Extra Bases: McCutchen keeps leading stale offense
At 38 years old, Andrew McCutchen is still getting things done.
In the Pirates' 2-1 loss to the Cubs today at Wrigley Field, he hit this first inning home run...
... and then followed it up with a single, accounting for two of the team's five hits.
"Oh, man. He killed it. And into the wind too," Don Kelly said of McCutchen's home run.
McCutchen owns the Pirates' second-best batting average (.263), trailing only Isiah Kiner-Falefa (.289). He also has the third-most home runs (7) and RBIs (26), is tied for second in hits (57), and leads the team in doubles (11) and on-base percentage (.349).
It shows the level McCutchen can still perform at but encapsulates how stale the Pirates' offense is. They now have scored the second-fewest runs (230) in Major League Baseball, hit the second-fewest home runs (50) and have the fewest RBIs (220). They rank last in slugging percentage (.339), have the second-worst OPS (.643) and the third-worst batting average (.227).
The Pirates have played 13 games in June and have recorded seven or more hits in six of them. They are 5-1 in those six and 2-5 in the other seven. Kelly doesn't attribute the lack of success to having three hitters in today's starting lineup that are hitting below .200 but rather the pitchers they've gone up against in recent weeks.
"We have faced some really good starting pitching," Kelly said. "When you look at that Miami series, them running out (Eury) Perez, first start but we found a way in the third inning to get to him. Sandy (Alcantara) was really good and then you look at Framber (Valdez), (Ranger) Suarez, (Cristopher) Sánchez. We've faced some really good starting pitching and found a way to grind through some at-bats and make them work. You never know with that, I would just attribute it more to the starters."
Cubs starter Matthew Boyd joined that list, throwing six innings, facing one over the minimum and striking out three. He induced six groundouts and four flyouts while walking one by staying around the zone and challenging hitters.
• Boyd erased that one walk by picking off Tommy Pham in the sixth inning:
Boyd, who leads the major leagues with six pickoffs, told reporters after the game that he was nine years old when Mark Yoshino, the co-head coach at Bellevue Community College in Bellevue, Wash., taught him.
"Each spring, I go back and I work with him on it," said Boyd, who lives in Bellevue. "Last year, when I was rehabbing (from elbow surgery) I was throwing my live BPs there, so I spent a little more time with him, working on it. But (pitching coach) Tommy (Hottovy) has been awesome, being a lefty as well, with tips. It's something that you just want to stay sharp on, you don't want to fall into weird patterns on."
• In his fifth major league start, Mike Burrows worked 5 1/3 innings, allowing five hits and one earned run while striking out a career-high eight. Six of those strikeouts came via his changeup. Here's two of them:
The pitch has produced a 45.5% whiff rate but it was exceptionally good today at 71%, drawing 14 swings and 10 misses.
"I've got confidence that it's going to be there every start," Burrows said. "I think, again, just going to the situation, where we were at in that at-bat, where we were at in the game and what they had seen the first time through."
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THE ASYLUM
Greg Macafee
10:20 pm - 06.14.2025CHICAGOExtra Bases: McCutchen keeps leading stale offense
At 38 years old, Andrew McCutchen is still getting things done.
In the Pirates' 2-1 loss to the Cubs today at Wrigley Field, he hit this first inning home run...
... and then followed it up with a single, accounting for two of the team's five hits.
"Oh, man. He killed it. And into the wind too," Don Kelly said of McCutchen's home run.
McCutchen owns the Pirates' second-best batting average (.263), trailing only Isiah Kiner-Falefa (.289). He also has the third-most home runs (7) and RBIs (26), is tied for second in hits (57), and leads the team in doubles (11) and on-base percentage (.349).
It shows the level McCutchen can still perform at but encapsulates how stale the Pirates' offense is. They now have scored the second-fewest runs (230) in Major League Baseball, hit the second-fewest home runs (50) and have the fewest RBIs (220). They rank last in slugging percentage (.339), have the second-worst OPS (.643) and the third-worst batting average (.227).
The Pirates have played 13 games in June and have recorded seven or more hits in six of them. They are 5-1 in those six and 2-5 in the other seven. Kelly doesn't attribute the lack of success to having three hitters in today's starting lineup that are hitting below .200 but rather the pitchers they've gone up against in recent weeks.
"We have faced some really good starting pitching," Kelly said. "When you look at that Miami series, them running out (Eury) Perez, first start but we found a way in the third inning to get to him. Sandy (Alcantara) was really good and then you look at Framber (Valdez), (Ranger) Suarez, (Cristopher) Sánchez. We've faced some really good starting pitching and found a way to grind through some at-bats and make them work. You never know with that, I would just attribute it more to the starters."
Cubs starter Matthew Boyd joined that list, throwing six innings, facing one over the minimum and striking out three. He induced six groundouts and four flyouts while walking one by staying around the zone and challenging hitters.
• Boyd erased that one walk by picking off Tommy Pham in the sixth inning:
Boyd, who leads the major leagues with six pickoffs, told reporters after the game that he was nine years old when Mark Yoshino, the co-head coach at Bellevue Community College in Bellevue, Wash., taught him.
"Each spring, I go back and I work with him on it," said Boyd, who lives in Bellevue. "Last year, when I was rehabbing (from elbow surgery) I was throwing my live BPs there, so I spent a little more time with him, working on it. But (pitching coach) Tommy (Hottovy) has been awesome, being a lefty as well, with tips. It's something that you just want to stay sharp on, you don't want to fall into weird patterns on."
• In his fifth major league start, Mike Burrows worked 5 1/3 innings, allowing five hits and one earned run while striking out a career-high eight. Six of those strikeouts came via his changeup. Here's two of them:
The pitch has produced a 45.5% whiff rate but it was exceptionally good today at 71%, drawing 14 swings and 10 misses.
"I've got confidence that it's going to be there every start," Burrows said. "I think, again, just going to the situation, where we were at in that at-bat, where we were at in the game and what they had seen the first time through."
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