Pete Crow-Armstrong busted out of his slump with a season-high four hits to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 6-1 victory over the host St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday night.

The Cubs centerfielder entered with a modest four-game hitting streak, but he was hitting just .154 (10 for 65) in his last 19 games. His 4-for-5 night included a double and his seventh home run of the season. He scored twice and drove in a pair.

Ben Brown (2-2) limited St. Louis to just three hits and a run over seven innings, which tied his career high. He struck out six and walked one.

The Cubs took the lead in the sixth, scoring twice thanks to a throwing error by Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-1) that allowed Miguel Amaya to reach with one out. Fernandez then walked Dansby Swanson, prompting manager Oliver Marmol to bring in Justin Bruihl.

Bruihl hit Crow-Armstrong to load the bases, and Nico Hoerner, who went 2-for-6, singled to right to bring home the go-ahead run. Michael Busch followed with a sacrifice fly to right to make it a two-run game.

Ian Happ went 2-for-5 in the win.

The Cardinals struck first in the fourth with Alec Burleson’s one-out single to right scoring JJ Wetherholt, who led off the inning with a single up the middle.

Chicago answered in its next at-bats. Busch hit a one-out single to center that brought home Crow-Armstrong, who doubled off starter Kyle Leahy to lead off the frame.

The Busch single would end the night for Leahy, who scattered six hits in 4-1/3 innings. He struck out four with no walks and hit a batter.

Fernandez pitched an inning. He did not allow a hit, but he walked a pair, and his error led to two unearned runs.

Crow-Armstrong added an insurance run in the eighth, blistering a Gordon Graceffo fastball 444 feet to right field as St. Louis fans showered the centerfielder with chants of “overrated.” At 114.6 MPH, it was also the hardest-hit ball of his career, according to the TV broadcast.

An inning later, his line drive single scored Seiya Suzuki, and he ended the game robbing Jordan Walker of extra bases with a sliding catch in the left-center gap.

–Field Level Media

Megan Gustafson scored a season-high 22 points in her first start of the year, Emily Engstler and Carla Leite had double-doubles, and the host Portland Fire had a season-high in points in a runaway 100-84 defeat of the Indiana Fever on Saturday.

Leite had 18 points and a career-high 12 assists, Engstler had 16 points and 10 rebounds and Bridget Carleton had 14 points for the expansion Fire, who have won four of five.

Gustafson was 8-for-8 from the field with one 3-pointer and was 5-of-6 from the free-throw line.

Fever leading scorer Caitlin Clark was held to a season-low six points on 1-of-7 shooting and had six assists while playing only 22 minutes because of foul trouble.

It was her second straight game with a season low after scoring 16 points on 3-of-12 shooting in a 90-88 loss to Golden State on Thursday. Clark picked up her fifth foul in the final minute of the third quarter as the Fire built a 25-point lead and played sparingly in the fourth.

Aliyah Boston had 18 points and seven rebounds and Kelsey Mitchell added 17 points and four assists for the Fever (4-4), who have lost two in a row following a three-game winning streak.

The Fever’s previous three losses were by a combined seven points.

The Fire (6-4) are tied for the best start for an expansion team in league history with the Detroit Shock, who went 6-4 to open the 1998 season. The Toronto Tempo can match that 10-game start if they beat the New York Liberty next Wednesday.

Sarah Ashley Barker had 15 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Fire, who shot 51.4% from the field and limited the Fever to 41.4%.

Portland avenged a 90-73 loss at Indiana on May 20, a game Clark missed because of a back injury.

Portland, which committed a season-high 28 turnovers in an 86-66 loss to Atlanta on Friday had 12 against the Fever. Indiana had 18.

The Fire took control early, using a 19-2 run to take a 21-10 lead with 2:48 remaining in the first quarter. Gustafson had back-to-back three-point plays and Carleton made a 3-pointer and a layup in that spurt.

Nyadiew Puoch’s layup stretched the Fire’s lead to 41-20 with 6:13 left in the first half. Kelsey Mitchell made two free throws to close the deficit to 44-30 with 3:19 left.

Portland led a 50-37 at halftime and the Fever couldn’t cut the deficit to less than 13 in the second half.

–Field Level Media

Victor Wembanyama had 22 points and seven rebounds to lift the San Antonio Spurs to the NBA Finals with a 111-103 road win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals on Saturday.

The Spurs will take on the New York Knicks in the Finals beginning Wednesday in San Antonio.

San Antonio is in the NBA Finals for the first time since winning the franchise’s fifth championship in 2014.

With the Spurs and Knicks advancing, there will be an eighth different champion in the last eight years.

Oklahoma City’s exit keeps the 2017-18 Golden State Warriors as the last team to win back-to-back titles.

Julian Champagnie scored 20 points — 11 in the third quarter — and was 6-of-10 from 3-point range.

With just under seven minutes left, Wembanyama headed to the bench with five fouls with his team ahead 97-91.

Isaiah Hartenstein came away with a steal and was barreling towards the bucket for a dunk when Luke Kornet, Wembanyama’s replacement, blocked the shot, Dylan Harper grabbed the rebound and Stephon Castle finished at the other end.

After an Oklahoma City turnover, Wembanyama checked in and Kornet headed back to the bench to a hearty celebration.

Shortly after, Champagnie drained his sixth 3-pointer to put San Antonio up by 11.

The Thunder pulled within six with 2:02 left, but the Spurs closed strong to advance.

League MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander turned in perhaps his best game of the series for Oklahoma City, with 35 points on 12-of-21 shooting plus nine assists and three steals.

But Chet Holmgren finished with just four points on just two shots. Holmgren didn’t attempt a shot in the second half and Alex Caruso was just 3-of-14 from the floor with 12 points.

For the fourth time in five games, the Spurs pulled away early. This time, they jumped out to a 14-point lead seven minutes in, leading 27-13.

De’Aaron Fox had a 3-pointer, an assist and two steals during the 17-7 run which built that lead.

In the final minute of the opening quarter, Wembanyama’s elbow caught Isaiah Hartenstein as Wembanyana started a drive. Hartenstein was called for a foul, and Thunder coach Mark Daigneault was assessed a technical. Oklahoma City’s challenge successfully overturned it to an offensive foul, but the foul was not upgraded to a technical.

Late in the second quarter, the Thunder used a 20-5 run to take their first lead in the series since the end of Game 5.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored the first seven and nine of the first 11 Oklahoma City points during the run.

But the Spurs scored the final seven points of the half to regain the lead at halftime, 56-53.

In the third, Champagnie scored 11 during a 16-2 San Antonio run which gave the Spurs a 76-65 lead.

–Field Level Media