McCutchen finally belts first career slam, adds eight RBIs, three curtain calls

As Andrew McCutchen rounded second base at PNC Park, an uncharacteristically large smile on his face and arms raised in the air, most of the 19,318 fans at PNC Park stood, roared and clapped in unison.

Once the former National League MVP and five-time All-Star finally reached home plate, he belted out, "Finally!"

After 5,017 major league at-bats — many of which played a prominent part in the Pirates' return to relevance — McCutchen had finally hit his first career grand slam in a 10-1 victory over the Orioles Tuesday night. He wasn't done there, either.

McCutchen went 4 for 4 with a three-run homer, eight RBIs — the fifth person to accomplish that feat in the 131-year history of the franchise — and received three curtain calls from the hometown crowd, including one at the tail end of a long jog from center field in the seventh inning.



"You cherish all the good days," McCutchen said inside the clubhouse afterward. "All the bad ones as well. You’re going to have more bad ones than good ones. When you have a good one, it’s something special."

The grand slam crossed another accomplishment off McCutchen's bucket list and the emotional moment came in what has been a difficult ninth season for him, one where he emerged from a short bout of mediocrity to again reign supreme.

"It’s a special night," Hurdle said with a smile. "The fans were very appreciative. He’s done a lot of wonderful things here on the North Shore. Tonight was a very special night for him. Oh, what a night."



The performance did not change the Pirates' fate. The victory lifted them to 72-85, 16 1/2 games behind the first-place Cubs, and Wednesday's series finale against the Orioles is the final game at PNC Park this season.

However, this interleague game in a forgettable September was a reminder of McCutchen's impeccable rise. It was not long ago that it seemed his star had faded. McCutchen reached the Mendoza line after grounding into two double plays in a 6-5 loss in Atlanta on May 23. Almost every metric showed a steep decline from his MVP season in 2013. In a move to allow McCutchen more time to work with hitting coach Jeff Branson, Hurdle did not start him for the final two games of that series in Atlanta. Yet, McCutchen remained confident he'd return to form. He diagnosed the problem — he was not locking down the front side of his body, which led to a twisting motion — and said it was only a matter of time before progress would come.

Oh, it came. Since reaching .200, McCutchen is batting .313 with a .395 on-base percentage, 22 home runs and 67 RBI. He batted .411 in June and .322 in July. The two home runs Tuesday give McCutchen 28 this season — only three away from tying a career-high — and he's driven in 88 runs, which is more than he had in his MVP season.

"He's an MVP-caliber player," Adam Frazier told DKPittsburghSports.com. "When things are going tough for him, it's tough for us to watch. He's been the catalyst for this team. Without him, we wouldn't be even close to where we're at right now."

McCutchen has not been shy about his desire to finally hit a grand slam. He admitted as much after his three-homer game in San Diego on July 30. After all he had accomplished, that feat still remained elusive.

Not anymore.

After delivering an RBI double to score Starling Marte in the first inning, McCutchen walked to the plate in the second inning with the bases loaded and two outs. Owning a .260 career average with no home runs and 62 RBIs with the bases loaded, McCutchen couldn't help but think about that bucket list.

"I can’t help but think about it," he said. "It’s something you can’t not think about."

That didn't stop him from doing this:



That's McCutchen spraying a 2-1 fastball over the wall in right-center for the 6-0 lead, and he was greeted at home plate by Max Moroff, Frazier and Marte before giving the crowd a curtain call.

"The entire club was really excited for him," Hurdle said. "He’s been very transparent with the fact that it’s on his bucket list. ... He was able to wipe that off the list tonight. His facial expression on the trip around the bases said it all."

McCutchen scored another run in the fifth inning and capped his evening with this three-run homer in the sixth:



He followed that with yet another curtain call.

That swing helped lift his batting average to .273 and his 3.2 WAR ranks ninth among major league centerfielders. After having many difficult nights over the past two seasons, McCutchen made sure to enjoy this one a bit more.

"They’re great," he said. "The thing about it is it’s our nature, human beings when you have a great night you feel like you can do it again. You want to do it again."

As soon as the ball cleared the Clemente Wall — preventing McCutchen from collecting a triple to complete the cycle — Hurdle turned to bench coach Tom Prince and told him the plan for the seventh inning: McCutchen would run out to center field, only to be removed for Jordan Luplow before a pitch was thrown, giving McCutchen one victory jog back to the dugout.

"It’s special. You can’t draw ‘em up," Hurdle said.

As McCutchen took the jog, the fans, even those wearing orange, stood again for a long round of applause. In return, he gave them a tip of the cap and his third curtain call.