Gamemaster » everything we’ve been doing over the last couple of years,”

LOS ANGELES — The Pittsburgh Pirates headed north by bus Sunday evening to see if the roller-coaster ride will continue.

Fresh off a series victory at San Diego http://www.jaguarscheapstore.com/jawaan-taylor-jersey-cheap , capped by a 7-5 victory Sunday, the Pirates are now in Los Angeles for the first of three games Monday, having won four of their last six games.

That winning run came after a five-game losing streak. The five games before that? The Pirates won four of them.

The Dodgers have been a bit steadier of late, going 17-9 in June to keep pace with the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League West. But the end of June was a bit of a struggle as the Dodgers lost four of their last five before the calendar flipped. They opened July with a 6-4 win over the Colorado Rockies on Sunday.

Not only did the Dodgers’ offense take off in June, to the tune of 55 home runs to set a franchise record for a month, the pitching staff got healthy again … literally.

Alex Wood (4-5, 4.00 ERA) will take the mound Monday, looking and feeling much better after nagging leg cramps early in the year.

Wood went seven innings against the Chicago Cubs in his last outing Wednesday, his longest start since his season debut on March 30 when he worked eight innings against the San Francisco Giants.

An All-Star for the first time last season, Wood is once again starting to look like the pitcher who can rise to the occasion on a nightly basis.

“I’m still looking for consistency out of my sinker, but the breaking ball was a lot better Josh Oliver Jersey ,” Wood told reporters after his most recent start. “Overall, it was pretty good.”

The Dodgers also have Clayton Kershaw back recently from a lower back injury and Rich Hill returned from a blister on his left middle finger. Both left-handers will face the Pirates this week.

Pittsburgh announced Sunday that Nick Kingham (2-3, 3.82) will start the series opener at Dodger Stadium. He will take the spot of Chad Kuhl, who is on the DL with a forearm strain.

The Pirates (40-43) know that getting some length on their current winning ways can get them to .500 soon, possibly by the All-Star break that starts in two weeks.

“We’re starting to show a little bit of resiliency here the last week or so,” Pirates infielder Josh Harrison said, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “A team that (is) not making any excuses, which is refreshing because at the end of the day we know what we have to do and that’s come to show up every day.

“It’s been some ups and downs, but every team goes through ups and downs, and a lot of guys here are riding that wave of knowing that any day can be that day that we turn it around.”

Wood is 2-2 with a 2.86 ERA in eight career games (seven starts) against the Pirates. He has not faced Pittsburgh since last season. Kingham, a rookie http://www.jaguarscheapstore.com/quincy-williams-ii-jersey-cheap , has not pitched against the Dodgers in any of his first six appearances.

DAVIE, Fla. (AP) — Jarvis Landry’s return to the Miami Dolphins in 2018 looked a little less likely Wednesday after coach Adam Gase delivered a stinging critique of the excitable receiver’s behavior in the season finale.Landry and teammate Kenyan Drake were ejected in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Buffalo Bills. Landry was an instigator in the brawl that led to the ejections.“This last game was probably the pinnacle of what I’ve ever seen with him during a game,” Gase said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen it get to a level where it was extremely bad. But the last game was about as embarrassing as I’ve seen in a long time. It was something we can’t have happen.”More Miami Dolphins newsDolphins sign hometown WR Allen Hurns to 1-year contractNew Dolphins coach Brian Flores has his own daily workout at training campDolphins assistant coach Jim Caldwell takes leave of absence to address health issuesTwo-time Pro Bowl safety Reshad Jones rejoins Dolphins after skipping voluntary practicesDolphins QBs Josh Rosen, Ryan Fitzpatrick embrace battle for No. 1 jobLandry, who led the NFL with 112 receptions, can become a free agent this offseason. He has said he wants to remain with the Dolphins, and they’ve said they want him back, but his volatile personality is cause for a concern — especially on a team that went 6-10 in part due to a lack of discipline.Landry said he was defending himself in the fight but acknowledged the ejections hurt the Dolphins’ comeback bid. They trailed 22-9 at the time and lost 22-16.“We’re going on our last drive, and two of our best players on offense aren’t in there,” Gase said. “That was very frustrating to watch. We need way better control from our best players in the heat of the moment.”Landry’s latest meltdown will be something to consider in deciding his future with Miami, Gase said.“You can’t take one isolated incident and overreact Ryquell Armstead Jersey , but at the same time we’ve got to make sure we look at everything we’ve been doing over the last couple of years,” the coach said. “You look at the body of work and see what direction we want to go.”Landry’s body of work in four seasons with Miami includes 400 catches, an NFL record for a fourth-year player. He is by far the most high-profile Dolphins player eligible for free agency.“Philosophically we want to draft, develop and keep as many of our own as possible,” executive vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum said. “So we’ll see what happens with Jarvis and a few other noteworthy free agents. In a perfect world we’d keep them all, but there is a salary cap.”Gase said he expects Ryan Tannehill to return as the starting quarterback in 2018 after missing the entire season because of a knee injury. He indicated he doesn’t expect quarterback Jay Cutler to be back.How would the season have been different had Tannehill stayed healthy?“I’m pretty sure you know my answer,” Gase said with a slight smile. “But it didn’t happen.”Gase also said veteran leadership needs to improve next season.“It’s never going to be the way we want it until guys take control of this thing,” he said. “You need your leaders to step up and be vocal.”131<button class="view-gallery">View Gallery</button> Gallery:Miami Dolphins cheerleadersSteve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports | Steve Mitchell