PHOENIX (AP) — James McCann hit a solo homer in the eighth inning, seven Arizona pitchers combined for a shutout and the Diamondbacks avoided a three-game sweep by beating the Philadelphia Phillies 1-0 on Wednesday.
Arizona — which ended a three-game losing streak — is now a half-game ahead of the San Diego Padres for the third and final NL wild card with 21 games remaining on its schedule.
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Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Andrew Painter throws against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper pauses in the team dugout during the third inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Arizona Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte pauses in the team dugout during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Arizona Diamondbacks' Lars Nootbaar, left, connects for a single as Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto reaches for the ball during the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Arizona Diamondbacks' James McCann (8) gets doused in Gatorade by Diamondbacks' Jordan Lawlar (10) in celebration of McCann's eighth inning home run against the Philadelphia Phillies after a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
The Phillies saw their six-game winning streak end.
McCann hammered the first pitch he saw from reliever Jonathan Bowlan (2-2) deep into the left-field seats for the game's only run. It was the veteran catcher's fifth homer of the season.
The D-backs used a parade of relievers to get through the game, starting with Taylor Clarke, who threw 1 2/3 innings. Derek Law, Kevin Ginkel, Jose Cabrera, Brandyn Garcia, Jonathan Loaisiga (6-3) and Juan Morillo followed.
Morillo struck out Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner to start the ninth before walking Bryce Harper. The hard-throwing righty then coaxed a soft grounder from Luis Arraez to secure his third save of the season.
Arizona managed to salvage the finale despite not recording a hit with runners in scoring position during the entire three-game series.
The Phillies lost for just the third time in 18 games and fell four games behind the Atlanta Braves for first place in the NL East.
Philadelphia right-hander Andrew Painter matched his longest outing of the season with seven scoreless innings, making his way through the D-backs' lineup with relative ease. He gave up a leadoff single to Lars Nootbaar and didn't surrender another hit until Geraldo Perdomo's single in the seventh.
The 23-year-old struck out six.
The D-backs open a three-game series at the Houston Astros on Friday. Pitchers haven't been announced.
The Phillies begin a three-game series at Atlanta on Friday. LHP Cristopher Sánchez (16-4, 2.52 ERA) starts for the Phillies against LHP Chris Sale (13-9, 2.06) for the Braves.
See AP’s full MLB coverage here
Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Andrew Painter throws against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper pauses in the team dugout during the third inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Arizona Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte pauses in the team dugout during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Arizona Diamondbacks' Lars Nootbaar, left, connects for a single as Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto reaches for the ball during the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Arizona Diamondbacks' James McCann (8) gets doused in Gatorade by Diamondbacks' Jordan Lawlar (10) in celebration of McCann's eighth inning home run against the Philadelphia Phillies after a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
NEW YORK (AP) — Aryna Sabalenka came to the U.S. Open struggling and in danger of losing the No. 1 ranking.
She heads to the third round looking every bit ready for a three-peat.
The top-seeded Sabalenka overwhelmed Polina Iatcenko 6-1, 6-1 in 53 minutes on Wednesday night, putting on a power-hitting display that made it seem her recent problems are in the past.
“Happy with the level I played today, happy with the focus and happy to be through this match,” Sabalenka said.
A number of players have only finished one match.
Another rainy afternoon in New York suspended play for a time on outside courts, allowing action only under the roofs in Arthur Ashe Stadium and Louis Armstrong Stadium to continue uninterrupted. So the players scheduled there avoided the starts and stops that others faced.
Jessica Pegula was one, needing only 56 minutes to defeat Sofia Kenin 6-3, 6-1. Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion, beat Venus Williams in her first match.
“To be out of there in under an hour, it doesn’t always happen,” Pegula said. “So I think I’m just going to take that one and run, I guess, until the next round.”
No. 8 seed Ben Shelton followed Pegula on Ashe and beat Hubert Hurkacz 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (3), 7-5, while No. 7 Daniil Medvedev raced past Sebastian Gorzny — except for a brief delay to protest the chair umpire’s decision to replay a point when two birds sat on the net — 6-3, 6-3, 7-5.
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz followed Sabalenka on Ashe.
Sabalenka is trying to become the first player to win three in a row in Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams from 2012-14, but arrived after losing in the fourth round of her past three tournaments. She needs help to stay atop the WTA rankings even if she wins the title.
She won 15 of 16 points on first serve in the first set and only dropped off a little in the second, finishing 21 for 28 in the match, against an opponent who is playing in her first Grand Slam tournament.
“I think I struggled a little bit in the middle of the season. Once again, I’m not going to defend myself or explain why, what happened, but I’m happy with my level,” Sabalenka said. “I can definitely say that mentally I’m way stronger than I was in the middle of the season, and physically I also feel stronger. So I feel like I’m on my level of play.”
When the U.S. Open switched to a Sunday start last year, it spread out the first round over the first three days, so Wednesday would have arrived with everyone playing in the second round had the weather cooperated.
It hadn't.
Alex de Minaur, the No. 6 seed from Australia, said with all the juggling his match was moved twice from the court where he was originally scheduled. He finally started his U.S. Open on Wednesday on Court 11 and beat Italy's Andrea Guerrieri 6-2, 6-2, 6-4.
“It’s been a couple tough days. But I mean, these tournaments, it's all about adapting and that’s the name of the game,” de Minaur said. “There’s too much to play for to let something like this affect you.”
Paula Badosa said she didn't even know how to prepare for the resumption of her match against Daria Kasatkina, which was halted Tuesday with her one game from winning to set up a second-round match against No. 4 Coco Gauff.
“I didn’t know if I was going to play just two points or six, or I don’t know how much, how many I play or one more set,” the Spaniard said Wednesday after finishing off her 6-1, 6-4 victory.
“So I knew that if I was winning this match, I’m playing the next day. So, yeah, it was everything a bit different. I was very nervous that I even couldn’t eat, so a lot of different stuff I did today, but sometimes it is how it is, and I tried to play with the things I had there.”
At least she got through. No. 12 Rafael Jodar, the 19-year-old from Spain who came in after a strong summer, was routed 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 by Bu Yunchaokete of China when his first-round match was finally completed.
“I knew it wasn’t going to be easy because I was waiting a lot yesterday and today as well, but it is what it is,” Jodar said. “We cannot control the rain, so it’s difficult for both players.”
The first round was finally completed late Wednesday, a day when 25 men’s singles matches were scheduled to get the tournament back on track.
Alex Michelsen pulled off an upset in one of them by ousting fellow American Brandon Nakashima, the No. 16 seed, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
No. 7 Karolina Muchova, the Wimbledon runner-up, beat Katie Boulter 6-1, 6-0 to reach the third round, while No. 11 Marta Kostyuk got past 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens 6-1, 7-5. No. 31 seed Leylah Fernandez set up a matchup of past U.S. Open runners-up against Pegula, with the winner to meet either No. 16 Sorana Cirstea or No. 19 Jasmine Paolini.
See AP’s full tennis coverage here
Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, serves to Polina Iatcenko, of Russia, during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, serves to Polina Iatcenko, of Russia, during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
Jessica Pegula, of the United States, greets Sofia Kenin, of the United States, left, after Pegula won their match during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Daniil Medvedev, of Russia, returns the ball to Sebastian Gorzny, of the United States, during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Spectators are reflected in a puddle at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center during the U.S. Open tennis championships Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Ben Shelton, of the United States, celebrates during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships against Hubert Hurkacz, of Poland, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Jessica Pegula, of the United States, gestures after she won against Sofia Kenin, of the United States, during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
