Breitmann Tuning » but I had some ups and downs,"

ATLANTA -- Freddie Freeman said before the game the slumping Braves needed an immediate turnaround. The power-hitting first baseman then backed up his challenge at the plate. Freeman hit a three-run homer, one of four by Atlanta, and the Braves beat the Oakland Athletics 7-2 on Friday night in the opening game of the interleague series. Justin Upton and Evan Gattis hit homers off Jason Hammel (1-5) in the second inning. Rookie Phil Gosselin hit a two-run homer, the first of his career, off Jesse Chavez in the sixth. The Braves had not scored more than four runs in any of their past six games. They entered the game having lost 12 of 15. Atlanta is six games behind first-place Washington in the NL East. "Everyone wants to say we cant panic, but weve got to go," Freeman said before the game. "... The time is now." After the game, Freeman applauded Atlantas power surge. "That was a good night," Freeman said, noting Oakland brought the majors best record to Atlanta. "We always play those teams the hardest, and it was no different tonight," Freeman said. Alex Wood (9-9) allowed two runs in six innings -- a two-run homer by Nate Freiman in the fourth. The As have lost three straight and five of six. "Were just going through a tough time right now," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. "You start to press a little bit offensively and it can be contagious as a group. You start swinging at some pitches out of the zone. Were pretty good about looking for our pitch and waiting for it. We havent been as good here recently." Wood allowed four hits in six innings. Relievers David Carpenter, Jordan Walden and James Russell combined for three perfect innings. Hammel allowed five runs and six hits, including three homers, in three innings. He was pulled after walking B.J. Upton to open the fourth. "Three-run homers do some damage," Hammel said. "Solo ones you can deal with, but that third one obviously was a big one. "Otherwise I felt great. My body hasnt felt that good in a while." The Braves had their second four-homer game of the homestand and only their fourth game with four or more homers this season. They also hit four homers in a 7-6 win over Washington on Aug. 8. Before that, the Braves hadnt hit four homers in a game since May 25 against Colorado. Their high mark was five homers at Philadelphia on April 14. Freemans homer, his 17th, drove in Jason Heyward and Gosselin, who reached on singles. Justin Upton leads Atlanta with 22 homers. Chris Johnson was credited with a ground-rule double when As centerfielder Coco Crisp lost his deep fly ball in the lights in the third. The ball landed well behind Crisp and bounced over the wall. Hammel hit Gattis with a pitch and then escaped the jam. A NIGHT OF FIRSTS Gosselins first homer came in his first start at shortstop. He previously started two games at second base and one at third. His homer followed a two-out fielding error by Freiman, the first baseman, on Heywards grounder. "It was awesome just to contribute to a win tonight and get the series off on the right foot," Gosselin said. OVERTURNED After Wood issued one-out walks to Jonny Gomes and Josh Donaldson in the first, the left-hander made a pickoff throw to second base. Umpire Ted Barrett called Gomes safe. Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez challenged the ruling and the call was overturned following a review of 1 minute, 50 seconds. The ruling proved important when Derek Norris followed with a single to left field that likely would have driven in Gomes from second. TRAINERS ROOM Athletics: CF Craig Gentry, on the 15-day disabled list with a broken right hand, will take batting practice with Triple-A Sacramento on Saturday. Braves: LF Justin Upton started after leaving Thursday nights game with a mild left hamstring strain. ... SS Andrelton Simmons was held out after having two teeth extracted. UP NEXT Athletics: RHP Sonny Gray will try to snap a streak of losses in three straight starts in Saturday nights game. The three-game skid is the longest of his career. Braves: RHP Julio Teheran will try to improve his 2-3 career interleague record in his first appearance against Oakland. He is 1-2 with a 2.41 ERA in two starts against AL teams this season. Wholesale Mets Jerseys .9 million deal Thursday. The 25-year McGinn had 19 goals and 19 assists in 79 games last season in helping the Avalanche tie a franchise record with 52 wins. New York Mets Shirts . But sometimes the way you lose takes precedence over the final score. And how the Jets lost the 5-4 game to the New York Islanders on Thursday is what had Coach Claude Noel hot after the game. https://www.cheapmetsjerseys.us/ . -- A 25-year-old freelance journalist from British Columbia was formally charged on Thursday with a felony, five days after she was arrested in the United States over allegations she threatened to kill her hockey player boyfriend. Cheap Mets Jerseys . City has reached new heights under manager Manuel Pellegrini as they transition from big spending/immediate impact to perennial contender. Yaya Toures seeming discontent Tuesday may complicate that, as does the little issue of Financial Fair Play. Mets Jerseys China . In a pregame tribute commemorating his final contest at Coors Field on Wednesday night, Helton caught the ceremonial first pitch from his daughter with his wife, younger daughter and good friend Peyton Manning watching from the field.INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- For the first time in four years, Novak Djokovic is without a big title to start the year. Or any title. The Serb is used to arriving at the BNP Paribas Open with the Australian Open in his back pocket, having won the seasons first Grand Slam three straight years. He lost in the quarter-finals in Melbourne in January, and then lost in the semifinals at Dubai last month. "That is a different feel from previous years," he said. So Djokovic is especially eager to hoist the trophy at Indian Wells, where hes a two-time champion. He took a step toward that goal with a 6-1, 6-3 quarterfinal victory against Frenchman Julien Benneteau in just over an hour on Friday. "Im on the right path and playing semifinals, which is always of course a challenge and a good result," he said, "but I want to try to go as far as I can." On the womens side, Italian veteran Flavia Pennetta handed top seed Li Na just her second loss of the year, winning their semifinal 7-6 (5), 6-3. The women combined for eight straight service breaks in the first set, which Li lost with her eighth double-fault. Pennetta then broke the No. 2-ranked Li two more times in the second set and closed out the win with a backhand down the line. Li, the reigning Australian Open champion, fell to 17-2 on the year. She was the top seed for the first time at one of the top-level WTA events. "It was pretty high-level match," said the Chinese star, who made more than 50 unforced errors. "I lose the match, a little bit sad, but I still can see a lot positive. At least, I like the way I hit the ball." Pennetta will play No. 2 seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland in Sundays final. Radwanska beat sixth-seeded Simona Halep of Romania 6-3, 6-4 to reach her first final in eight appearances at the tournament. "Ive been here so many times and finally I did it," Radwanska said. Halep had Radwanska on the run most of the match, but the Polish player was up to the challenge, continually chasing down balls and making well-placed returns. "What I was trying to do was playing aggresssive from the beginning of the match and just trying to go for my shots," Radwanska said.dddddddddddd. "Pretty much all the games, doesnt matter who was serving, it was really tight games. I was better just a few points each set." Halep is projected to move up two spots to a career-best No. 5 in the world in Mondays WTA rankings, the highest ever by a Romanian woman. Djokovic never faced a break point on his serve against Benneteau, the only unseeded player left in the mens draw. The Serb held break points on Benneteaus serve in seven of eight games, and broke him four times during the match. It was Djokovics easiest match so far. He needed three sets to get by Marin Cilic and Alejandro Gonzalez, and had to win a tiebreaker against Victor Hanescu in his opening match. "I felt like I was very focused on the court from the start, and its what I was looking for. First few matches I played good tennis but I had some ups and downs," Djokovic said. "He made a lot of unforced errors, and obviously I just needed to make him play an extra shot and serve well." Djokovic will next play 12th-seeded John Isner, the lone remaining American, in Saturdays semifinals. Isner beat Djokovic at the same stage in 2012 before losing to Roger Federer in the final. Federer, a four-time winner here, will meet Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine in the other semifinal. Isner fired 13 aces to beat 20th-seeded Ernests Gulbis of Latvia 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3) in Fridays other quarterfinal. Isner dropped serve twice to fall behind 4-2 in the second set, but broke back to level the score at 5-all and then dominated the tiebreaker. "I had all my energy going for me," he said. "I know I have those serves in my arsenal. Its just a matter of me pulling them out and I went for them." The American is projected to return to the top 10 in Mondays ATP rankings, the first time he has been there since September 2012. "Its hard to stay there," he said. "I fell back, but I have been knocking on the door for quite some time. It feels good to get back in there." ' ' '