Cutch comes up clutch
PITTSBURGH — Andrew McCutchen and the Pittsburgh Pirates hope they’ve finally put an end to their hitting woes.
McCutchen hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh inning and drove in three runs to lead Pittsburgh past the Cincinnati Reds 6-5 on Friday night.
The Pirates entered the game batting .153, the second-worst average for a major league team through nine games since 1921, according to STATS. The 2003 Detroit Tigers hit .140 in their first nine games on the way to a 119-loss season.
McCutchen’s leadoff shot to left field off J.J. Hoover (0-3), his second homer of the season, snapped a 5-all tie.
Cincinnati had just tied the score in the top of the seventh on Brandon Phillips’ second home run of the game, a two-run drive to center off Tony Watson (1-0).
“It was important for us to answer back right away,” McCutchen said. “That’s the type of team we are. We’re fighters.”
The first four batters in Pittsburgh’s lineup — Starling Marte, Neil Walker, McCutchen and Garrett Jones — had two hits each as the Pirates totaled 12. They entered the game with a .153 batting average, worst in the major leagues, and had scored only 21 runs in their first nine games.
Every Pirates position player had a hit by the end of the fifth inning.
“This is what we’re capable of doing,” McCutchen said. “We have good hitters in our lineup. It’s a matter of getting in that Michael Jordan-type mentality where you start thinking that you can outdo the next guy. That’s how we were tonight. One guy started hitting, then everyone else did. That’s how it’s always been in baseball.”
Hoover took over the big league lead in losses after giving up the decisive homer to McCutchen.
“It seems like he leaves that one pitch out over the plate and they’re not missing it,” Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker said. “You’re going to give it up sometimes and he gave it up to one of the best. McCutchen isn’t a slouch. He’s one of the best players in the league.”
Walker and McCutchen hit consecutive two-run singles in the second to give Pittsburgh a 5-1 lead.
Marte extended his streak of multihit games to six. He is 12 for 24 during that stretch. The leadoff batter also has had a hit in the first inning in each of those six games.
“He may not be the typical leadoff hitter who draws a lot of walks, but the thing he does well is that he swings at good pitches,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “When he sees the first hittable pitch, he goes after it aggressively and puts a good swing on it.”
