ANAHEIM -- It was the type of swing the Pirates had seemingly been searching for most of the season. And when they¡¯ve needed a swing like that for the better part of two decades, it¡¯s usually been Andrew McCutchen who has delivered.
Up 2-1 in the fourth inning Tuesday at Angel Stadium, McCutchen had a chance to create some much-needed separation. Angels starter Jos¨¦ Soriano delivered a sinker on the low, inside corner, but McCutchen had already seen plenty of heat in the seven-pitch at-bat. He was able to get the barrel to the ball and drive it over the wall in left-center.
McCutchen¡¯s homer may have been the big blow of the night in the Pirates¡¯ 9-3 win over the Angels, but it certainly wasn¡¯t the only one. After struggling to generate much offense against starters early, get production out of the bottom of the order or really score enough in general, everything came up Bucs in a season-high 18-hit performance. Everyone in the starting lineup reached base safely, and three players -- Bryan Reynolds, Tommy Pham and Isiah Kiner-Falefa -- had three hits apiece.
¡°We just kept the foot on the gas and we just chipped away throughout the game,¡± McCutchen said. ¡°It was good to see, and hopefully we can find some consistency with that.¡±
Just about every hitter in the Pirates clubhouse has been in search of consistency this year. It¡¯s a main talking point for manager Derek Shelton, who has seen occasional offensive outbursts fail to spark something longer term so far. Perhaps Tuesday¡¯s win could change that.
McCutchen, too, is seemingly in search of consistency. The results have been good -- a .752 OPS, a couple of homers, a .348 on-base percentage -- but he has not been in the lineup as much this season as he has been the last two years.
That¡¯s mostly circumstantial. Reynolds was limited to DH duties for several weeks to start the season, meaning McCutchen had to play right field. He did fine in a limited sample, but he also only played about every other day for an elongated stretch. On Saturday, he was not in the lineup, and in a now deleted tweet, he expressed that he wasn¡¯t getting a ¡°day off.¡± He just wasn¡¯t in the lineup.
¡°I appreciate the way that he wants to play every day,¡± Shelton said, adding the two are having plenty of conversations to gauge where McCutchen is physically. ¡°We also have to be mindful that he's 38. Want to get him in there as much as possible, but I think it's just a credit to him, how he's taking care of his body, that he's able to do that."
McCutchen¡¯s mentality for years has been, ¡°it starts with me.¡± That¡¯s for himself, not for him to express to the team. Whether it was the playoff years or now, it¡¯s a way of keeping himself accountable.
And there¡¯s no question the Pirates have been a better team with McCutchen in the lineup. In the 14 games he¡¯s started, the team has scored 68 runs (4.9 a game) and are 8-6. When he hasn¡¯t started, they¡¯re 1-9 and have scored 19 runs (2.1 run average).
¡°I know if I can do what I know I¡¯m capable of doing and going out there and consistently doing it, I think it can give us the spark that we need,¡± McCutchen said. ¡°I do feel that I¡¯m very capable of doing that. So, hopefully, today, even for myself, was a good start to hopefully something good for the rest of the season.¡±
The offense is more than just McCutchen, but it¡¯s hard to argue his point that it starts with him. That¡¯s why he wants to be in the lineup every day.
¡°If I¡¯m able to do that, I¡¯m in there, no matter what and that¡¯s the way that I look at it,¡± McCutchen said. ¡°That¡¯s no matter what, if I can be in there. If it means getting in the outfield more, then I¡¯ll get in the outfield more. I showed I was capable of doing that, so I¡¯m sure once a week isn¡¯t bad. So if I get the opportunity where it puts our team in a position to be able to win a game and knowing we have the best team we can have out there, then I¡¯m all for it.
¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m here for and that¡¯s what I¡¯m going to do. Yeah, I¡¯m down to play. I¡¯m down to play every day. I don¡¯t need off-days. So, just throw me out there until I say I can¡¯t do it.¡±