Ivan Herrera belted a go-ahead solo homer in the fifth inning, fueling the host St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-5 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Friday.

St. Louis’ Nelson Velazquez celebrated his call-up from Triple-A Memphis on Friday by launching a three-run homer in the first inning.

Thomas Saggese crushed a solo shot in the fourth inning and Jose Fermin had an RBI single in the eighth for the Cardinals, who snapped a season high-tying four-game losing streak. They also lost four in a row from April 22-26.

St. Louis used seven pitchers to subdue Chicago, with Gordon Graceffo (4-1) retiring the side in order in the fifth during his lone inning of work.

Pete Crow-Armstrong led off the ninth with a double and came around to score following a pair of outs. Riley O’Brien induced Alex Bregman to ground out to secure his 14th save of the season.

Chicago’s Ian Happ went deep for the third straight game by belting a three-run homer in the first inning.

Michael Busch had an RBI single and joined Seiya Suzuki with three hits for the Cubs, who have lost 11 of their last 13 games.

Shota Imanaga (4-6) surrendered three homers in his second consecutive outing. He lost his fourth straight start after permitting five runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Saggese forged a 4-4 tie after depositing a 2-2 fastball from Imanaga over the wall in left-center field for his first homer of the season. The Cardinals claimed their first lead in the fifth inning after Herrera sent a 0-1 splitter from Imanaga 409 feet to left-center.

Busch and Bregman each had a two-out single to center field before Happ deposited an 0-1 fastball from Andre Pallante over the wall in right-center. Happ’s homer was his team-leading 13th of the season.

Velazquez erased Chicago’s early 3-0 lead by sending a first-pitch fastball from Imanaga 411 feet to left-center.

Dansby Swanson regained the advantage for the Cubs in the second inning with a single and a stolen base before coming around to score on Busch’s RBI single to left field.

–Field Level Media

Jackson Merrill cracked a tiebreaking two-run homer in the seventh and Fernando Tatis Jr. had three hits as the visiting San Diego Padres rallied for a 7-5 win on Friday night against the Washington Nationals.

Ty France added a game-tying solo homer in the sixth for the Padres, who snapped a four-game losing streak.

Jeremiah Estrada (2-1) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings to set the table for Mason Miller, who got four outs for his 17th save.

Merrill and France drilled their home runs off Mitchell Parker (2-2), who allowed three runs (one earned) in middle relief.

Curtis Mead and Keibert Ruiz homered for Washington, which opened a six-game homestand by falling to 10-17 at Nationals Park.

San Diego broke a 5-5 tie in the seventh. Xander Bogaerts singled and Merrill hit his first homer since May 4, a shot to right center with two outs.

Washington put runners on first and third with one out in the eighth. After Jorbit Vivas flied out, Miller came on to face James Wood. Wood walked, but Miller induced a flyout from Luis Garcia Jr.

The Padres took a 1-0 lead off Nats opener Paxton Schultz in the first. Tatis singled, went to third on a single by Gavin Sheets and scored on Bogaerts’ sacrifice fly.

Washington took the lead in the bottom of the first as Wood walked and Mead homered. Ruiz made it 3-1 with a solo homer in the second.

In the San Diego third, Sheets singled and scored when Manny Machado singled to right.

CJ Abrams walked with two outs in the bottom half. He went to second on a wild pitch by Lucas Giolito and scored on a single by Dylan Crews to make it 4-2. Giolito gave up four runs on five hits in 2 2/3 innings.

San Diego tied it in the fourth. Ramon Laureano reached on a fielder’s choice and stole second. He went to third on France’s infield single and scored when Freddy Fermin grounded out. France scored on a Tatis single.

The first two Nationals reached on a single and a hit-by-pitch in the fifth and Jacob Young’s single scored Mead to make it 5-4.

Schultz gave up one run in his lone inning and Andrew Alvarez allowed three runs over three innings.

–Field Level Media

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