Success from outside the arc wasn’t enough for the Lynx on Friday night.

Minnesota’s Kayla McBride set a career-high with eight 3-pointers and scored 25 points, but Phoenix’s Kahleah Copper hit her own 3 with 0.7 seconds left and the Mercury rallied to beat the Lynx 81-80. Minnesota (7-3) had won three in a row for its best start since winning nine straight to open the 2017 season.

The Lynx made a season-high 15 shots from deep. They entered the game making a league-best 38.6% of their 3-point attempts, nearly 5% better than second-place Las Vegas.

Minnesota finished 38.9% from the field, making only 13 two-point shots. The Lynx hit 15 of 34 from 3 (44.1%) on Friday and had 24 assists on 28 made baskets.

McBride’s converted 3s are the most in the WNBA this season, and her 3 with 3:03 left put the Lynx up 75-69. She’s one of three players to have multiple games of at least six three pointers this season, joining Diana Taurasi (three times) and Arike Ogunbowale (twice).

Alanna Smith converted a feed from Napheesa Collier to make it 79-75 with 25.8 seconds left, but Copper drained a 3 four seconds later to get Phoenix within one.

Bridget Carleton made one of two free throws with 5.3 seconds left for a two-point Lynx lead. But off a timeout, Brittney Griner handed the ball off to Copper, who sank the last of her 34 points from the right side. A desperation three from McBride failed to fall.

Griner was playing in her first game of the season, scoring 11 points with four rebounds.

Collier had her seventh double-double in 10 games with 20 points and 12 rebounds, and she added six assists. Smith had 12 points, six assists and four rebounds.

A trio of 3s keyed an 11-0 Lynx run for a 54-49 lead late in the third quarter: McBride had a couple makes from deep and Collier added the other.

Phoenix made 41.4% of its shots but was only 9 of 26 (34.6%) from 3.

Singer/songwriter Noah Kahan opened his sold-out, two-night stand at St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center on Friday in front of a gleeful crowd of more than 14,000 fans who sang and/or swayed to every song in his set.

Who is Noah Kahan, you may ask. Good question. The Vermont native — that’s key, as being from Vermont is a big part of his persona — signed a record deal at the age of 20, scored a minor hit with 2017’s “Hurt Somebody” and then watched his first two indie pop/folk albums go nowhere.

During the pandemic, he returned to his hometown and wrote what would become his breakthrough hit and album of the same name, “Stick Season.” He doubled down on his commitment to address his severe anxiety and depression in the lyrics and spent two years teasing “Stick Season” (the song) on TikTok. In 2022, he released the single — which refers to the “super depressing” time in New England between Halloween and the first winter snow — and watched it become a worldwide hit. (You’ve probably heard it at the grocery store and it’s all but certain to be used in Subaru commercials and movie trailers for years to come.)

Even though there is an endless supply of overly earnest singer/songwriters looking to become the next big thing, I couldn’t help but wonder why Kahan was the one to make it. His performance Friday gave a few clues, I suppose.

With his braided hair, baggy jacket and white mom jeans, Kahan doesn’t look like your typical teen idol. (And it was TikTok-loving teens and college kids who filled the crowd.) He’s also got a cheery, goofy stage presence that suggests he’s not taking all this too seriously, even though it’s clear he is. At times, he came across as a particularly outgoing youth pastor who just washed down a Snickers Hi Energy bar with a Red Bull.

While Kahan sold “Stick Season” as more of an intimate, folky bedroom album, the songs easily transformed into arena anthems with big hooks and plenty of “oohs” to sing along with. Hearing his recent singles “Dial Drunk” and “Everywhere, Everything” early in his set made it clear he’s going for a Mumford and Sons/Lumineers vibe, with a serious nod to U2/Coldplay on the side.

His nimble, grinning five-piece band backed Kahan with acoustic guitar, fiddle, banjo, keyboards and very understated electric guitar. They even occasionally broke out some rudimentary dance moves that, coupled with the generally carefree aura, did feel at odds with Kahan’s sometimes dark and introspective lyrics.

Much like Zach Bryan — with whom he collaborated on Bryan’s single “Sarah’s Place” — it’s obvious Kahan has forged a deep, personal connection with his listeners while largely bypassing casual listeners. Given that the songs all started to sound the same midway through the show, casual listeners probably aren’t missing much.

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The St. Paul Saints and Syracuse Mets were deadlocked much of Friday’s game in St. Paul. No surprise the close game had to go to extra innings to decide a winner.

The Saints scored twice in the bottom of the second inning only for Syracuse to even the score in its next at-bat. The two teams stayed that way until the Mets scored once in the 10t to beat St. Paul 3-2.

Ryan Jensen (3-2) took the loss for the Saints on an unearned run when the automatic runner scored in extra innings and St. Paul couldn’t plate their own automatic runner. Jensen pitched two relief innings and only allowed one hit while striking out four, but it was just enough for Syracuse. Hayden Senger’s one-out double in the 10th was the difference.

David Festa started for the Saints and allowed two runs on two hits and a walk in five innings. He added six strikeouts and Ronny Henriquez pitched three scoreless innings in relief of Festa, giving up just one hit.

St. Paul opened the scoring in the second on Tony Kemp’s two-run homer, his fifth home run of the season. Kemp had two of the Saints’ seven hits in the game.

Eduoard Julien — who was 1 for 5 — started the 10th as the automatic runner. Brooks Lee struck out before Matt Wallner singled, sending Julien to third. But Michael Helman and Kemp struck out against Eric Orze (3-0) to end the game.

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PITTSBURGH — Mitch Keller pitched six scoreless innings to win his sixth straight start, Oneil Cruz homered for a second consecutive game and the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Minnesota Twins 3-0 on Friday night.

Keller (8-3) scattered seven hits while striking eight and walking two. He also pitched at least five innings for the 44th straight time, the longest active streak in the major leagues.

During his winning streak, Keller has allowed five runs in 39 2/3 innings for a 1.13 ERA. He’s the first Pirates pitcher to win six consecutive starts since Gerrit Cole in 2015.

“Anything being (mentioned) with Gerrit is pretty cool,” Keller said. “He’s someone I look up to, so that’s pretty cool. Good rhythm. I’m trying to keep it going. Probably more crisp now that it’s warming up. I just feel a little bit better each time out.”

Aroldis Chapman, Colin Holderman and David Bednar each pitched one scoreless inning of relief to finish the eight-hitter. Bednar notched his 13th save in 16 opportunities as the Pirates recorded their third shutout of the season and won for the third time in their last four games.

“It’s kind of like handing the ball off, just passing the baton,” Bednar said of the relievers. “It’s been really cool watching those guys work. They’re nasty.”

Cruz hit a 422-foot drive into the stands in right-center field off Joe Ryan (4-5) to lead off the second. It was his team-high ninth of the season and came after he hit a 462-foot shot Thursday night in a loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“Any time a guy hits a ball that high, that far, you definitely step back,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “We know when Oneil’s in the right spot mechanically, he has the ability to really impact the baseball, and we’ve seen that the last two nights.”

Connor Joe homered with two outs in the eighth to extend the Pirates’ lead to 3-0, connecting against Griffin Jax.

Bryan Reynolds doubled to lead off the fourth and scored on Nick Gonzales’ sacrifice fly, the 23rd RBI for the second baseman in 25 games since being recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis. Reynolds had two of the Pirates’ four hits.

Ryan allowed two runs and two hits in seven innings with eight strikeouts and two walks as the Twins lost their fourth straight. They were swept in a three-game series by the New York Yankees.

“He was really efficient. He was really good. He was in control of all his pitches,” Shelton said of Ryan.

Trevor Larnach, Carlos Correa, Jose Miranda and Byron Buxton had two hits each for the Twins, but they were shut out for the fourth time.

The Twins loaded the bases with one out in fifth while trailing 1-0. However, Keller got out of the jam by striking out Royce Lewis and Max Kepler. Lewis’ nine-game hitting streak, which began last season, ended.

Twins assistant hitting coach Derek Shomon was ejected in the top of the fifth by plate umpire Paul Clemons for arguing a called strike on Correa.

Up next

Twins rookie RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (2-0, 3.05 ERA) pitches Saturday. RHP Carmen Mlodzinski (0-2, 6.75) will start for the Pirates in what will likely be a bullpen game.

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