UNDATED (AP) — Freddie Freeman homered and drove in three runs ahead of what’s sure to be an emotional weekend, leading Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers over the Cincinnati Reds 10-5 for a sweep of the season series. Cody Bellinger, Max Muncy, Will Smith and Justin Turner also homered for the NL West-leading Dodgers, who outscored the Reds 52-18 in winning all seven games against them this year.
The Dodgers now travel to Atlanta, where Freeman was the longtime face of the franchise and helped the Braves win the World Series last year. He then became a free agent and signed a $162 million, six-year deal with the Dodgers. At 32, the All-Star first baseman is hitting .303 with eight home runs and 45 RBIs. Cincinnati has lost seven straight.
Elsewhere in the majors Thursday:
— Aaron Judge lined a game-winning single on the eve of his arbitration showdown, capping a four-run ninth inning that included Aaron Hicks’ tying, three-run homer off closer Ryan Pressly in the New York Yankees’ 7-6 victory over the Houston Astros. Batting with two on against Ryne Stanek, Judge smoked a 3-0 pitch into the left-field corner to score Jose Trevino from second base. It was the Yankees’ ninth walk-off win in 70 games this season — and one that seemed mighty unlikely when they entered the last inning with only two hits. New York took the opener of a highly anticipated four-game series between the American League’s top two teams, winning for the 19th time in 22 games to improve to 52-18.
—Tyrone Taylor hit a three-run homer, Willy Adames added a solo shot and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-4 to split a four-game series with their NL Central rivals. Taylor’s drive to left field on a 2-1 sinker from Dakota Hudson in the fourth inning gave the Brewers a 4-2 lead. Hudson snapped a streak of 46 1/3 innings without allowing a homer. Adames took Hudson deep leading off the fifth to make it 5-3. The Brewers have won five of seven. They moved back into a first-place tie with the Cardinals atop the division. St. Louis has lost five of its last eight.
— Dansby Swanson hit two home runs and the Atlanta Braves built a big lead early before holding off the San Francisco Giants 7-6 for their 18th win in 21 games this month. Swason, who homered to begin a three-run rally in the ninth inning for a 4-3 win over the Giants a night earlier, had three hits and drove in three runs. Swanson hit a leadoff home run in the first and connected again in the fourth, his 12th, for a 7-1 lead. It was his seventh career multihomer game, the last coming Aug. 14, 2021, at Washington. The defending World Series champion Braves moved 11 games over .500 for the first time this season. They have won 10 of their last 11 home games.
— Kyle Schwarber hit a two-run homer and J.T. Realmuto added a three-run shot for the Philadelphia Phillies, who handed Joe Musgrove his first loss of the season and snapped a three-game losing streak with a 6-2 victory against the San Diego Padres. Musgrove saw his ERA rise from 1.59, which had been second-lowest in the majors, to 2.12. The big right-hander from suburban El Cajon was activated from the COVID-19 injured list earlier in the day. He had been placed on the list last Friday, a day after throwing seven strong innings in a victory at the Chicago Cubs.
— The Minnesota Twins dodged a sweep by cooling off the Cleveland Guardians in a 1-0 win. Nick Gordon hit a third-inning home run that stood up for Minnesota starter Devin Smeltzer. The Guardians failed to score against Minnesota’s struggling bullpen with runners in scoring position in each of the last three innings. Caleb Thielbar recorded his first save by striking out pinch-hitter Steven Kwan to end the game. The Guardians lost for just the fifth time in 22 games. They lead the Twins in the AL Central by percentage points. The two teams have a five-game series next week.
— Avisaíl García drove in the go-ahead run on a fielder’s-choice grounder in the eighth inning, and the Miami Marlins beat the Colorado Rockies 3-2 on Thursday to complete a three-game sweep. Four relievers combined to throw 4 1/3 scoreless innings for the Marlins. Steven Okert pitched a scoreless eighth to pick up his second win of the series. Tanner Scott struck out the side in the ninth for his seventh save. Miami’s Jon Berti had two hits and stole two bases, extending his streak of successful attempts to a club-record 21. Brendan Rodgers doubled twice, tripled and singled for the Rockies, who stranded 13 runners and were 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
— Michael Chavis hit a tying home run in the eighth before pulling off a defensive gem and delivering a game-ending single in the 10th, sending the Pittsburgh Pirates over the Chicago Cubs 8-7. Chavis’ solo homer made it 7-all after the Cubs scored five times in the top of the eighth. In the 10th, Chavis charged a slow grounder by Jason Heyward toward first base and threw out Patrick Wisdom at the plate. The call stood after a Chicago challenge. In the bottom half, Chavis blooped a single to right and automatic runner Ke’Bryan Hayes scored in a collision with catcher Wilson Contreras. Hayes remained down for a few moments before walking off under his own power. Hayes homered earlier in the game.
— Oakland starter Frankie Montas took a no-hit bid into the eighth inning, then reliever A.J. Puk threw a pair of run-scoring wild pitches with two outs in the ninth that gave the Seattle Mariners a 2-1 win over the Athletics. The Mariners loaded the bases with three walks and rallied on Puk’s wayward tosses to complete a three-game sweep. Before the wild ninth, it seemed the 29-year-old Montas would be the story of the day. Montas didn’t allow a hit until Adam Frazier lined a clean single to left field with two outs in the eighth. Montas struck out eight in a season-high eight innings, and exited with a 1-0 lead. He is expected to be among the starting pitchers available as the Aug. 2 trade deadline approaches.
— Rookie Adley Rutschman homered, doubled and drove in three runs to lead the Baltimore Orioles past the banged-up Chicago White Sox 4-0. Ryan Mountcastle had two doubles among his three hits as the Orioles won their second in a row and third in four. Dean Kremer tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings before three relievers finished off a nine-hit shutout. Kremer struck out four and walked one in his second straight scoreless outing and fourth start since returning from a strained right oblique on June 5. Jorge Lopez entered with one out in the ninth and fanned Tim Anderson and Andrew Vaughn for his 12th save.
Texas trades Calhoun to Giants for Duggar
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The San Francisco Giants have acquired outfielder Willie Calhoun from the Texas Rangers in a trade for outfielder Steven Duggar. Calhoun was the main return to the Rangers when they traded pitcher Yu Darvish five years ago. San Francisco also receives cash in the deal announced today. It will be a homecoming for Calhoun, and a move he requested after being sent to the minors on May 1. The 27-year-old Calhoun was born in the East Bay city of Vallejo and attended Benicia High School. Duggar was activated from the 60-day injured list after being sidelined by strained left oblique.
