PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Fredi Gonzalez has seen this before. Every summer it seems. There will come a time during the season when something clicks in Justin Upton and all the rest of the Atlanta Braves have to do is hop on and enjoy the ride. Like now, for example. Upton went 2 for 4 with five RBI in Atlantas 11-3 thrashing over reeling Pittsburgh on Tuesday night. The Braves have won five straight and are 7-3 during Uptons current 10-game hitting streak. "He gets hot and he can carry us," Gonzalez said. "Hes done that a few months so its nice to have that big bat right behind (Freddie) Freeman, who is starting to roll the pole a little bit also." Uptons 24th homer — a three-run shot off Francisco Liriano (3-10) in the third — broke things open early. He added a two-run single off reliever Brandon Cumpton in the fifth as the Braves extended Pittsburghs losing streak to a season-high seven games. Jason Heyward went 2 for 5 with three RBI for the Braves while Evan Gattis hit his 19th homer on a tape-measure shot that landed halfway up the rotunda behind left field. "That was a joke," Upton said of Gattis shot. Aaron Harang (10-7) struck out four without a walk in 8 1-3 innings, his only misstep coming in the ninth when he couldnt quite nail down his first complete game in 14 months. "I was locating, getting ahead early, not deep into counts a lot," Harang said. "They were being really aggressive and swinging at pitches out of the zone. Guys were there to make plays for them." Harang even added his first RBI in two seasons, a single up the middle in the second that put the Braves up 1-0. Upton did most of the rest as the Braves ruined Andrew McCutchens return to the lineup for Pittsburgh. McCutchen went 0 for 4 in his first game back after missing two weeks with fractured cartilage in his ribs. The reigning National League MVP left the game after grounding into a double play in the bottom of the eighth. He reported no discomfort but allowed it may take a bit for his timing to come back. "This is definitely something Im trying to do, get back in the rhythm of things, get back in the swing of things," he said. "That will come sooner rather than later." Travis Snider, Starling Marte and Russell Martin had two hits apiece for the Pirates, whose current losing streak is their longest since dropping seven straight Sept. 7-14, 2012. Lirianos real problems began in the third. He allowed singles by Phil Gosselin and Freddie Freeman to start the inning. Upton sent a lined shot over the wall in left to make it 4-0 and the Braves kept piling on. Liriano gave up nine runs, seven earned, in four-plus innings. He walked three and struck out four while his ERA rose from 3.78 to 4.18. "One of those nights anything you throw is gonna get hit," Liriano said. "Theyve been pretty hot last couple games. Ive got to put it behind me, got to move forward." TRAINERS ROOM Braves: After failing to retire a single batter against Charlotte in an International League game on Wednesday night, rehabbing right-handed reliever Shae Simmons will make a third appearance for Triple-A Gwinnett on Wednesday. Simmons, who has been on the disabled list since July 27 with a strained right shoulder, pitched one scoreless inning in his first outing last Saturday against Norfolk. Pirates: Shortstop Clint Barmes was given a night off in Triple-A Indianapolis as he recovers from a strained left groin that has sidelined him since late June. The 35-year-old Barmes went 0 for 3 in his first game with the Indians on Monday night. UP NEXT Braves: Alex Wood (9-9, 3.07 ERA) goes for his third straight victory on Wednesday for Atlanta. The 23-year-old has a 1.45 ERA over his last six starts but remains at .500 on the season because he receives the second-lowest run support in the majors. Pirates: Ace-in-training Gerrit Cole (7-4, 3.78 ERA) returns from his second stint on the disabled list on Wednesday. Cole hasnt pitched in the majors since being sidelined by right lat soreness on July 9. He pitches seven scoreless innings for Triple-A Indianapolis last Friday. Cole is 4-1 in his last five decisions. He will be making his first career start against Atlanta. Cristian Zapata Jersey . -- The Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets will forever be tied together for making the same spectacular misjudgment on budding NBA sensation Jeremy Lin. Jefferson Lerma Colombia Jersey .C. United have acquired midfielder Alex Caskey from the Seattle Sounders for a third-round pick in the 2016 MLS draft. http://www.nationalcolombiafootball.com/santiago-arias-colombia-jersey/ . 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TSNs Farhan Lalji reports the Edmonton Eskimos non-import DT has a workout scheduled with an NFL team next week and isnt expected to sign a deal with any team until then.MINNEAPOLIS - The Washington Redskins were coming off of a surprising victory over Dallas and had franchise quarterback Robert Griffin III back in the huddle for the first time in seven games, momentum seemingly at their backs with a bye week looming.All that momentum came to a crashing halt before the team even reached the stadium to play the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, when two team busses collided on an exit ramp and left those involved shaken.Griffins solid return to the starting lineup was overshadowed by the pregame crash, a robust protest of the Redskins nickname and a resilient Teddy Bridgewater in the Vikings 29-26 victory.Guys fought really, really hard. But we know how bad we need wins right now and we didnt do it today, said Griffin, who completed 18 of 28 passes for 251 yards with a touchdown and an interception. I have to play better for that to happen, regardless of any box score, any stats. I know I can play better. I know we can play better. And were going to do that after this bye week.Bridgewater got off to a poor start, missing several wide open receivers deep down the field. But the rookie threw a touchdown pass in the final minute of the first half and made four first-down throws on the go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter to help deliver a much-needed win for the Vikings (4-5).Bridgewater completed 26 of 42 passes for 268 yards, Matt Asiata ran for three touchdowns and the Vikings sacked Griffin five times while rallying from deficits of 10-0, 20-14 and 26-21.Im extremely proud of our guys the way they fought, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said. They handled an awful lot of adversity throughout the ball game. I felt like our team grew up today in a lot of different ways because they could have folded the tents early.Griffin, who had not played in more than six games because of a dislocated left ankle, was on an early bus to TCF Bank Stadium when it rear-ended a bus carrying Redskins coaches and staff. The collision shattered the second bus windshield and almost sent the first bus careening over a guard rail.We saw the bus hit the bus and we both thought we were going to fly out the (windshield), Griffin said. Everybody got a little bit of whiplash, I believe.Griffiin shook it off and completed his first six passes of the game, helping the Redskins take a 10-0 lead.dddddddddddd But a costly interception just before halftime set up Bridgewaters 20-yard touchdown pass to Chase Ford that got the Vikings offence going.Bridgewater engineered two touchdown drives over 70 yards in the fourth quarter, the last ending with a plunge from Asiata with 3:27 to go that dropped the Redskins to 3-6.NICKNAME PROTEST: Organizers estimated the crowd around 5,000. The event began with a march through the University of Minnesota campus to the stadium, where Native American leaders, local politicians, former sports stars and other speakers voiced their disdain for Redskins owner Dan Snyder and his refusal to change the nickname theyve derided as derogatory and racist.REDSKINS Defence: After sacking Tony Romo five times in the win over Dallas last week, the Redskins got to Bridgewater just twice. They also blew several coverages in the secondary, leading to wide open receivers running free. That was unacceptable football, coach Jay Gruden said.DIVIDED LOCKER ROOM?: A report by ESPN before the game cited anonymous sources in saying that Griffin alienated some teammates and also the decision to start him came from Snyder and not Gruden. The coach vehemently denied those reports, calling them amateurish and fiction.CHASING TDS: The Vikings offence had been without Adrian Peterson since the first game of the season while he addresses child abuse charges in Texas and took another huge hit when tight end Kyle Rudolph was lost for six to eight weeks with sports hernia surgery. But little-known Chase Ford has filled in admirably for Rudolph, and he had five catches for 66 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown against Washington.VINTAGE RG3: Some questioned Grudens decision to go back to Griffin after Colt McCoy helped the Redskins win two straight games. But on the first series, Griffin showed everyone why hes the franchise quarterback. On third-and-7, he spun out of a sack by Chad Greenway, eluded Everson Griffen, rolled to his left and hit Roy Helu Jr. for 24 yards and a first down.___AP NFL websites: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' 'ue their six-game homestand on Friday against the Islanders ... The Oilers play in Colorado on Friday ... Edmonton was 1-for-3 on the power play, while Calgary went 1-for-5. ' ' '