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The O’s http://www.indianapoliscoltsteamonline.com/bobby-okereke-jersey , who entered the weekend with the worst record in the American League, will try to take three straight from the Atlanta Braves, who began the series tied for the best record in the National League. Atlanta has been swept only once this season.

Baltimore will send right-hander David Hess (2-3, 4.82 ERA) against Atlanta’s Brandon McCarthy (5-3, 4.89) on Sunday at SunTrust Park.

Baltimore has found its offense in Atlanta, scoring 17 runs in the first two games. Mark Trumbo had a grand slam Saturday and Chris Davis returned from an eight-game hiatus to hit a home run Friday and drive in three runs Saturday.

“I feel a lot better,” said Davis, who entered the series hitting .150. “I feel like I’m getting there, starting to get that calm and easy feel. It feels good to contribute to two wins.”

Baltimore had lost eight of its last 10 games entering the series, but their two losses in the previous series against Washington had been by three or fewer runs.

“We have been playing better, more like we need to play and how to play http://www.jacksonvillejaguarsteamonline.com/jawaan-taylor-jersey ,” Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said. “I’m happy that they are getting their turn. The mood and the effort, that’s been on-going, but how much of that can you take? You worry about that because nobody is happy about losing.”

Hess will be making his eighth start and has made quality starts in four of them. He’s received an average of 4.10 runs in support. But his last victory came on May 25 against Tampa Bay.

The rookie will be making his first career start against Atlanta. He has started seven games this season and has struggled in the last two outings.

He allowed five runs in 4 2/3 innings against Washington on Tuesday and five runs in 3 1/3 innings against Boston on June 12. His last four starts have reaped two losses and two no-decisions.

McCarthy was on the verge of losing his spot in the rotation, but received a reprieve when rookie Mike Soroka had to be placed on the disabled list for the second time with shoulder soreness. Otherwise, he would likely have been moved to the bullpen.

McCarthy threw 5 2/3 innings in his last start against San Diego on June 15 and allowed two runs. In 14 starts, McCarthy has allowed three or fewer earned runs in 10 games.

McCarthy has made 10 career appearances (eight starts) against Baltimore and compiled a 2-2 record with a 4.28 ERA. He has not faced the Orioles since 2014.

Atlanta would like to see McCarthy pitch deeper in the game in order to give the bullpen a break. Luke Jackson, Sam Freeman and Peter Moylan have pitched the last two days and are likely unavailable. Concern remains about closer Arodys Vizcaino, who has complained of right shoulder soreness and hasn’t pitched in six days.

Vizcaino has suffered shoulder issues this season and had a cortisone injection this week.

“It’s one of those spots in the year with him,” manager Brian Snitker said. “We went through it a couple times with him last year. There are times he’s going to have to be down, just to get him through the year.”

The teams can’t pretend it will be just another game when the Pittsburgh Steelers visit the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night in an AFC North showdown.“It’s another game, but it’s Pittsburgh http://www.jacksonvillejaguarsteamonline.com/gardner-minshew-ii-jersey , and they’re leading our division,” Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. “They beat us up there. They’re coming here, and it’s a big football game for us because we don’t get any more do-overs.”The Steelers won the clubs’ first meeting in Week 7 at Pittsburgh, 29-14.Both teams are coming off Week 12 wins.The Steelers (9-2) are currently riding a six-game win streak and have beaten the Bengals (5-6) five straight times. Pittsburgh was on the winning side against Cincinnati eight out of the past nine meetings.Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown enters the game playing at an MVP level. He leads the league in receptions (80) and yards (1,195). Six times this season, Brown eclipsed the 100-yard receiving mark, though he did not top 100 yards against the Bengals.Brown has faced the Cincinnati defense 15 times in his career, 14 regular-season games and one playoff game. He went over 100 yards only three times in those contests, most recently in the playoffs after the 2015 season.Brown has just five receiving touchdowns against the Bengals.The 2017 Cincinnati pass defense has been very strong and will look to slow Brown and the Steelers passing attack again.Cincinnati ranks fifth in the NFL in pass defense, only allowing 203.8 yards a game. The Bengals are 10th in the NFL in points allowed at 19.5 per contest, so they figure to put pressure on Pittsburgh’s offensive line and running back Le’Veon Bell.Bell leads the NFL in rushing at 981 yards. He is poised to pass the 1 http://www.losangelesramsteamonline.com/darrell-henderson-jersey ,000-yard mark on a season for the third time in his five-year NFL career.Getting a mere 19 yards Sunday shouldn’t be a problem as the Michigan State product is facing a Bengals defense that is 28th in the NFL at stopping the run, allowing opponents an average of 126.6 yards a game.The Bengals finally had their own strong showing in the run game last week in a 30-16 win over the Cleveland Browns. Led by rookie running back Joe Mixon, the Bengals churned out 152 rushing yards.Finding that same freedom against the Steelers will not be so easy. The Pittsburgh defense only gives up an average of 96 yards per game on the ground, which ranks sixth in the NFL.The Steelers’ defense is ranked fourth in the league points allowed at 17.5 a contest.If the Bengals are going to win, quarterback Andy Dalton needs to make big plays in the passing game, especially to wide receiver A.J. Green. On paper, Pittsburgh pass defense looks stalwart, ranking third in the NFL by only allowing 193.4 yards a game. But the Steelers’ secondary has been gashed by big pass plays all season.In Pittsburgh’s 31-28 win over Green Bay on Sunday, Packers quarterback Brett Hundley threw three touchdown passes of 39 yards or longer. The Tennessee Titans scored on a 75-yard touchdown pass against the Steelers. The Indianapolis Colts scored twice on passes of 60 yards or more, and the Detroit Lions’ Matthew Stafford threw for 423 yards against the Steelers with two completions of 40 yards or more.“You can’t give up chunks on defense and give yourself chances to win,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said after the Green Bay game. “We were able to overcome those things. We were probably fortunate http://www.minnesotavikingsteamonline.com/irv-smith-jr.-jersey , but it’s also probably a good sign of the group in terms of we’re a good enough team to kind of overcome those things.“We got enough togetherness to stay on task, but obviously we got to minimize some of those things. Some of those things have been issues for us in multiple games, particularly the big plays of late, so obviously that has to stop yesterday.”While Steelers need to eliminate giving up big plays on defense, the Bengals need Dalton to have a consistent, turnover=free night.The Pittsburgh offense should look to ride the legs of Bell, as the Bengals’ defense has fared well at containing Brown. Cincinnati can’t allow a different Steelers receiver or Bell to have a big game.