The Braves (75-60) snapped a three-game losing streak with

ATLANTA — Julio Teheran has had a so-so season for Atlanta http://www.marlinsfanproshop.com/authentic-justin-bour-jersey , but he may be the perfect pitcher to have on the mound Sunday as the Braves continue to try to hold first place in the National League East.Teheran is 4-1 with a 2.51 ERA in 10 career games (nine starts) against Pittsburgh and has allowed only one earned run in his past 27 1/3 innings against the Pirates. a 5-3 comeback victory over the Pirates on Saturday night and lead the Phillies, who lost to the Chicago Cubs 7-1 in Philadelphia, by three games.Article continues below ...The Pirates (66-70) will start rookie Nick Kingham in the series final at SunTrust Park after veteran Ivan Nova, who is 3-1 with a 1.98 ERA in four career starts versus Atlanta, was scratched.Teheran (9-7, 4.18 ERA) beat the Pirates with a strong seven-inning outing in Pittsburgh after Nova (7-9, 4.35 ERA) lost a day earlier in the Braves’ three-game sweep Aug. 20-22.Teheran gave up two hits and a run in his victory as the right-hander walked one after experiencing control problems most of the season.“It was the best command I’ve had in a while,” he said afterward.Teheran’s four-seam fastball averaged only 87.7 mph Kyle Barraclough Jersey , but he was able to locate and keep the Pirates off balance with his other pitches.“Warming up, I felt I didn’t need to throw harder,” Teheran said. “I wasn’t forcing it. I was throwing down and up and commanding.”That wasn’t the same way that Teheran had gone after the Pirates in previous seasons.“It’s a different pitcher than we saw a few years ago,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “He made pitches. He slowed the game down. He spun the ball extremely well.”After going 2-0 with a 2.93 ERA in five starts through the Pittsburgh game, Teheran didn’t fare as well in his most recent start against Tampa Bay. He allowed four runs in 5 2/3 innings against the Rays in a no-decision and surrendered his 24th homer of the season.Kingham (5-6, 4.92 ERA) will get the start for the Pirates opposite Teheran because Nova is away from his team for personal reasons.Nova’s absence can’t be bad news for the Braves despite their victory against him two weeks ago in Pittsburgh.Nova, a victim of poor run support most the season, lost for the first time to Atlanta despite giving up only four hits and two runs in six innings. He didn’t walk anyone in that game and has issued two free passes in 27 1/3 career innings against the Braves.Kingham will be making his 15th major league appearance and 13th start.Kingham http://www.marlinsfanproshop.com/authentic-nick-wittgren-jersey , who has never faced the Braves, made his two appearances out of the bullpen after lasting a total of four innings in starts at the end of July and beginning of August before being sent to Triple-A Indianapolis.The 26-year-old right-hander allowed six runs in three innings against the New York Mets and then four runs (two earned) in one inning before being pulled against the Chicago Cubs.The highlight for Kingham this season came in his major league debut at the end of April, when he limited St. Louis to one hit in seven scoreless innings while striking out nine and walking none. John Gant has turned from occasional spot starter to fixture in the St. Louis Cardinals‘ rotation. Now he needs to bounce back from his first bad start in six weeks.The right-hander gets the ball Friday night when St. Louis opens its last homestand of the regular season against the San Francisco Giants in Busch Stadium.After seven consecutive starts in which he had allowed no more than two earned runs while posting a 4-1 record and knocking his ERA down by nearly a full run, Gant was rocked in a 17-4 loss Saturday by the Los Angeles Dodgers.Article continues below ...In 4 1/3 innings, Gant (7-6, 3.53 ERA) yielded six hits and six runs, issuing four walks and fanning four. Free passes have been his only real weakness during his solid stretch, as he has walked 18 in his last five starts covering 28 innings.“I just have to come out and bear down harder than that Orlando Arcia Jersey ,” Gant said to mlb.com after losing to Los Angeles. “I can’t be walking those guys in that situation. I’ve got to be better for the team right there.”Gant will make his fourth career appearance against San Francisco and his second as a starter. He’s 0-0 in 10 innings with a 2.70 ERA.In his only start against the Giants this season, Gant gave up two runs, five hits and three walks over six innings, but did not get a decision in the Cardinals’ 3-2 loss.The Cardinals (84-69) can’t afford another short start from Gant, not with their postseason lives at stake. They start the weekend 1 1/2 games ahead of Colorado for the National League’s second wild-card spot and three games behind Milwaukee for the top wild-card position.St. Louis is also 5 1/2 games behind the Chicago Cubs for first place in the NL Central but could put itself into position to challenge for the division title with some help. St. Louis closes the regular season next weekend with three games at Wrigley Field.St. Louis could have edged closer to Chicago on Wednesday but dropped a 7-3 decision in Atlanta. Still, manager Mike Shildt was pleased by taking two of three from the NL East leaders on their field.“If we win series, we’ll be fine,” he said to mlb.com. “Two out of three against a club leading their division? We feel pretty good about it.”While St. Louis is trying to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2015 Jonathan Villar Jersey , the Giants (72-81) are playing out a few weeks’ worth of string after fading from contention in August. All they can do is ruin others’ hopes.In Madison Bumgarner (6-6, 3.14), San Francisco has a pitcher who is known for breaking hearts late in the season. The left-hander, who’s finishing his second straight injury-shortened season, is coming off a 3-0 win Saturday over Colorado that saw him fire six shutout innings, allowing five hits and a walk with two strikeouts.This will be Bumgarner’s first start in St. Louis since the 2014 NLCS, when he did what he does best in October — deal. He tossed 7 2/3 scoreless innings in Game 1, notching a 3-0 win that started the Giants on the way to a 4-1 series victory.Bumgarner is 4-5 with a 4.61 ERA in nine regular-season starts against the Cardinals. He has started one game against St. Louis this season http://www.brewersfanproshop.com/authentic-lorenzo-cain-jersey , allowing four runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings, but getting the win in the Giants’ 13-8 victory on July 8.