Billy Hamilton is well aware of his struggles at the plate. The Cincinnati Reds centerfielder has tried to stay positive even as his average and his spot in the batting order dropped at an alarming rate Gary Jennings Jr. Jersey , trying to focus on being a more complete player until his swing returned.

For the first time in a while – far too long for Hamilton’s liking – everything that makes him so effective was on full display Sunday against Pittsburgh. Hamilton went 3 for 4, stole two bases, scored three times and made a pair of vital defensive plays as the Reds held on for an 8-6 victory on Sunday.

Hamilton started the day with a diving grab on the warning track in right-center to rob Pittsburgh’s Francisco Cervelli of extra bases in the first. He ended it by starting the sequence that cut down the potential game-tying run at the plate in the eighth then trotting home in the ninth after Scott Schebler’s two-run shot gave Cincinnati a little extra breathing room.

”Oh my goodness, that’s the best part (is the hitting),” Hamilton said after boosting his average .197. ”I ain’t worried about the catch. The catch is good, but I’m just worried about what I did at the plate. Especially for me, I’ve been struggling, man. Just to have one of these days, it gives you a bunch of confidence and clears your head a little bit.”

Eugenio Suarez homered in the second straight game and Joey Votto celebrated his 1,500th major league contest by going 2 for 4 with two RBIs for the Reds. Schebler added three RBIs for Cincinnati, which won for just the second time in seven tries at PNC Park this season.

Anthony DeSclafani (2-1) surrendered solo home runs to Colin Moran and Gregory Polanco but otherwise kept the Pirates in check to pick up his second victory since his return after missing the entire 2017 season with right elbow issues. DeSclafani struck out four against three hits and a strikeout in 5 2/3 innings and more than once caught himself marveling at Hamilton.

”It’s unbelievable what he can do out there, man,” DeSclafani said. ”He saves pitchers all the time and he’s just fun to watch out there. It’s like video game stuff. It’s unbelievable.”

Raisel Iglesias allowed an inherited runner to score in the eighth and an RBI-single to Austin Meadows in the ninth but managed to record the final four outs for his 10th save, receiving a bit of help in the process. Iglesias entered with two on and two outs in the eighth and immediately surrendered a double in the gap to Polanco.

Corey Dickerson scored to pull the Pirates within one but Josh Bell was out at home trying to score all the way from first after Hamilton raced to the ball and quickly got it to shortstop Jose Peraza, who fired a strike to home.

The call stood upon review after the Pirates challenged Cincinnati catcher Curt Casali may have illegally blocked the plate.

”I was just thinking head-first slide before he caught it so it was just too late for me to redirect or think anything else at that point,” Bell said, who added he thought Casali ”100 percent” gave him a lane to slide.

SLUMP BUSTED?

Like Hamilton http://www.seahawkscheapshops.com/cheap-authentic-phil-haynes-jersey , Polanco has been mired in an extended slump. The Pirates moved him to seventh in the lineup and there are signs he’s on the verge of snapping out of it after going 3 for 3, including his ninth home run of the season.

”Right now I am not thinking about anything, just seeing the ball and hit it,” Polanco said after boosting his average to .211. ”Because my swing the last couple days has been good. I’m not thinking now, I’m just swinging now. And when you’re not thinking your swing is good. So you just want to continue to keep seeing the pitches that you want to hit.”

MUSGROVE MUZZLED

Joe Musgrove (2-2) had been impressive in his first four starts for the Pirates after starting the year on the disabled list with right-shoulder problems but the Reds jumped on him the second time through the lineup. Cincinnati scored two runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth and finished 4 for 9 with runners in scoring position after going 0 for 19 in the same situation over the first two games of the series, both losses.

Musgrove was charged with six runs in 4 1/3 innings with a walk and six strikeouts as his ERA jumped from 2.16 to 3.68.

”That’s my first day game in a while,” Musgrove said after temperatures soared into the upper 80s. ”Just trying to get my body alert. It was hot out there. I felt drained.”

UP NEXT

Reds: off Monday then host Detroit in a brief two-game interleague series starting Tuesday when Sal Romano (3-7, 5.67 ERA) faces Matthew Boyd (4-4, 3.23).

Pirates: Welcome Milwaukee to PNC Park for the first time this season when the Brewers come in for a three-game set starting Monday. Trevor Williams (5-4, 4.38 ERA) faces Jhoulys Chacin (6-1, 3.32) in the opener.

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At the time the score looked like a misprint.

Jacksonville 30. Pittsburgh 9 .

On the road.

A result so stunningly one-sided Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger stood in the locker room on that gray October afternoon only half-jokingly wondered if he still had ”it.”

Throwing five interceptions, two of which the Jaguars returned for momentum-swinging, confidence-sapping touchdowns, will do that.

Yet Roethlisberger insists he’s not out for revenge in the rematch on Sunday when the Jaguars (11-6) visit Heinz Field in the divisional round with a trip to the AFC title game on the line.

There’s too much at stake for him to settle some sort of personal vendetta.

Or so he says.

”I’ll play anyone in the postseason,” Roethlisberger said.

Only Jacksonville isn’t ”anyone.” Not anymore. Not after the NFL’s top-ranked defense proved that breakout performance three months ago was a sign of things to come.

The Jaguars don’t play a particularly pretty brand of football. They also don’t particularly care.

Doubt them all you want. Mock their offense at your leisure.

Last they checked, there will be 24 teams watching the playoffs this weekend and Jacksonville isn’t one of them.

”We’ve just got to score one more point than they do Ugo Amadi Jersey ,” Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles said.

”It doesn’t matter who scores it, where it comes from, how we do it, what it looks like, we score one more than them and I’m happy with how we did it.”

Bortles and the other 52 guys on the roster might be the only ones.

The Steelers (13-3) entered the season as one of the favorites to reach the Super Bowl.

Despite a fall filled with drama (much of it self-created) Pittsburgh was really only pushed around once. By the Jaguars.

Take Jacksonville lightly at your peril, something the Steelers found out on Oct. 8.

”Some people come in thinking a team may be easier by their record or tougher by their record, but we know that can’t be on our mind,” Pittsburgh running back Le’Veon Bell said.

”I think that kind of got us in the first game because the Jacksonville Jaguars, they’re normally not a good team but those guys got players this year. They’ve been making plays.”

If the Jaguars can do it for another 60 minutes, they’ll reach the NFL’s final four for just the third time in franchise history.

Yes, really.

Some things to look for as the Jaguars try to pull off a second stunner against a team that believes its season is destined to end with a trip to Minneapolis for the Super Bowl.

AB’s BACK: Pittsburgh All-Pro wide receiver Antonio Brown is expected to play after missing the final 2+ games of the regular season with a left calf contusion. Brown practiced all week, though he was sent home on Friday because of an illness.

Brown caught 10 passes for 157 yards in the first meeting with Jacksonville and his return means all of Pittsburgh’s ”Killer Bs” will be ready to go.

”If he’s out there, I expect him to be AB,” Steelers cornerback Joe Haden said.

LEONARD’S LEAP: Jaguars rookie running back Leonard Fournette hammered the Steelers for a season-high 181 yards in October, including a 2-yard touchdown leap and a 90-yard sprint to the end zone in the final two minutes that sealed it. Fournette’s production has dipped in recent weeks. He’s only averaged higher than 3.9 yards per carry once over the past eight weeks, though Bortles doesn’t think Fournette has smacked into the rookie wall.

”There has obviously been some hiccups and bumps in the road with different things,” Bortles said. ”It’s not on him Christian Wilkins Jersey , it’s on guys up front, it’s on me getting us in the right play, receivers blocking. It’s on everyone.”

CHILL OUT DUDE: Temperatures are expected to be in the teens at kickoff, a decided departure for the Jaguars.

While Jacksonville coach Doug Marrone downplayed the elements, Bell believes he has an advantage when the mercury drops.

A year ago against Miami in the wild-card round, he pounded the Dolphins for 167 yards and two touchdowns as the temperature hovered around 17 degrees.

”It definitely affects guys who are tackling,” Bell said. ”That’s why when it’s cold outside I take a lot of pride because I know guys don’t want to tackle.”

COACH SHAY: Injured Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier spent some time at the team’s facility this week, getting around in a wheelchair while recovering from spinal stabilization surgery last month following a hit against Cincinnati that left his lower body motionless.

Shazier’s presence has provided the Steelers with a boost, and while his football career is likely over, he remains intent on finding a way to contribute. Shazier, who would get to work as early as 6 a.m. to break down film when he was playing, is now serving as equal parts advance scout and motivational speaker.

”He loves football so much,” guard David DeCastro said. ”It’s amazing to see and just to have the attitude he has after all he’s been through man, it’s pretty impressive. I don’t know if I’d be able to do the same.”

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