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PHILADELPHIA -- The key to Maikel Francos success is not trying to do too much.Franco hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the seventh inning and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-4 on Thursday night.I just go try to put the ball in play, put good contact on it, Franco said. When you try to do too much, youre not being someone you have to be.Ryan Howard also homered for Philadelphia, which avoided a three-game series sweep.After all the home runs they hit against us, we finally beat them with a home run, Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. That was huge.Justin Turner and Yasmani Grandal went deep for the Dodgers, who began play 1 1/2 games in front of the San Francisco Giants in the NL West.Thats a game that leaves a sour taste, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. Its a win we had late. We had a lead late.Michael Mariot (1-0) pitched a scoreless seventh inning in relief of Jerad Eickhoff to earn the victory.Freddy Galvis led off the bottom of the seventh with a single and Franco followed with his 22nd homer, to deep center off Grant Dayton (0-1) to give the Phillies a 5-4 lead.It was a fastball right down the middle and I put good contact on it -- nothing else, Franco said.Jeanmar Gomez pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his 32nd save in 35 opportunities.Eickhoff gave up four runs and seven hits in six innings with eight strikeouts and two walks. The right-hander snapped an eight-game streak in which Philadelphia starters pitched fewer than six innings -- one game short of matching the club record.Hes got a bulldog mentality, Mackanin said. He means business when he goes out there. Tonight it wasnt the greatest, and he got burned, but he threw an awful lot of good curveballs.The Dodgers jumped on Eickhoff quickly as the first three batters of the game scored to put Los Angeles ahead. Chase Utley and Corey Seager singled and Turner connected on his 23rd homer.Utleys throwing error in the second led to an unearned run as Aaron Altherrs RBI single brought Philadelphia to 3-1.Grandals one-out solo homer, his 20th, off the scoreboard in right in the fourth inning made it 4-1.Howard led off the bottom of the inning with his 19th homer of the season, a booming shot to center, to move into a tie with Carlton Fisk for 75th all-time with his 376th career home run.Howard has 11 homers in his last 28 starts and is batting .357 since the All-Star break.Hes been swinging the bat as well as Ive seen him in a long time, Mackanin said.And Philadelphia closed to 4-3 on Featherstons double to left-center.Featherston started at second base in place of Cesar Hernandez, who was a late scratch due to a sore foot.Dodgers starter Ross Stripling gave up three runs -- two earned -- and six hits in five innings. Stripling, making his 11th start, struck out five and walked two.STREAKING GONZALEZDodgers Adrian Gonzalez extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a sixth-inning double. Gonzalez is batting .432 with six doubles, three homers and 11 RBI during the streak.HOMER HAPPYThe Dodgers finished with 16 homers in their six games against Philadelphia this season.Philadelphia has homered in 12 straight games for the first time since 2013.EMPTY SEATSThe Philies moved all fans with tickets in sections 104 and 105 in right field because of an issue with the scoreboard that overhangs those sections. There also were no fans in the first three rows in the sections directly above the scoreboard. In a statement, the Phillies said the scoreboard wasnt a threat to fall but fans were moved for precautionary measures. The problem with a bracket supporting protective netting in front of the scoreboard was to be corrected after the game, the team said.TRAINERS ROOMDodgers: RHP Bud Norris, sidelined since Aug. 1 due to a back strain, will be activated from the DL and start the weekend series opener at Cincinnati.Phillies: Hernandez said he will be in the lineup on Friday.UP NEXTDodgers: Norris (6-9, 4.26) will make his first start since July 31 in the opener of the four-game series, facing Reds RHP Tim Adleman (1-1, 3.73).Phillies: LHP Adam Morgan (1-7, 6.62) starts on Friday night when the Phillies host the Cardinals for the first of three games. RHP Adam Wainwright (9-7, 4.72) starts for St. Louis. Custom George Bell Jersey .C. -- Al Jefferson joked that he feels he can score from anywhere on the court. George Bell Jersey Large . The Islanders dealt Thomas Vanek to the Montreal Canadiens after less than a year on Long Island. Meanwhile, the Oilers dealt long-time sniper Ales hemsky to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday for a fifth-round pick in 2014 and a third-rounder in 2015. http://www.custombluejaysjersey.com/ . Nigeria beat surprise package Ethiopia 2-0 in the second leg of their playoff for a comfortable 4-1 aggregate victory. Victor Moses converted a 20th-minute penalty after an Ethiopian handball, and Victor Obinna made certain of Nigerias place in Brazil with his powerful free kick in the 82nd at UJ Esuene Stadium. Custom Blue Jays Jerseys . Spiller left Week 3s 27-20 loss to the New York Jets with a thigh injury, but fully practiced with the team all week and expects to be ready to go on Sunday. Custom Blue Jays T-shirts . It was Kerbers third final of the year after losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in Monterrey in April and to Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in Tokyo two weeks ago. The 10th-ranked German improved her record in finals to 3-5. BUFFALO, N.Y. -- James Gilbert ran for 264 yards and two touchdowns, including a tie-breaking 80-yarder, to lead Ball State to a 31-21 win over Buffalo on Saturday.Gilbert carried the ball 34 times on his way to the second-best day in Cardinals history, just behind the 301 yards of MiQuale Lewis in 2009.Late in the third quarter, Gilbert went off tackle and found a seam to the right sideline for a score that made it 21-14. The sophomore had scored on the opening drive for the Cardinals (4-3, 1-2 Mid-American) but Tyree Jackson had a pair of touchddown passes that gave the Bulls (1-5, 0-2) a 14-7 lead at the half.ddddddddddddall State quarterback Riley Neal tied the game midway through the third with a 9-yard run and he added another score on a 7-yard run early in the fourth quarter.Jackson was 28 of 46 for 306 yards, all career-highs, and added a third TD pass in the fourth quarter.Ball State finished with 568 yards, 356 on the ground, and Buffalo had 459 yards. ' ' '