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OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- The Baltimore Ravens bid to reach the postseason will depend heavily of their second-ranked defense, a unit that has performed effectively despite an assortment of injuries.Baltimore leads the NFL in stopping the run and is seventh against the pass. Thus far, thats been good enough to offset a spotty offense that ranks 22nd in yardage and is averaging only two touchdowns per game.The Ravens (5-5) long ago built a reputation for hitting hard and playing rugged defense, and this team is a throwback to the days when Ray Lewis and Ed Reed made life miserable for the rest of the league.Its your typical Baltimore defense, said Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton, who will face the Ravens on Sunday. They do a really good job against the run and get you into third-and-long situations. Thats the way Baltimores been for a long time.The most impressive aspect of the current unit is that rarely has it been at full strength.Linebackers Terrell Suggs and C.J. Mosley, along with cornerbacks Jimmy Smith and Shareece Wright, all have missed at least one game because of injury. Linebacker Elvis Dumervil has suited up only once this year while recovering from foot surgery, but hes hopeful of returning against Cincinnati (3-6-1).Linebacker Zach Orr leads the team with 86 tackles and safety Eric Weddle ranks second with 51. Weddle also has two of the Ravens 11 interceptions.Signed as a free agent during the offseason after a nine-year run with San Diego, Weddle has been an integral part of a defense he expects to ultimately finish as the best in the business.Theres only so many opportunities you have in this league to do something special and be No. 1, he said Wednesday. You always will have that.The Ravens owned the top-ranked defense before sputtering in a 27-17 loss to Dallas on Sunday. Try as he might, Weddle couldnt get that game out of his mind.We did a lot of good things in last weeks game but it wasnt good enough, he said. We didnt do our part to get a win.Dallas scored all its points over the final 36 minutes. That left the Baltimore defense with the feeling that theres plenty of room for improvement.Our defense has played really well, coach John Harbaugh said. And the thing I love about our defense is theyre not satisfied with anything theyve done in the past. Theyre going to keep building on what theyve done well and keep trying to improve. Thats the beautiful thing about it. As well as theyve played, we can play better.Weddle understands the importance of defense for Baltimore. Yet, he doesnt believe the success of the team depends upon it.We want to play great, week-in, week-out, regardless whats happening on offense, he said. I know deep down theyre going to win us some games and were going to need them when it matters most. Until that happens, weve got to go out and play great. Weve got to keep the ball out of the end zone, eliminate the big plays and stuff the run like weve been doing.Game notesDumervil and TE Crockett Gillmore (thigh) practiced Wednesday. ... Smith (back) missed the session but Harbaugh expressed hope the DB would practice on Thursday. ... RB Lorenzo Taliaferro (hamstring) also missed practice.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFLSwell Bottle Schweiz . Spiller left Week 3s 27-20 loss to the New York Jets with a thigh injury, but fully practiced with the team all week and expects to be ready to go on Sunday. Swell Flasche Bestellen . Burris threw two TD passes, including a key 15-yard fourth-quarter strike to Bakari Grant that effectively countered a Toronto comeback bid and led Hamilton to a 33-19 victory. http://www.swelltrinkflascheschweiz.com/ . The mixed zone is not a place to make friends. S Well Trinkflasche . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. Swell Flasche Bestellen . -- Most satisfying to Russ Smith about No.BOSTON -- Ian Kennedy shoots for a club record and the Kansas City Royals look to continue a second-half push when they open a three-game series against the Red Sox at Fenway Park on Friday night.The veteran right-hander, who faces knuckleballer Steven Wright on Friday, has had five straight outings of at least six innings and one earned run or fewer, matching Larry Guras club mark set in 1981.Kennedy (8-9, 3.58 ERA), who signed a five-year, $70 million free agent contract with the Royals this past offseason, is 2-0 with an 0.79 ERA over those five games, lowering his ERA from 4.41 to 3.58. In his last start, Kennedy, who had been a victim of non-support, cruised to a 10-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins with eight shutout innings.Thats five starts in a row where hes been completely in control. Hes just been throwing the ball extremely well, manager Ned Yost said after Kennedys last start.Kennedys surge has coincided with the defending World Series champions second-half charge. The Royals have won 10 of their last 11 after a 5-3 victory in Miami on Thursday night. They have won their last six series and are four games out of a wild card spot and seven away from the American League Central lead.Kennedy and Wright matched up May 18 in Kansas City, with Wright getting the loss and Kennedy a no-decision. Wright, one of the real surprises of the 2016 season, comes off the disabled list Friday to open Bostons six-game homestand.Wright (13-5, 3.01), who is 5-0 since his last loss two months ago, was used as a pinch runner against the Dodgers in Los Angeles and suffered a right shoulder injury diving back into second base.He threw a bullpen session in St. Petersburg, Fla., and was pronounced ready to make his first appearance since Aug.dddddddddddd 6.The Red Sox just finished a four-city, 7-4 road trip that actually ended poorly, with two painful losses to the last-place Rays. They lost rookie left fielder Andrew Benintendi to a knee injury Wednesday and come home for six before going back out to the west coast as their treacherous second-half road grind continues.We had a winning road trip, Boston manager John Farrell said after Thursdays loss. We had to go out and put up a winning record, weve done that. But despite being 7-4 (on the road trip), theres times you look back, today being one of them, that you could have possibly capitalized.Despite the two losses, the Red Sox remained tied with the Toronto Blue Jays for the AL East lead, with the Baltimore Orioles a game behind.The Royals, 17-6 in August after a 7-19 July, still have work to do but a 2-1 start to a six-game road trip kept the momentum going.Kennedy, making his second career start at Fenway, has significant National League numbers against some Red Sox with Hanley Ramirez 4-for-24 and former teammate Aaron Hill 5-for-13 against him. David Ortiz, who has 30 homers and 100 RBI in his farewell season, is 3-for-6 with a homer against Kennedy.The current Royals are just 9-for-45 (.200) as a team against Wright.There is still no prognosis on Benintendi, originally diagnosed with a sprained left knee.Ill have more tests tomorrow and well take it day by day, he said Thursday. Theres nothing I can do about it now so Ill wait until the tests come back. Im going to try to stay as positive as I can. ' ' '