LOS ANGELES -- As the Pirates seek to improve their offense across the board, getting designated hitter Andrew McCutchen going will be a major factor. And McCutchen wrapped a strong road trip with his best offensive showing so far this year, going 4-for-4 with a homer in Pittsburgh¡¯s 9-2 loss to the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.
"Cutch is having good swings,¡± said manager Derek Shelton. ¡°... The first four days of the road trip, he had been really hot. Yesterday, he went 0-for-5 and then rolled back out with four hits today. He's having really consistent at-bats. We need that in our lineup.¡±
McCutchen has recorded at least one hit in seven of his last eight games, concluding with his 11th career four-hit game on Sunday. He struck early against former teammate Tyler Glasnow, hitting a first-inning home run, which Enmanuel Valdez followed up with one of his own to give the Pirates back-to-back blasts for the first time this year.
McCutchen¡¯s shot was his 238th with Pittsburgh, putting him two shy of Roberto Clemente for third on the all-time list for homers hit as a Pirate.
"We are starting to get things going in the lineup, which is good, because that¡¯s something that seemed like we were kind of missing,¡± said McCutchen. ¡°It¡¯s a rollercoaster of offensive battles for us. So for us to get some consistency, one, in the lineup, and two, with the guys at the bottom and just throughout the whole lineup, it's good to get that production.¡±
Due to Glasnow¡¯s early exit with a right shoulder injury, McCutchen wound up facing a different pitcher each time he came up to bat. He got a hit against all four.
"It's like a Spring Training game,¡± said McCutchen. ¡°You face one guy and then you face another. So it shouldn't surprise anybody at this point. Just simplify as much as you can. Wait on your pitch and be ready to hit.¡±
At 38 years old and in his 17th big league season, McCutchen is showing that he still has plenty to offer with his bat. Among Pirates with at least 50 plate appearances, he¡¯s second in average (.276) and OPS (.815). Those would be his best marks over the course of a full season since 2017 and ¡¯19, respectively.
While it¡¯s just one month, it gives McCutchen a solid base to build off.
"I always say in April, you just want to hover,¡± said McCutchen. ¡°You don't want to get too high or too low, you just sort of hover. And that could be a different definition for a lot of guys. But for me, it's just having productive at-bats and taking good swings, swinging at good pitches and basically hoping for the best. I felt pretty good this trip, made some strides, and hopefully, [I¡¯ll] just continue that, maintain it, as we go back to Pittsburgh.¡±
With Opening Day now a month in the rearview, the Pirates are 11-18. As a whole, they¡¯ve got their work cut out for them to try and turn things around -- but there have been encouraging signs, even beyond just McCutchen and Oneil Cruz. They had a combined 23 hits in those three games in Los Angeles, including some much-needed production from the bottom of the order.
They were also the first team to score three earned runs against both Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki this season.
Pair that with a mostly solid run of starting pitching -- featuring quality starts in four of six games on their West Coast road trip -- and that could prove to be a winning formula.
"We definitely showcased some stretches where we can put the runs up,¡± said McCutchen. ¡°And when the pitching does their job, which it did more times than not ¡ we have opportunities to win, especially against a team like the Dodgers. I mean, not even us -- you look at paper, people expect them to sweep, no matter what, just because of the team, the payroll, the guys on the team. So for us to go in and play them well for two games, it just showed that we're capable of doing that.¡±