CHICAGO (AP) — Ryan Jeffers hit a go-ahead, three-run home run in the fifth inning and Taj Bradley settled down after a rough start to lead the Minnesota Twins to a 6-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Saturday night.
Bradley (11-6) gave up two home runs in the first inning but retired the next 10 batters he faced, allowing four runs on four hits in five innings. Four Twins relievers allowed two hits over four scoreless innings, with Yoendrys Gómez picking up his 21st save.
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Minnesota Twins left fielder Gabby Gonzalez watches a two-run home run hit by Chicago White Sox's Munetaka Murakami, of Japan, during the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
Chicago White Sox's Colson Montgomery celebrates while rounding the bases after hitting a solo home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
Chicago White Sox's Colson Montgomery (12) celebrates with teammate Braden Montgomery (24) after hitting a solo home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
Minnesota Twins' Brooks Lee watches his RBI double during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
Minnesota Twins' Ryan Jeffers (27) celebrates with teammates in the dugout after hitting a three-run home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
The Twins pulled within six games of the White Sox in the AL Central and 3 1/2 games of the third AL wild card. The White Sox lost for the fifth time in seven games.
Munetaka Murakami hit his 30th home run in the first inning, a two-run shot that gave the White Sox three players with 30 or more home runs, along with Colson Montgomery and Miguel Vargas, for the first time since 2008.
Murakami became the fourth Japanese-born player to hit at least 30 home runs in a season. Montgomery hit his 31st later in the first, a record for White Sox shortstops.
White Sox starter Anthony Kay (9-8) allowed one baserunner, on a Vargas error, through three innings before the Twins scored twice in the fourth. Kody Clemens hit into a fielder's choice with the bases loaded and Brooks Lee added an RBI double.
Jeffers then hit his 14th home run in the fifth off Kay (9-8), who allowed five runs on six hits in 4 1/3 innings.
Vargas singled in a run in the fifth before Kaelen Culpepper extended the Twins' lead with an RBI double in the seventh.
Twins RHP Bailey Ober (7-4, 4.37 ERA) closes out the series Sunday. The White Sox pushed RHP Sean Burke's scheduled start to Tuesday and did not announce a replacement.
See AP’s full MLB coverage here
Minnesota Twins left fielder Gabby Gonzalez watches a two-run home run hit by Chicago White Sox's Munetaka Murakami, of Japan, during the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
Chicago White Sox's Colson Montgomery celebrates while rounding the bases after hitting a solo home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
Chicago White Sox's Colson Montgomery (12) celebrates with teammate Braden Montgomery (24) after hitting a solo home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
Minnesota Twins' Brooks Lee watches his RBI double during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
Minnesota Twins' Ryan Jeffers (27) celebrates with teammates in the dugout after hitting a three-run home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
NEW YORK (AP) — Zheng Qinwen was on her back with her arms in the air, celebrating a U.S. Open victory maybe only she believed was possible.
Madison Keys fought off tears as she tried to explain how Zheng, way down and all but out, somehow got the win.
Zheng, the Olympic gold medalist, extended her return to the U.S. Open on Saturday with a spectacular and stunning rally, winning the final seven games to eliminate No. 22 Keys 1-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5.
“I feel like I obviously got off to a really good lead, and then I just got really — I mean, got really scared, like I couldn’t swing,” Keys said. “I don’t know. Tennis just feels really hard right now, so I feel like that kind of took over.”
Hours later, 13th-seeded Naomi Osaka joined her in the fourth round by defeating Elise Mertens 6-3, 3-6, 7-5. The two-time champion from Japan put her head on her racket after the final point, stunned herself at the victory.
“Honestly, I can’t believe I won this match,” Osaka said. “I’m literally shocked that I won this match.”
Not quite as big a comeback as Zheng, but Osaka was down 4-2 in the third set and apologized for expressing so much frustration throughout a tough night.
“There was a certain point, I don’t know, I felt like I put my entire heart on the court and then I just kept trying every single point,” Osaka said. “I didn’t feel like I played amazing, and it was really getting me down. I was very negative on myself.”
Osaka avoided the kind of exit men's No. 9 seed Taylor Fritz endured, blowing a two-set lead and falling to No. 24 Francisco Cerundolo 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
“I don’t know how I let that happen today,” Fritz said.
Amanda Anisimova, like Fritz and Keys a past runner-up at the U.S. Open, also was knocked out when the No. 10 seed lost to No. 24 Anastasia Potapova 6-2, 7-5. No. 5 Flavio Cobolli, the French Open runner-up, lost in four sets to No. 28 Alexander Blockx to leave the men's draw without six of the top 10 seeds.
Keys won a three-set match in the previous round in a match tiebreaker when she fought off five match points. Two days later came a collapse that was as out-of-nowhere as that comeback.
The 2017 runner-up rebounded after losing the second-set tiebreaker to charge out to a 5-0 lead. Zheng held but Keys had a match point while serving at 5-1, and once she couldn't convert that, the turnaround was on, with Keys at one point banging her racket into her head repeatedly and pulling off her visor in disgust.
“I’m just telling myself keep holding every single point, never give up, stay there and somehow little by little it just happened,” Zheng said.
She won the gold medal for China at the 2024 Olympics after reaching the Australian Open final that year, and has been ranked as high as No. 4. But after elbow surgery, she is down to No. 121 and had to go through qualifying just to make the main draw.
“The hard work pays off,” said Zheng, who will play 2022 U.S. Open champion Iga Swiatek next.
Coco Gauff, the 2023 U.S. Open champion, beat Cristina Bucsa 6-3, 6-4. She'll face 18-year-old Iva Jovic in a matchup of young Americans with a spot in the quarterfinals on the line.
“Honestly, I feel like I’m definitely used to getting to Week 2s now because I feel like I woke up today and I was like, ’Oh, we’re already in Round 3,'” Gauff said. “So, I think that’s a good sign, just feeling like I’m not feeling tired.”
Jovic defeated fan favorite Alex Eala of the Phillipines 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 in a match that lasted over three hours.
“The level was absolutely incredible from both sides,” Jovic said. “We definitely put on a show, and it literally took everything to get through that.”
Keys, who won the 2025 Australian Open for her lone Grand Slam title, said she was going to have to make some unspecified changes she has been putting off.
“I think she started playing better; I started playing poorly,” Keys said. “Then I felt like I couldn’t play tennis anymore, and it just felt like it was a much bigger deal than just playing a tennis match all of a sudden.”
Fritz stormed through his first two rounds, losing a total of 11 games, and there was no hint of trouble when he broke Cerundolo to open the third set. But Cerundolo broke right back and started to feel more comfortable in his first time playing in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“I think fourth and fifth I played a really good tennis that I wasn’t finding that tennis in the previous sets and the previous rounds,” the Argentine said.
Anisimova missed repeated chances by converting just 3 of 16 break-point chances (19%). Potapova, a 25-year-old who was born in Russia but now represents Austria, went 6 for 8 and matched her best showing in a Grand Slam tournament by reaching the fourth round.
Anisimova made the final at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2025, falling to Aryna Sabalenka in Flushing Meadows. But after reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, the American was eliminated in the third round of the last three majors this year.
Potapova will play No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva, the French Open champion.
Top-seeded man Alexander Zverev, who had to win five-setters in the first two rounds, is facing No. 25 seed Alejandro Tabilo in the nightcap on Ashe.
AP Sports Writer Stephen Whyno contributed to this report.
See AP’s full tennis coverage here
Naomi Osaka, of Japan, celebrates after defeating Elise Mertens, of Belgium, in three sets during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
Taylor Fritz, of the United States, sits during a break from play during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships against Francisco Cerundolo, of Argentina, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Madison Keys, of the United States, reacts after she lost her match to Zheng Qinwen, of China, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Zheng Qinwen, of China, celebrates after she won her match against Madison Keys, of the United States, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Anastasia Potapova, of Austria, reacts after she won her match against Amanda Anisimova, of the United States, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Amanda Anisimova, of the United States, reacts during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships against Anastasia Potapova, of Austria, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Madison Keys, of the United States, returns the ball to Zheng Qinwen, of China, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Zheng Qinwen, of China, celebrates after she won her match against Madison Keys, of the United States, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Zheng Qinwen, of China, gestures after she won her match against Madison Keys, of the United States, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
