Nneka Ogwumike hit the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1:51 left as the visiting Los Angeles Sparks outlasted the Washington Mystics for an 92-87 victory on Friday.

After missing the Sparks’ win over the Las Vegas Aces on May 23 due to a hand injury, Ogwumike returned to produce 20 points and 11 rebounds. The forward made 8 of 17 shots, including an uncontested trey from the left side that snapped an 81-81 tie.

Ogwumike’s clutch shot was needed because the Sparks squandered an eight-point lead in the final 4 1/2 minutes. Washington hit five free throws in a 12-4 run and tied the game on two free throws by Shakira Austin with 2:07 to go.

After Erica Wheeler found Ogwumike for the triple, the Austin committed a turnover and Wheeler converted an 8-footer following an offensive rebound with 1:10 left. The Mystics twice got within one point in the final 44 seconds but also missed a chance at tying the game when Kiki Iriafen was off target on a 3-point attempt with 6.3 seconds remaining.

Wheeler scored 14 of her 21 points in the fourth, and she finished with eight assists. Wheeler made 8 of 16 shots as Los Angeles hit 50% from the floor and scored 50 points in the paint during its first game without Kelsey Plum (ankle).

Reserve Cameron Brink added 16 points and Dearica Hamby contributed 14 points and nine assists to help the Sparks (4-3) win for the fourth time in five games.

Austin posted 25 points and 10 rebounds, but the Mystics (3-4) remained without consecutive victories this season. Sonia Citron added 21 points and eight assists while Iriafen logged 13 points as Washington shot 50.8% overall but missed 17 of 22 3-point tries.

The Mystics shot 64.7% and scored 20 points in the paint for a 25-21 lead through the opening quarter. The Sparks took a 32-29 lead on a 3-pointer by Brink with 3:07 remaining in the second quarter and got another trey from Brink with 17.7 seconds left for a 42-37 lead entering halftime.

After Citron’s basket put the Mystics up 52-51 with 5:50 left in the third, the Sparks briefly took control and held a 60-54 edge following two free throws by Brink. Austin’s basket made it a one-point game with 58 seconds left in the period before Chance Gray and Wheeler hit treys in the final 20.5 seconds to give the Sparks a 69-61 lead heading into the fourth.

–Field Level Media

Miguel Vargas smacked a game-ending two-run home run against Drew Anderson in the 10th inning to propel the host Chicago White Sox to a 4-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Friday.

Chicago, which lost slugging first baseman Munetaka Murakami to hamstring tightness in the third inning, has won three straight and four of five. The Tigers have lost three in a row and 11 of 13.

Stymied by Tigers starter Troy Melton for much of the night, the White Sox forced extra innings with aggressive baserunning in the ninth.

With men on the corners and one out, Rikuu Nishida bunted in front of the mound. Pitcher Kyle Finnegan briefly looked at Andrew Benintendi a third of the way down the third base line, then threw for the out at first. Benintendi charged toward the plate and first baseman Spencer Torkelson’s throw home was well up the line, which allowed Benintendi to score on the error.

Anderson (2-2) yielded the fourth walk-off home run against the Tigers this season as Vargas crushed a two-out changeup that hung over the heart of the plate. Winner Bryan Hudson (3-1) allowed an unearned run in the 10th on a Zack Short sacrifice fly.

Riley Greene singled twice for the Tigers, who were outhit 10-4.

Murakami went 0-for-2 with a strikeout before leaving the game in the third inning with right hamstring tightness. He sustained the injury while racing to first base to avoid a 4-6-3 double play. Sox manager Will Venable said after the game that Murakami is expected to miss “a couple weeks.”

Murakami entered the weekend with 20 home runs, tied for tops in the American League.

Dillon Dingler delivered his 11th home run of the season with two out in the third, connecting for a two-run blast against White Sox right-hander Erick Fedde. The ball just cleared the wall and the leaping attempt by left fielder Sam Antonacci.

Fedde scattered two runs and four hits in four innings. He walked three and struck out three while surrendering a home run for the sixth straight outing.

Melton spaced one run and six hits in seven innings with one walk and one strikeout. He threw 57 of his 89 pitches for strikes.

Tristan Peters, Antonacci and Vargas collected two hits apiece for the White Sox, who had four doubles. Vargas produced the team’s first run with an RBI double in the third.

After leaving the bases loaded in the fourth, Detroit managed just two baserunners until Matt Vierling became the automatic runner on second to open the 10th.

–Field Level Media

MJ Melendez hit the first walk-off homer of his career Friday night, when the New York Mets squandered a trio of four-run leads before outlasting the Miami Marlins, 9-7, in the opener of a three-game series between the National League East foes.

Pete Fairbanks (2-3) retired Juan Soto on a fly out to center before Melendez, who lofted a sacrifice fly as a pinch-hitter for Jared Young in the seventh, hit a long arcing homer into the second deck in right field.

The hit was just the sixth in 46 at-bats this month for Melendez, who stared at the home dugout and spiked his bat after his homer landed.

Austin Warren (1-1) threw a perfect 10th inning to strand automatic runner Jakob Marsee at third.

The win was the second straight for the Mets following a six-game losing streak. The Marlins have dropped three in a row.

A.J. Ewing and Brett Baty had two-run singles in the first for the Mets, who took four-run leads at 5-1 on Mark Vientos’ homer in the third and at 6-2 when Marcus Semien scored on a throwing error by Marlins catcher Joe Mack in the fourth.

Ewing finished with two hits,

Owen Caissie hit a game-tying two-run homer in the eighth for the Marlins. Xavier Edwards began the comeback with a third-inning RBI triple and Marsee had an RBI double in the fourth. Miami scored twice in the fifth, when Mark Vientos misplayed Otto Lopez’s grounder as Mack scored before Lopez raced home on Kyle Stowers’ double.

Lopez had a sacrifice fly in the seventh.

Stowers finished with three hits while Edwards, Marsee and Caissie had two hits apiece.

Mets starter Freddy Peralta allowed four runs (two earned) on seven hits and one walk while striking out five over 4 2/3 innings. The Marlins’ Max Meyer gave up six runs (five earned) on six hits and three walks while striking out six over six innings.

–Field Level Media