LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Dodgers have reached the point in their latest roll when a five-run deficit and the early exit of a 20-game winner don't even seem like particularly daunting obstacles.
"We weren't going to be denied today," Manager Dave Roberts said. "I just had a feeling we were going to come out on top."
Indeed, the Dodgers did it again Sunday -- just as they did on nearly every day of their stellar homestand.
Freddie Freeman went 4 for 5 with a home run and two RBI, and the top team in the National League rallied from a pair of huge early deficits for its seventh consecutive victory, 11-9 over the Chicago Cubs.
Trea Turner and Will Smith also drove in two runs apiece as Los Angeles finished 10-1 on a homestand for the first time since 1980 despite falling behind 5-0 in the first inning and 8-3 in the third. Gavin Lux reached base four times while Los Angeles surged from behind early and eventually held on to win its final home game before hosting Dodger Stadium's first All-Star Game in 42 years.
"This homestand, it's the best baseball we've played in the past couple of years," Roberts said. "It's Dodger baseball."
With a seventh consecutive win over the Cubs, the Dodgers swept their season series with Chicago for the first time in the venerable NL franchises' history. Los Angeles beat the Cubs for the 10th consecutive time overall, matching the longest winning streak in this rivalry since 1947, and swept a four-game series with Chicago at Chavez Ravine for the first time since 1965.
"We just put together good at-bats, one after the other," Smith said. "We're playing well right now."
P.J. Higgins hit his first career grand slam during Chicago's five-run first inning, and David Bote had a three-run home run in the third to put the Cubs up big.
But Chicago's bullpen again failed to contain Los Angeles' powerhouse lineup, blowing a lead for the third time in four games. Chicago finished 2-5 on its road trip and dropped to 0-7 at Dodger Stadium since throwing a combined no-hitter here last July 24.
"We continue to grow and pull from some moments and assess where we could have been better," Manager David Ross said. "We'd been playing really good baseball up until this series, and we had a chance to win several of these games. We had some good moments, but bottom line, we've got to win baseball games."
Turner's RBI single put the Dodgers up 9-8 after a six-run third inning in which Los Angeles sent 11 batters to the plate. The inning was extended when Cubs third baseman Patrick Wisdom botched a simple throw to first on Mookie Betts' two-out grounder, allowing two runs to score.
BRAVES 4, NATIONALS 3 Austin Riley hit a tying home run in the eighth inning and a winning single in the 12th off off Jordan Weems (0-1). The defending World Series champion Braves have won six of seven and improved to 29-8 since June 1.
CARDINALS 4, PHILLIES 3 Albert Pujols hit his 684th home run and Tommy Edman drove in the tiebreaking run with a sacrifice fly in the eighth off Seranthony Dominguez (4-3).
GIANTS 12, PADRES 0 Alex Wood (6-7) took a no-hit bid into the sixth before rookie C.J. Abrams single, and Wilmer Flores had two home runs among his four hits and four RBI as San Francisco routed San Diego.
MARLINS 2, METS 0 (10) Sandy Alcantara alloewed six hits over seven innings and extended his shutout streak to 19 innings and pinch-runner Billy Hamilton scored on a throwing error by catcher Tomas Nido in the 10th.
PIRATES 8, BREWERS 6 Touted rookie Oneil Cruz hit a tiebreaking home run in the sixth agais Trevor Gott (1-2) and Daniel Vogelbach added a three-run shot in the ninth as Pittsburgh defeated Milwaukee.
ROCKIES 3, DIAMOMDBACKS 2 Connor Joe drove in the go-ahead run with a two-out single off All-Star Joe Mantiply in the seventh and Colorado rallied from a 2-0 deficit to take three of four from Arizona for a rare road series win.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
ASTROS 6, ATHLETICS 1 Korey Lee got his first three hits in the major leagues and drove in three runs as Houston defeated Oakland.
MARINERS 6, BLUE JAYS 5 Toronto first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had a throw bust through the webbing of his glove and Seattle took advantage for its eighth consecutive win, boosted by Carlos Santana's two home runs.
ORIOLES 9, ANGELS 5 Baltimore rolled to its eighth consecutive victory, using successive four-run innings and three RBI by Ramon Urias to defeat Los Angeles.
ROYALS 5, GUARDIANS 1 Zack Greinke (3-5) pitched five scoreless innings of three-hit ball and combined with four relievers on a five-hitter as Kansas City defeated Cleveland.
TWINS 6, RANGERS 5 Ryan Jeffers broke a 4-4 tie with a sixth-inning homer off Brock Burke (4-2) and Minnesota avoided a three-game sweep. Jeffers was 5 for 8 in the series with four RBI and two of his seven home runs this season.
WHITE SOX 4, TIGERS 2 Left fielder Robbie Grossman dropped Luis Robert's short fly with two outs in the eighth to end his record errorless streak at 440 games since June 13, 2018, leading to two unearned Chicago runs.
RED SOX 11, YANKEES 6 Jeter Downs' bases-loaded blooper against Aroldis Chapman dropped in off DJ LeMahieu's glove to break a sixth-inning tie, and Boston scored nine unanswered runs to rally past New York.
INTERLEAGUE
REDS 10, RAYS 5 Mike Moustakas, Tyler Stephenson and Jonathan India each hit a two-run home run in the third and Cincinnati finished for a three-game sweep of Tampa Bay that extended its winning streak to four.
Los Angeles Dodgers' Gavin Lux, right, scores on a single by Freddie Freeman as Chicago Cubs catcher P.J. Higgins takes a late throw during the seventh inning of a baseball game Sunday, July 10, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)