No Wes Horton Jersey , Vance Joseph never felt as if he was drinking out of a firehose when the Denver Broncos stumbled through a 5-11 season in his first year as head coach last year.

That's how general manager John Elway has repeatedly described what it must have been like for a first-year head coach in the NFL.

"That's not my personality, so I didn't feel that way," Joseph told The Associated Press. "My focus was purely on trying to flip it and get us back on a winning path. I think being a young head coach and being a young coach is a different deal. I'm not a young coach. I've been a part of teams that have gone through adversity so I kind of knew what the issues were."

Turnovers.

A sieve of an offensive line.

Locker room rifts.

A lack of chemistry, the byproduct of another protracted quarterback competition.

Still, "I think overwhelmed, that's not the word," Joseph said.

Denver's dive, which included eight losses by double digits, was a shock to a city and a franchise that had a ticker-tape parade just two years earlier, and Elway acknowledged that he pondered firing Joseph at season's end.

"That's the direction I want to go, but it's my responsibility to think about other options to see what would be best for the football team," Elway said in January. "We thought about different options, but ultimately, my goal was to stick with Vance and give him that shot."

Elway, who had riled up his players by calling them soft during an eight-game skid, said he shared in the blame for Joseph's deficient debut and needed to surround him with better personnel.

Joseph replaced nearly half of his coaching staff while Elway embarked on a massive roster upgrade .

He signed quarterback Case Keenum in free agency and all 10 members of his ballyhooed 2018 draft class spent four years in college and most were captains. That's a far cry from the previous two classes that were loaded with raw athleticism, long-term projects and plenty of question marks.

Joseph seems much more comfortable in his second season.

"I don't see it as a do-over. It's hard in this league. You don't get do-overs, unfortunately. But it's a new year and obviously last year wasn't good enough," Joseph said.

The hands-off philosophy Joseph brought to Denver last year has vanished.

"I think it's a fine line between micromanaging and coaching coaches. And I didn't want to ever be micromanaged as an assistant coach because in my mind I was doing the best I could for that head coach and the best I could for that football team. And I took great pride in coaching my guys and being the best group on the field every day in the meeting rooms or on the field," Joseph said.

"So, in my mind every coach would feel that way and every coach would want to coach that way. So, I was cautious in interrupting coaches' drills, interrupting coaches' ways of doing things because I had an experienced staff."

That led to the notion that Joseph was still acting like an assistant coach last year while offensive coordinator Mike McCoy continued operating as though he were still a head coach before getting fired at midseason.

Joseph vehemently denies that was the case.

"I thought Mike did a great job every week of accepting his role and we talked every week about the game plan, so that's not true," Joseph said.

"I worked for a lot of coaches who didn't micromanage me, Gary Kubiak Evan Bouchard Oilers Jersey , Marvin Lewis, great guys who have won a lot of games. So, that's not true. Our staff last year we discussed every game plan that we put forward and again it was the best thing for our players at the time.

"So, our thought process early on was to be an explosive offense. We were 3-1. It wasn't perfect. But it was working. Now, turning the ball over, not protecting the quarterback, those things affected how we played on offense. But not Mike trying to be in total control, that's not true."

Still, Joseph said he has to coach his coaches better, and by that, he means challenging them.

"I don't coach the receivers, I don't coach the running backs or offensive line. I'm a defensive backs guy, I'm a defensive guy. So, I think asking the right questions and triggering more thought process on how we can do things better. Or simply seeing it differently than the coach and saying, 'Why don't we do it that way?'" Joseph said.

"Now, I can be wrong, but I think simply asking more questions is a simple way of helping the coaches get better and helping our football team get better and not letting anything slide."

Joseph realizes he won't get another chance if things don't change.

"Winning football games is a must this year," he said. "We have to do that. That's why they hired me."

And why Elway stuck with him.

Kyle Gibson recovered from a rough start to throw seven innings, and Max Kepler homered in his second straight game to lead Minnesota past Baltimore 5-4 on Saturday.

Bobby Wilson went 2-for-3 with three RBIs for the Twins, who won their third in a row.

Gibson (3-6) allowed three runs in the first inning – including a two-run homer by Chris Davis – but only gave up two hits after that while striking out nine. It was Gibson’s highest strikeout total since fanning 10 batters on April 26 against the New York Yankees.

Kepler’s solo shot off Kevin Gausman sparked a three-run fifth that tied it. Wilson’s two-run double off Miguel Castro (2-5) in the sixth gave Minnesota the lead for good.

The team with baseball’s worst record, meanwhile, lost its fifth in the row.

Trevor Hildenberger worked a scoreless eighth for the Twins. Jace Peterson’s RBI double off Fernando Rodney pulled the Orioles to 5-4, but Rodney got Tim Beckham on a grounder to short to convert his 19th save in 24 chances.

CUBS 8, REDS 7

CHICAGO – Javier Baez homered and had four hits – including a game-tying infield single in the eighth – and Chicago rallied from a five-run deficit and over Cincinnati.

Anthony Rizzo’s RBI groundout capped a four-run eighth inning for Chicago, which has come from behind in each of its last eight wins.

Eugenio Suarez homered and Billy Hamilton added three hits and three stolen bases for Cincinnati, which had its five-game winning streak against the Cubs snapped.

Randy Rosario (4-0) allowed two hits in 2 1/3 innings to get the win. Brandon Marrow worked the ninth for his 20th save.

Jared Hughes (2-3) took the loss Josh Bailey Jersey , part of three Reds relievers who allowed five runs in 2 1/3 innings.

PHILLIES 3, PIRATES 2

PITTSBURGH – Nick Williams, Scott Kingery and Jorge Alfaro drove in runs on consecutive at-bats in the seventh inning to help Philadelphia beat Pittsburgh and extend the first-place Phillies‘ winning streak to six games.

Jake Arrieta (6-6) worked around six hits with the help of eight strikeouts to hold the Pirates to two runs over seven innings.

Pirates starter Jameson Taillon (5-7) was charged with all three runs. He had allowed just two singles coming into the seventh. He struck out eight and walked none.

Starling Marte singled and scored in the first and homered in the second as part of a three-hit afternoon to stake the Pirates to an early lead.

Victor Arano worked around a leadoff double in the ninth for his second save.

CARDINALS 3, GIANTS 2

SAN FRANCISCO – Carlos Martinez pitched seven effective innings for his third consecutive win and St. Louis beat San Francisco.

Martinez (6-4) allowed one run on six hits with three strikeouts and did not walk a batter for the third time this season. The right-hander also drove in the Cardinals’ first run with an RBI double in the third.

Jordan Hicks allowed a run in the eighth and Bud Norris retired three batters for his 17th save.

Brandon Belt had three hits and drove in both runs for the Giants. San Francisco has been held to two runs or fewer in five of its last six games.

Jeff Samardzija had an uneven outing in his first start since May 29. Activated off the disabled list before the game, Samardzija (1-5) gave up three runs in five innings and repeatedly pitched with runners on base.

BRAVES 5, BREWERS 1

MILWAUKEE – Anibal Sanchez pitched effectively into the seventh and Freddie Freeman added three hits, lifting slumping Atlanta over Milwaukee.

Sanchez (4-2) retired 19 in a row at one point to help snap Atlanta’s season high four-game skid. He exited with two outs in the seventh after being hit by a liner on his right hip.

Atlanta got to Brewers spot starter Aaron Wilkerson (0-1) early to end Milwaukee’s five-game winning streak. Wilkerson had taken the rotation turn of Brent Suter, who went on the 10-day disabled list with left forearm tightness on Friday.

Sanchez struck out six in a row at one point. But after two easy outs in the seventh, his day ended quickly following a walk to Hernan Perez.

TIGERS 7, RANGERS 2

DETROIT – Nicholas Castellanos homered as part of a seven-run first inning for Detroit, and the Tigers cruised past Texas.

Cole Hamels (4-8) retired only two batters for the Rangers in his shortest start since 2010, and Adrian Beltre had a home run taken away when Detroit’s JaCoby Jones made a spectacular catch in left-center field.

Mike Fiers (6-5) allowed a run and five hits in six innings. He struck out six with one walk.

Rougned Odor hit a solo homer for Texas immediately after Beltre was robbed by Jones. Shin-Soo Choo doubled twice for the Rangers to extend his on-base streak to 46 games, tying Julio Franco’s club record set in 1993.

Niko Goodrum had four hits for the Tigers.

YANKEES 8, BLUE JAYS 5

TORONTO – Luis Severino pitched five innings to earn his major league-leading 14th win, Brett Gardner and Aaron Judge each hit solo home runs, and New York beat Toronto.

Severino (14-2) won his fifth straight start, allowing three runs and five hits. Two of the hits were home runs, marking the first time this season that Severino has allowed more than one homer in a game. He has allowed three earned runs or less in 16 consecutive starts.

Jonathan Holder, David Robertson, Dellin Betances each worked one inning and Aroldis Chapman got the first out of the ninth before leaving with an apparent injury. Chasen Shreve finished for New York, giving up a solo homer to Aledmys Diaz.

J.A. Happ (10-5), a potential trade target for the Yankees, had a dreadful audi