PITTSBURGH (AP) — 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 theAtlanta Braves have to do is hop on and enjoy the ride.

Like now, for example.

Upton went 2 for 4 with five RBI in Atlanta's 11-3 thrashing over reeling Pittsburgh on Tuesday night. TheBraves have won five straight and are 7-3 during Upton's current 10-game hitting streak.

"He gets hot and he can carry us," Gonzalez said. "He's done that a few months so it's nice to have that big bat right behind (Freddie) Freeman, who is starting to roll the pole a little bit also."

Upton's 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 Pittsburgh's 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 couldn't 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 McCutchen's 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 I'm 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.

Liriano's 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. "They've been pretty hot last couple games. I've got to put it behind me, got to move forward."