McCutchen eager to move on after hitting home run No. 300

PHILADELPHIA -- Andrew McCutchen doesn't like to talk about milestones. He doesn't even want to know about them. So much so that he said he won't even turn on MLB Network and risk seeing any mention of those pertaining to him on the ticker that rolls at the bottom of the screen. 

"I'm that type of person," McCutchen said. "I don't even look at the schedule. I don't know what time the games are, I don't know who's on the mound. I just know we're going to New York playing the Mets. That's just the way that I treat things, because I just try to be where my feet are. I try to be present. I try to not think so far ahead or behind. Be where I am right now." 

McCutchen said he learned the importance of being present from Clint Hurdle. He took that advice and ran with it. So, whenever approached about being just one home run shy of 300 in his illustrious career, McCutchen's response was predictable.

"I'm like, 'I don't want to talk about it,' “ he said. "When it happens, it happens, and then it will be here and then it'll be gone. It's like a burp in the wind. It's here. It happened. Tomorrow we show up ready to go against the Mets against whoever's on the mound."

Now, McCutchen has one less milestone to discuss.

He accomplished his share of historic feats last season -- collecting his 2,000th career hit, 1,000th walk and 400th double -- and added to the impressive list by hitting his 300th career homer in a 9-2 victory over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park Sunday afternoon. 

McCutchen became just the fourth player to hit his 300th home run in a Pirates uniform, joining Jeromy Burnitz, Willie Stargell and Ralph Kiner. The milestone homer came via a two-run shot off Ricardo Pinto in the top of the ninth inning:

Stuck on 299 since hitting it in August of last year, McCutchen admits he's happy to move on. But that doesn't mean he doesn't find comfort in knowing he got it done in a Pittsburgh uniform. 

"If you would have told me to do it only in a Pirates uniform, I would have done it," McCutchen said. "But you go through things, you go different places, you learn new stuff. To be able to continue and do it here, it means a lot. Wouldn't want to do it any other place."

In addition to being in rare company among the players to hit 300 home runs while wearing a Pirates uniform, McCutchen is the 160th player in major-league history to accomplish the feat. He is also now among 13 players all-time with 2000 career hits, 400 doubles, 45 triples, 300 home runs and 200 stolen bases. The other 12 are Hank Aaron, Carlos Beltran, Barry Bonds, George Brett, Joe Carter, Andre Dawson, Steve Finley, Reggie Jackson, Willie Mays, Frank Robinson, Larry Walker and Dave Winfield. Eight of those players are Hall of Famers. 

"Super special, especially for him to do it in a Pirates uniform," said Rowdy Tellez, who is now in his second stint as a teammate of McCutchen after playing with him previously in Milwaukee. "As a fan of the game, I would have loved to see him do it in Pittsburgh, but 300 is 300. Not a lot of people in this game have done that. He's an MVP, an All-Star, a Silver Slugger, a Gold Glover, a lot of accolades that come along with Andrew McCutchen. I think any one of these guys will say he's made them better off the field, too. In the clubhouse, the type of leader he is, the person he is, what he brings to the organization. He's an icon here. He deserves this."

McCutchen put together a 2-for-5 performance and scored three runs against the Phillies. The multi-hit showing was his third of the season and could serve as a spark for the struggling veteran, who entered Sunday hitting .161. 

"I know it's been weighing on him," Derek Shelton said. "He had better at-bats today, and it was really good. I think it was important, if you saw the reaction in our dugout, just how much he means to our group that they were so excited for him." 

McCutchen hit one of three home runs in the final four innings of the Pirates' win, which secured a road series split. Jack Suwinski provided the biggest blast of the afternoon, as he followed an error that allowed Ke'Bryan Hayes to reach, a single by McCutchen and a walk from Tellez with a grand slam that turned a one-run deficit into a 5-2 lead in the sixth inning: 

Suwinski was hitting .170 prior to enjoying a 2-for-4 outing that featured his unloading of the bases against Phillies starter Zack Wheeler, who struck out 10 through five innings.

“We’re talking about one of the best pitchers in baseball. Wheeler was good and he was really good. That’s an ace," Shelton said. "Jack got a breaking ball up, took a good swing on it and then he had another hit later in the game. Things like that can take a little bit of pressure off you.” 

Joey Bart added a solo shot to cap off the Pirates' five-run sixth. They added on in the eighth when Jared Triolo reached on a single and advanced to third on an error by Brandon Marsh in left field. Triolo then scored on a passed ball to make it 7-2 before McCutchen's late homer. 

"You know, obviously seeing Cutch do that, it was pretty special," Suwinski said. "I think everyone was pumped to be a part of it. Joey has been swinging a good bat, too, so that's great for him." 

The late run support was plenty for Mitch Keller to work with, as he put together his second straight quality start with seven strong innings. He allowed two earned runs on eight hits with four strikeouts. He didn't walk a batter and threw 64 of his 95 pitches for strikes. His lone blemishes came at the hands of Trea Turner, who hit a solo homer in the third and added an RBI single in the fifth. 

"We cannot overlook that," Shelton said of Keller's performance. "Going against a guy who is a number one, he went out and gave us seven strong. He was really efficient and did a really nice job.”