Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark has been cleared to play in Wednesday night’s road game against the Los Angeles Sparks after a two-game absence due to back issues.

Clark will play in the front end of a back-to-back and then sit out Thursday’s game at the Phoenix Mercury. Fellow All-Star Aliyah Boston (right leg) will sit out against the Sparks and play against the Mercury, according to coach Stephanie White.

Clark exited a 111-109 home loss against the Mercury on June 24 and hasn’t played since. That is the same contest in which the fist of Phoenix star Alyssa Thomas landed on Clark’s throat after the latter had fallen to the court. Thomas drew a one-game suspension from the league.

Clark is averaging 21.2 points and 8.2 assists in 17 games. She has made 44 3-pointers at a 34.4% clip.

Boston is averaging 17.1 points and 8.6 rebounds in 19 games. Boston has hit 23 treys while making a stellar 45.1%.

–Field Level Media

The defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces are obviously a different team without four-time MVP A’ja Wilson on the floor.

Wilson has missed the Aces’ past three games with an ankle injury, which includes a 93-85 defeat to the New York Liberty on June 30 in the Commissioner’s Cup championship game and an 84-65 defeat Sunday to visiting Indiana.

The seven-time All-Star center could be closer to a return as she is listed as questionable for Las Vegas’ road contest against the expansion Portland Fire on Thursday night.

“We are trying to find ways to win basketball games,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said of Wilson’s injury. “We have had to play small a little bit more, and we have had to scrap, but it is not just her points. It is her gravity and her pull.

“Her presence gets other people open, and now we are in a situation where people are really cheating off some players. We have to do a better job of finding space and moving the ball.”

The Aces (15-6), who entered Wednesday’s play tied with Minnesota atop the league standings, made news off the court this week when they waived polarizing backup guard Chennedy Carter, who was averaging 12.2 points per game.

The Aces didn’t give a reason for the move with Carter, who appeared in 13 of 21 games. Carter was playing for her fourth team in five WNBA seasons.

The expansion Fire (9-12) snapped a three-game skid with a 77-72 victory Saturday at Seattle as Carla Leite scored 20 points and had four assists.

At one point, the Fire had five of their six rookies on the floor together.

“My philosophy as a coach is trusting younger players. So I think it’s something I actively kind of want to do,” Fire coach Alex Sarama said.

Guard Karlie Samuelson (left middle finger) is questionable for Portland after missing the past three games.

This will be the second meeting between the Aces and Fire this season. Host Las Vegas won 105-89 at June 11 as Wilson scored 32 points and Leite led Portland with 18.

–Field Level Media

Kyle Stowers homered, leading the host Miami Marlins to a 2-0 win over the Mariners on Wednesday night.

Otto Lopez and Xavier Edwards each went 2-for-4 to further power Miami’s offense, which totaled eight hits, including one triple and three doubles.

Reliever-turned-starter Tyler Phillips (2-3) earned the win, pitching five scoreless innings. The right-hander allowed four hits and two walks while fanning three Seattle batters.

Miami’s bullpen did the rest as left-hander Cade Gibson pitched two innings, and right-handers Michael Petersen and Pete Fairbanks tossed one inning each. Fairbanks earned his 13th save of the season.

Seattle starter George Kirby (7-8) took the loss despite turning in a quality start. The right-hander struck out seven in six innings, allowing eight hits, no walks and two runs.

Marlins rookie right fielder Owen Caissie was removed from the game in the first inning due to right calf tightness. Caissie got hurt on his 24th birthday.

Miami opened the scoring on the first pitch of the bottom of the second inning as Stowers jumped on a center-cut, 83-mph knuckle-curve for a 416-foot homer to center.

The Marlins extended their lead to 2-0 in the third as Lopez hit a two-out single and Edwards followed with an RBI triple down the right field line.

Miami nearly padded their lead in the fifth as Lopez doubled with two outs before trying to score on Edwards’ single. However, Mariners center fielder Victor Robles charged the ball and threw a one-hop bullet to the plate. Catcher Cal Raleigh backhanded a short hop on the first base side of the plate before making the tag on a bang-bang play.

Seattle threatened in the ninth against Fairbanks as Josh Naylor singled and reached third with two outs. But Fairbanks struck out Cole Young looking at a 98-mph fastball that appeared to miss the zone.

The Marlins will go for a three-game sweep on Thursday, starting Janson Junk (3-5, 4.60 ERA). Junk, who has not pitched in the majors since May 25 because of a shin issue, will be coming off the 15-day injured list.

Seattle will start fellow right-hander Bryce Miller (4-2, 1.71). Miller, who started the season on the injured list, has made nine starts, posting 12.4 strikeouts per every walk.

–Field Level Media