The Pittsburgh Pirates will be trying to win three games in a row after a rough month and the Cincinnati Reds will be looking to avoid the start of a skid when the teams play the middle game of a series Saturday at PNC Park.

Pittsburgh (34-35) won the series opener 3-2 Breeland Speaks Color Rush Jersey , posting back-to-back wins for the first time since winning three straight May 15-17 to reach a season-best nine games above .500.

In the interim before Friday’s win, the Pirates were 6-18 and entered the weekend as close to the last-place Reds (eight games) as they were to first-place Milwaukee in the National League Central.

“It’s a long season. There’s going to be times where stuff like that happens,” Pittsburgh third baseman Colin Moran said of the poor stretch. “It’s more important that we bounce back like we did.”

Cincinnati (23-44) had won three in a row before Friday.

Pirates right-hander Ivan Nova (3-5, 4.68 ERA) is scheduled to face Reds right-hander Luis Castillo (4-7, 5.79) on Saturday.

Nova on Sunday returned from the disabled list (sprained right ring finger) without having made any rehab starts. No matter. He struck out eight in 5 2/3 innings, giving up one run and four hits in a 7-1 win over the Cubs in Chicago.

It showed the Pirates that the veteran can still be highly effective. It showed Nova that it is better to be forthcoming about nagging injuries and be willing to step away and heal.

“Just the way that the ball was coming out of my hand, I could tell the difference right away,” Nova said. “To be able to pitch a game like (that) … I think that’s kind of a lesson for you. Don’t force it.”

He had not had any sort of organized outing since his last appearance before May 24 when he went on the DL.

“He was ready to pitch,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “At the end of the day, he showed you he was ready to pitch.”

Nova also impressed the opposition.

“He was hitting the corners all day http://www.raidersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-p.j.-hall-jersey , keeping the ball down,” Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo told MLB.com. “It’s tough to do anything when he’s on like that.”

Nova is 3-7 with a 4.67 ERA in 10 career starts against Cincinnati.

Castillo’s last start was much more mixed than Nova’s.

In a 6-4 loss to St. Louis, Castillo had a career-high 10 strikeouts but also a career-high two homers allowed as Jose Martinez and Marcell Ozuna smacked back-to-back dingers in the first inning after Castillo struck out the first two hitters on six pitches. He also gave up a first-pitch, bases-loaded triple to Yadier Molina in the third.

“You just have to be strong mentally, more than physically,” Castillo said through an interpreter.

He gave up five runs and four hits in six innings that game. Despite the rocky start and the loss, Castillo, 25, managed an in-game turnaround, allowing just one batter to reach base in his final three innings.

“You saw the talent of Castillo Tanner Lee Color Rush Jersey ,” Cincinnati manager Jim Riggleman said. “The last three innings that he threw were outstanding, and it’s exciting to know that this guy has got a chance to be around here for a very long time. He’s just going to get better and better once he gets past these growing pains.”

Castillo is 1-2 with a 3.68 ERA in four career starts against Pittsburgh, with 22 strikeouts in 22 innings.

With their feet firmly on the gas pedal, the Philadelphia 76ers head into their final game of the season riding their biggest winning streak in team history.

The only thing standing between the 76ers and the all-important No. 3 seed in the NBA’s Eastern Conference playoff race: The Milwaukee Bucks, who travel to Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center for a game Wednesday.

With a win or a Cleveland loss to New York on Wednesday, the 76ers lock up the third spot. With a loss and a Cavaliers win, Philadelphia slips to the fourth spot, which means a probable second-round matchup with top-seed Toronto.

And the Sixers have done all this without Joel Embiid for the last two weeks, after their center went down with an orbital bone fracture, which may keep him out for the first games of the playoffs.

“We really haven’t blinked http://www.bearsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-roquan-smith-jersey ,” 76ers coach Brett Brown told Yahoo Sports. “I feel like the confidence I had was born out of facts and stats and certainly gut feel. The needle is moving a direction that sort of makes you feel good about the underbelly of the program.”

The 76ers enter the matchup riding a 15-game winning streak after a 121-113 victory at Atlanta on Tuesday. J.J. Redick had 28 points, and Ersan Ilyasova had 26 and Marco Belinelli had 20 points off the bench against the Hawks.

Ben Simmons, who is averaging nearly a triple-double since the beginning of March, had 14 points, 10 rebounds and six assists Tuesday, and said he knows the importance of the big matchup.

“Especially because it’s the last regular-season game,” Simmons said. “For me, I want to come out and make a statement that we are ready. Obviously we’re without (Joel Embiid) again, but we still have a great team.”

It’s not as if the Bucks have nothing to play for, however.

With a win or a Miami Heat loss to the Raptors on Wednesday http://www.texansauthorizedshops.com/authentic-keke-coutee-jersey , the Bucks can lock up the No. 6 seed and a first-round matchup with, yes, the 76ers. Ordinarily, that might be an obvious plus.

But with the second-seeded Boston Celtics facing myriad injuries, including Kyrie Irving’s season-ending knee surgery, a lower seed may prove more beneficial.

“I’m not going to lose any sleep because, like I said, we put ourselves in a position to where we’re in a pretty good position to determine where we want to be if that’s what we want to do,” Bucks center John Henson told reporters. “But we want to be the highest seed possible. That’s the goal.”

The Bucks meet the 76ers with a two-game winning streak and wins in three of four, with a surprising loss to Brooklyn on Thursday. Milwaukee defeated the Orlando Magic 102-86 on Monday. The Bucks outscored Orlando 57-44 in the second half Bryan Shaw Colorado Rockies Jersey , with Giannis Antetokounmpo out (ankle). His status is questionable for Wednesday.

“We definitely know we can’t win the whole thing without (Antetokounmpo),” Bucks guard Eric Bledsoe told reporters. “But at the same time, we’ve got a lot of confident guys in the room,” Bledsoe said. “We’re trying to get everybody on the same page because we’re going to need everybody.”
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