese in the second half and created multiple frantic moments in front of the goal, they were unable to find the back of the net.

The U.S. finished with a clear edge in possession at 56%, according to FIFA, while Australia was credited with 33%, and the remainder was contested.

It was also a physical match, with U.S. midfielder Tyler Adams the target of multiple hard tackles in the first half.

“It was a physical game. I don’t think it was anything different than what we expected,” Adams said. “Fouled a couple times, fouled other people a couple times. It’s the nature of the game.

“I think you need to play into it a little bit and understand what the game requires, and that’s what it required today.”

The tone was set early for a match that saw 28 combined fouls and seven yellow cards.

“Very physical, a lot of challenges,” Balogun said. “I think the referee did his best to try and contain it, but this is a World Cup. So it’s expected for the passion to sometimes spill over. But I think we kept our cool, and it was a really professional performance from us.”

The U.S. have now won games in front of partisan crowds in Los Angeles and Seattle, and will return to L.A. to face Turkey. Friday’s game included a helicopter flyover and a vibrant crowd in the home of MLS’ Seattle Sounders, whose fans are known to stand for the entirety of matches.

“I’m just so happy they were able to come out and to be able to kind of have that atmosphere,” Freeman said. “And kind of sing those songs that calm and make us, you know, kind of accept the fact that we’re here and we have such an amazing thing to do. And now we have more stuff to do.”

And even though first place in Group D is now clinched, work remains to be done ahead of the knockout round.

“We kind of need to put a 24-hour rule on things,” Adams said. “Enjoy the moment. Enjoy your time with the families. Disconnect a little bit. And then when it’s time to work, we got to go back to work.

“Another important game against Turkey. And I feel like in my head, it’s like, ‘Do the job.’ Focus on the next one until you’re out of games to play, because then you did something right.”

–Derek Harper, Field Level Media

Dalton Rushing delivered the game-tying RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning and Ryan Ward raced home on a throwing error by right fielder Tyler O’Neill to win it as the Los Angeles Dodgers roared back to edge the visiting Baltimore Orioles 6-5 in the opener of a three-game series on Friday night.

The Orioles scored five straight runs via back-to-back homers by Gunnar Henderson and Pete Alonso in the sixth and a tie-breaking two-RBI single by Jeremiah Jackson in the seventh before the Dodgers came back against Baltimore closer Ryan Helsley (0-3).

Freddie Freeman grounded out leading off against Helsley, who was making his second appearance after missing seven weeks with a right elbow injury. Mookie Bets followed with a homer to make it 5-4. Max Muncy walked and Tommy Edman popped out before Ward worked a four-pitch walk.

Rushing fell behind 0-2 before singling to right on a 1-2 pitch. Alex Call, pinch running for Muncy, slid in with the tying run as O’Neill’s throw glanced off the glove of catcher Samuel Basillo and skipped towards the Dodgers dugout and well beyond Helsley. Ward never broke stride as he rounded third and scored the winning run standing up.

Blake Treinen (4-1) struck out two in a perfect ninth as the Dodgers earned their fourth straight win.

Muncy produced a two-run single in the first and Andy Pages laced an RBI double in the second to stake the Dodgers to a 3-0 lead.

The Orioles have lost five of six.

Dodgers starter Roki Sasaki allowed three runs on four hits and one walk while striking out six over 5 2/3 innings. He allowed just two baserunners in the first five innings before Jackson Holliday led off the sixth with a single and scored two outs later on Henderson’s homer. Alonso chased Sasaki with a blast to left.

Orioles starter Trey Gibson gave up three runs on seven hits and four walks while striking out eight over five innings.

–Field Level Media