MINNEAPOLIS -- The Braves have struggled to score runs this year, ranking last in the majors in that department. As a result, its been rare that an Atlanta starting pitcher has been gifted an early lead to work with.Thanks to Freddie Freeman, the Braves bucked both trends Wednesday night.Freeman homered, doubled and tied a career high with five RBI as the Braves held off the Twins 9-7 for a two-game sweep.Atlanta finished the game with 16 hits, with each player in the lineup getting at least one.It was nice to see that, nice to get on board early, Freeman said. We were able to continue it all the way to the fifth and sixth inning. Thats all we needed tonight. The bullpen was fantastic.Freeman went 4 for 4 with a walk, driving in five runs for the fifth time in his career. His 18th homer gave the Braves a 7-0 lead in the fourth inning.The Twins closed to 8-7 in the sixth on an RBI grounder by Joe Mauer. Nick Markakis singled home a run in the Atlanta eighth.Mike Foltynewicz (4-4) got the win despite giving up seven runs and 12 hits in 5 1/3 innings. Jim Johnson pitched the ninth for his fourth save.Hard-throwing righty Mauricio Cabrera also played a big role out of Atlantas bullpen. He struck out three batters in 1 1/3 innings, hitting 101 mph on the Target Field radar gun.Cabrera picked up a big strikeout of Miguel Sano to end a Twins threat in the sixth and pitched a scoreless seventh inning to keep it a one-run game.We talked the other night about bringing him into stressful innings, Braves interim manager Brian Snitker. I think more than probably 80 percent of the times Ive brought him in, its been game on the line or a big situation. His presence is really, really good.Twins starter Tyler Duffey (5-8) was chased in the second. The right-hander gave up five runs on eight hits, including a two-run homer by Jeff Francoeur in the first inning.It was the second straight outing in which Duffey has lasted less than three innings.Its really frustrating when it piles up like that, and you give up the singles, and you give up the hard-hit ball, Duffey said. Watching a game like that, we come back fighting like that, end up losing, and it started with me.Atlanta and Minnesota entered the series with the two worst records in the majors. The Braves are 35-66, the Twins are 37-63.The Braves are now 9-5 in regular-season matchups against the team it lost to in the 1991 World Series.Freeman added a two-run homer in the fourth off Michael Tonkin. It was the third four-hit game of the season for Freeman, who leads the Braves with 106 hits.A day after getting shut out, the Twins scored in the fourth on a double by Eddie Rosario. Kurt Suzuki added a two-run homer later in the inning.We pecked away at them, got back into the game, Twins manager Paul Molitor said. They added on a couple that proved to be the difference at the end of the game. But we had chances right down to the end.BRAVES MAKE A DEALPrior to the game, Atlanta dealt right-hander Lucas Harrell and left-hander Dario Alvarez to the Texas Rangers for infield prospect Travis Demeritte.Demeritte, 21, represented the United States in this months All-Star Futures Game in San Diego. In 88 games with High A High Desert, he batted .272 with 25 home runs and 59 RBI.In five starts with the Braves this year, Harrell was 2-2 with a 3.38 ERA. Alvarez made 16 relief appearances this season for Atlanta and had a 3.00 ERA in 15 innings.UP NEXTBraves: Return to Atlanta to begin a four-game series against Philadelphia beginning Thursday. Right-hander Matt Wisler (4-10, 4.92 ERA) will start for the Braves.Twins: Host Baltimore on Thursday for a makeup of a game that was rained out on May 9. Right-hander Kyle Gibson (3-6, 4.67) starts for Minnesota. Nike Air Force 1 Salg . Clarkson had been dealing with an elbow injury in early January and will be out of action for at least one week. He has three goals and five assists through 36 games with the Leafs this season. Nike Air Force 1 Norge Prisjakt . Coach Tom Thibodeau says the former MVP will probably start travelling with the team in the next few weeks. Rose tore the meniscus in his right knee at Portland in November and was ruled out for the remainder of the season by the Bulls. http://www.airforce1norge.com/air-force-1-07-norge.html . Oyama had six birdies and two bogeys at Kintetsu Kashikojima in the event also sanctioned by the Japan LPGA Tour. "I have been having this neck ache thats been affecting my golf recently," Oyama said. Air Force 1 Dame Norge .C. -- After a listless first half, the Washington Wizards used a big third quarter run to beat the Charlotte Bobcats Bradley Beal scored 21 points and the Wizards used a 17-0 run in the third quarter to take control of what had been a close game and beat the Bobcats 97-83 on Tuesday night. Nike Juvenate Norge . Aaron Harrison scored a 22 points for Kentucky (6-1), which has won four in a row following a Nov. 12 loss to current No. 1 Michigan State. Julius Randle overcame a scoreless first half and added his sixth double-double in as many games with 14 points and 10 rebounds.North America has been given the go-ahead to host the 2025 Rugby League World Cup. The Rugby League International Federation (RLIF) has endorsed the recommendation of its own board to take the 17th World Cup outside rugby leagues traditional heartland for the first time.The RLIF directors suggested the USA and Canada host the 2025 tournament after overlooking them for the 2021 World Cup in favour of England. RLIF chairman Nigel Wood, who is also chief executive of the Rugby Football League, said: The award of the 2025 World Cup to North America is a historic moment in the global development of rugby league.The USA and Canada provides world class stadia allied to a significant multi cultural population which made the bid so persuasive.It is exciting that our sport is expanding into a new destination for our premier event the World Cup and we will work with our members in the USA and Canada and Moore Sports International to expand the presence of our sport in these countries during the lead in to the 2025 World Cup.The board will now work with Moore Sports International to complete the due diligence and exchange of contracts to complete the award. The Rugby League World Cup will be staged in England in 2021 The decision was made at the RLIF annual meeting in Liverpool, where Wood and Australias John Grant were re-elected as chairman and deputy chairman respectively for the next two years.ddddddddddddThe next step of the Federation is to complete the international calendar from 2018 onwards, with a crucial decision to be made on the future of the Four Nations Series.RLIF chief executive David Collier said: The decisions arising from our meetings in Liverpool have given fresh impetus to the global expansion of the sport and we look forward to an exciting year in 2017 with the World Cup less than a year away and tickets now on sale for the matches in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. Also See: Super League fixtures Super League table Rugby League on Sky Follow us @SkySportsRL ' ' '