The Pittsburgh Pirates are in last place in the NL Central and likely to miss the playoffs for the ninth straight season. While rookie All-Star game starter Paul Skenes has been a bright spot, the Pirates enter play on Monday five games below .500 and in danger of finishing with their sixth-straight losing season. Despite the disappointing year, Andrew McCutchen is determined to give Pittsburgh everything he’s got.
McCutchen returned to the field after missing three games with a knee ailment and homered twice in Sunday’s extra-innings loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Following the game the 16-year veteran admitted that his knee was only at around 70 percent, according to ESPN’s recap.
“Seventy percent is better than zero percent so if I can swing the bat, I’m gonna swing it,” McCutchen said per ESPN.
The 37-year-old five-time All-Star was back in Pittsburgh’s lineup and leading off. He had been out of action since getting banged up while attempting to score the game-tying run in the 10th inning against the San Diego Padres last Wednesday. On Sunday, McCutchen returned to the team and accounted for most of the Pirates’ offense, going 2-5 with two home runs and four RBI.
The Pirates’ Andrew McCutchen is leading by example
McCutchen went deep in the third inning and hit another two-run shot in the eighth that tied the game. The Pirates took a one run lead in the top of the 10th but the Dodgers came back in the bottom of the inning and Teoscar Hernandez ended things with a walk off RBI single.
The Dodgers swept the Pirates in the three-game series. Pittsburgh has now lost a season-high seven straight games and nine of their last 10.
Despite this brutal stretch in the middle of another lost season, McCutchen’s presence delivered a powerful message to the team. He’s going to take the field and do whatever he can to help Pittsburgh turn things around. “If I can’t run I can’t run, but my job is to hit, to DH … Just keep the line moving, get the next guy up and that’s what I’m going to do,” McCutchen said via ESPN.
The Pirates last made the playoffs in 2015, which also happened to be McCutchen’s last year as an All-Star. Pittsburgh hasn’t won a postseason series since 2013, the year McCutchen won the MVP award.
After parting ways with the team in 2017, McCutchen returned to the Pirates in 2023. He put together a solid season with a .776 OPS and an OPS+ of 113 in 112 games. The Pirates signed McCutchen to a one-year, $5 million deal to bring him back for 2024. This season, McCutchen hit his 300th home run. He has already played in 98 games and is up to 16 homers and 59 runs scored with an OPS+ of 109. The Pirates' designated hitter has produced 1.0 WAR so far this year.
However, McCutchen is just as valuable to Pittsburgh in the clubhouse as he is on the field. The veteran is leading a young Pirates team by example, playing through pain and continuing to battle regardless of the situation.
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