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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. Diego Reyes Jersey . Roy says he will know more about Duchenes potential playing status Sunday. Duchene has been out since damaging the MCL in his left knee when he ran into a teammate against San Jose on March 29. Hes been skating on his own all week, before joining the team Saturday hours before a pivotal game in a series tied at 2. Edson Alvarez Mexico Jersey . Needing to bulk up on both sides of the line, the Falcons agreed to terms with guard Jon Asamoah, defensive end Tyson Jackson and defensive tackle Paul Soliai. Asamoah and Jackson played last season with Kansas City, where Asamoah lost his starting job. http://www.nationalsoccermexico.com/javi...-mexico-jersey/. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Raptors have traded forward Steve Novak along with a second-round pick to the Utah Jazz in exchange for guard Diante Garrett - who will then be waived. Jesus Molina Mexico Jersey . -- Two nights after losing to the Eastern Conferences worst team, the Phoenix Coyotes handled the best. Jesus Manuel Corona Jersey . It was the most lopsided loss in Lakers history. Darren Collison had a team-high 24 points while starting at shooting guard for the injured Jamal Crawford. Chris Paul added 13 points and 11 assists for the Clippers, who apparently are trying to make up for decades of humiliation at the hands of the Lakers all in one season; theyve won the last two meetings by a combined 84 points.PORTLAND, OREGON – Four second-half goals propelled Vancouver Whitecaps FC to a dominant 5-1 win over Portmore United in the first match of the Rose City Invitational Sunday at Providence Park. Defender Jordan Harvey bagged a second-half brace, while Nicolas Mezquida, Darren Mattocks, and Russell Teibert each scored their first goals of the preseason in a match that saw Whitecaps FC outshoot the 10-men Jamaican outfit by a 21-9 margin. Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson fielded a squad composed almost entirely of MLS players on Sunday, including the teams four most experienced defenders in Andy OBrien, Jay DeMerit, Harvey, and recently acquired right back Steven Beitashour. The only non-MLS player in the starting lineup was Residency goalkeeper Marco Carducci, who at 17 years old is the youngest player at camp. After a fairly uneventful start to the match, the action picked up around the 15-minute mark when Portmore goalkeeper Jacomeno Barrett was shown a straight red for handling the ball outside the box. The 6-foot-4 keeper was forced to come off his line after Sebastian Fernandez found an unmarked Mezquida with a great ball over the top down the middle of the park. On the ensuing free kick, a six-man Portmore wall blocked Fernandezs low strike from the edge of the box to keep the score level. The Caps had another great chance just a few minutes later, when Mattocks broke into the area only to see his attempt stymied by substitute Portmore keeper Gariece McPherson. Despite going down to 10-men early, Portmore opened the scoring in the 26th minute on what was their only real chance of the match. Against the run of play, Leaughn Williams broke in down the right flank and found a streaking Ricardo Morris inside the area. The midfielder then curled it first time just bbeyond the outstretched arms of Carducci to give Portmore a 1-0 lead.dddddddddddd. From that point forward, the Caps took over. They controlled possession, looked dangerous in the final third, and didnt give their Jamaican opponents another sniff at goal. Two players instrumental in Whitecaps FCs dominance were Teibert, who again looked confident in a holding position, and Beitashour, who was active on the right flank. Eventually, a deflected Beitashour cross led to Vancouvers first goal in the 31st minute. The ball landed at Mezquidas feet just outside the six-yard box and the Uruguayan smashed it on a half-volley into the top left corner of the goal. Vancouver picked up where they left off in the second half, as Harvey banged in the eventual winner in the 49th minute after Erik Hurtado found him unmarked at the far post. The early second-half marker seemed to take the wind out of Portmores sails, as fatigue began to take its toll. After a handful of earlier chances, Mattocks finally found the back of the net in the 65th minute, finishing from in tight to give Whitecaps FC a 3-1 lead. Teibert set up the play with a header from midfield, just minutes after he moved up to the right wing to replace Hurtado. Then, after Harvey scored his second goal of the match with a cross that sailed into the top right corner of the goal, Mattocks returned the favour in the 87th minute. The Portmore native slipped an inviting pass into box before Teibert coolly finished to cap off a dominant 5-1 performance at Providence Park. Also of note, Kekuta Manneh and Kenny Miller made their first appearances of the preseason as second-half substitutes on Sunday. Both players made an immediate impact, as Manneh set up Harveys second goal and nearly had one of his own in the 76th minute. ' ' '