PHILLIES get relief, top Dodgers to avoid sweep.

PHILLIES 2, DODGERS 1

PHILADELPHIA — Bryce Harper homered, Ian Kennedy escaped a bases-loaded jam in the ninth inning and the Philadelphia Phillies held off the Dodgers 2-1 Thursday, ending Los Angeles’ four-game winning streak.

The Dodgers were denied their first sweep in Philadelphia since 2012 and fell to 13-20 in one-run games this year. The Phillies salvaged the finale of the three-game series and held their share of the NL East lead.

“You never want to get swept, especially in your home park,” said Harper, who also walked twice. “That’s a good Dodgers team over there. They played us well the last two days and they played well today.”

Harper hit his 21st homer and scored twice as the Phillies won with just four hits. The Philadelphia bullpen didn’t allow a hit in the final 4 2/3 innings, and the Dodgers finished with only three hits.

Kennedy walked Corey Seager with one out in the ninth, walked Cody Bellinger with two outs on a call that resulted in Phillies Manager Joe Girardi’s ejection, then plunked pinch-hitter Will Smith in the arm to load the bases. Billy McKinney flied out to end the game.

“Well, I did learn that Ian Kennedy could get a five-out save,” a visibly irritated Girardi said about his ejection by home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez.

It was Kennedy’s third save in six appearances with the Phillies since coming over in a July 30 trade with Texas.

“He’s done this his whole career,” Harper said. “He’s been in pressure situations and gone through that. There’s no worry when he comes in the game. We have all the confidence in the world when he comes into the game.”

Both teams used five pitchers. Harper connected off Mitch White (0-1) for a solo drive in the first that landed four rows above the flower beds in deep left-center field for Philadelphia’s first lead in the series.

CARDINALS 7, PIRATES 6 Six St. Louis relievers combined to allow three runs in seven innings, Paul DeJong and Lars Nootbaar homered, and the Cardinals hung on to complete a three-game sweep of Pittsburgh.

BREWERS 17, CUBS 4 Luis Urias tied a major league record with five extra-base hits and Manny Pina drove in six runs as Milwaukee routed Chicago. Urias homered in the seventh and ninth innings. He also hit three doubles, drove in five runs and scored five runs.

REDS 12, BRAVES 3 Jesse Winker hit a grand slam in the second inning, the Reds added four more home runs, and Cincinnati snapped a three-game skid with a victory over Atlanta.

METS 4-5, NATIONALS 1-4 Pete Alonso hit a game-ending home run with one out in the seventh inning and New York recovered from a blown lead to sweep its doubleheader against Washington. The Mets won the opener as Brandon Nimmo homered and drove in four runs and Marcus Stroman took a shutout into the sixth.

GIANTS 7, ROCKIES 0 LaMonte Wade Jr. hit a three-run home run after pitcher Logan Webb added a two-run single to help his winning cause, and MLB-leading San Francisco beat Colorado for its fifth consecutive win.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

ANGELS 6, BLUE JAYS 3 Shohei Ohtani pitched 6 strong innings, allowing only 3 hits while striking out 6 as Los Angeles defeated Toronto.

ATHLETICS 17, INDIANS 0 Mitch Moreland homered twice, Chris Bassitt posted his AL-leading 12th win and Oakland routed Cleveland for its seventh consecutive victory. By the end, the only drama involved Matt Chapman, who walked in his first five plate appearances for Oakland. With a chance to tie the major league record for walks in a game, he struck out swinging in the ninth.

RAYS 8, RED SOX 1 Wander Franco hit a tiebreaking two-run home run in the sixth inning, Drew Rasmussen threw four strong innings in a spot start as Tampa Bay defeated Boston.

TIGERS 6, ORIOLES 4 Renato Nunez homered in his return to Baltimore and Detroit won as Miguel Cabrera sat out while one home run shy of 500.

MARINERS 3, RANGERS 1 Marco Gonzales pitched a two-hitter, J.P. Crawford and Jake Fraley homered and Seattle beat Texas.