Andrew McCutchen enters exclusive group as the Pirates split the four game series with Philly.
The Pittsburgh Pirates won the matinee today with a nine to two victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
Starting pitcher Mitch Keller led the way with seven strong innings giving up only two earned runs via a solo shot by Phillies’ SS Trea Turner in the bottom of the third and an RBI single in the fifth.
Phillies’ starter Zack Wheeler diced up Pirates hitters for ten strikeouts through five innings and entered the sixth with just one earned run on the board. He didn’t even record an out in the sixth.
Ke’Bryan Hayes reached on an error, Rowdy Tellez walked, Andrew McCutchen singled, and then Jack Suwinski hit a line drive grand slam to put the Pirates ahead five to two. Ending Wheeler’s day in the process.
For good measure, catcher Joey Bart tacked on another with a solo shot of his own off the reliever brought in to replace Walker, Seranthony Domínguez to cap off a five run sixth.
Ryder Ryan, who was added to the active roster to replace the injured Marco Gonzales before the start of today’s game, closed out the win with a scoreless 9th to seal the Pirates nine to two win.
But the biggest story of the day was Andrew McCutchen, who hit his 300th homerun of his career in the top of the ninth. A two-run shot to left off of Ricardo Pinto.
Against all odds a Pirates fan caught the ball. Returning it gladly for the opportunity to meet McCutchen, although, McCutchen hooked them up with some stuff anyways.
Turns out they didn’t have any demands for a trade. They just wanted to meet Cutch and give him the ball.
Don’t worry. Of course Cutch hooked them up with some goodies. https://t.co/wnBLSYlHiT
— Alex Stumpf (@AlexJStumpf) April 14, 2024
What a moment. pic.twitter.com/kEJ52Zelb4
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) April 14, 2024
McCutchen went two for five with three runs scored and was also credited with a steal of home today as the first leg of a double steal.
With his 300th homer, Andrew McCutchen becomes one of just 19 players in MLB history to record 2000 hits, 200 stolen bases, and 300 homeruns.
Here are the other 18;
Rk | Player | OPS+ | H | HR | SB | From | To | Age | G | PA | R | H | 1B | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | TB | Pos | Team |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Barry Bonds | 182 | 2935 | 762 | 514 | 1986 | 2007 | 21-42 | 2986 | 12606 | 2227 | 2935 | 1495 | 601 | 77 | 762 | 1996 | 514 | 141 | 2558 | 1539 | .298 | .444 | .607 | 1.051 | 5976 | *78HD/9 | PIT,SFG |
2 | Willie Mays | 155 | 3293 | 660 | 339 | 1948 | 1973 | 17-42 | 3005 | 12545 | 2068 | 3293 | 1967 | 525 | 141 | 660 | 1909 | 339 | 103 | 1468 | 1526 | .301 | .384 | .557 | .940 | 6080 | *8H739/65 | BBB,NYG,NYM,SFG |
3 | Henry Aaron | 155 | 3771 | 755 | 240 | 1954 | 1976 | 20-42 | 3298 | 13941 | 2174 | 3771 | 2294 | 624 | 98 | 755 | 2297 | 240 | 73 | 1402 | 1383 | .305 | .374 | .555 | .928 | 6856 | *983D7H4/5 | ATL,MIL,MLN |
4 | Frank Robinson | 154 | 2943 | 586 | 204 | 1956 | 1976 | 20-40 | 2808 | 11744 | 1829 | 2943 | 1757 | 528 | 72 | 586 | 1812 | 204 | 77 | 1420 | 1532 | .294 | .389 | .537 | .926 | 5373 | *973D8H5 | BAL,CAL,CIN,CLE,LAD |
5 | Jeff Bagwell | 149 | 2314 | 449 | 202 | 1991 | 2005 | 23-37 | 2150 | 9431 | 1517 | 2314 | 1345 | 488 | 32 | 449 | 1529 | 202 | 78 | 1401 | 1558 | .297 | .408 | .540 | .948 | 4213 | *3HD/9 | HOU |
6 | Larry Walker | 141 | 2160 | 383 | 230 | 1989 | 2005 | 22-38 | 1988 | 8030 | 1355 | 2160 | 1244 | 471 | 62 | 383 | 1311 | 230 | 76 | 913 | 1231 | .313 | .400 | .565 | .965 | 3904 | *9H387D/45 | COL,MON,STL |
7 | Álex Rodríguez | 140 | 3115 | 696 | 329 | 1994 | 2016 | 18-40 | 2784 | 12207 | 2021 | 3115 | 1840 | 548 | 31 | 696 | 2086 | 329 | 76 | 1338 | 2287 | .295 | .380 | .550 | .930 | 5813 | 65DH/3 | NYY,SEA,TEX |
8 | Gary Sheffield | 140 | 2689 | 509 | 253 | 1988 | 2009 | 19-40 | 2576 | 10947 | 1636 | 2689 | 1686 | 467 | 27 | 509 | 1676 | 253 | 104 | 1475 | 1171 | .292 | .393 | .514 | .907 | 4737 | 97D5H/3 | ATL,DET,FLA,LAD,MIL,NYM,NYY,SDP |
9 | Reggie Jackson | 139 | 2584 | 563 | 228 | 1967 | 1987 | 21-41 | 2820 | 11418 | 1551 | 2584 | 1509 | 463 | 49 | 563 | 1702 | 228 | 115 | 1375 | 2597 | .262 | .356 | .490 | .846 | 4834 | 9D8H7 | BAL,CAL,KCA,NYY,OAK |
10 | George Brett | 135 | 3154 | 317 | 201 | 1973 | 1993 | 20-40 | 2707 | 11625 | 1583 | 3154 | 2035 | 665 | 137 | 317 | 1596 | 201 | 97 | 1096 | 908 | .305 | .369 | .487 | .857 | 5044 | 5D3H796 | KCR |
11 | Dave Winfield | 130 | 3110 | 465 | 223 | 1973 | 1995 | 21-43 | 2973 | 12358 | 1669 | 3110 | 2017 | 540 | 88 | 465 | 1833 | 223 | 96 | 1216 | 1686 | .283 | .353 | .475 | .827 | 5221 | *978DH/35 | CAL,CLE,MIN,NYY,SDP,TOR |
12 | Sammy Sosa | 128 | 2408 | 609 | 234 | 1989 | 2007 | 20-38 | 2354 | 9896 | 1475 | 2408 | 1375 | 379 | 45 | 609 | 1667 | 234 | 107 | 929 | 2306 | .273 | .344 | .534 | .878 | 4704 | *98DH7 | BAL,CHC,CHW,TEX |
13 | Andre Dawson | 119 | 2774 | 438 | 314 | 1976 | 1996 | 21-41 | 2627 | 10769 | 1373 | 2774 | 1735 | 503 | 98 | 438 | 1591 | 314 | 109 | 589 | 1509 | .279 | .323 | .482 | .806 | 4787 | *98HD7 | BOS,CHC,FLA,MON |
14 | Carlos Beltrán | 119 | 2725 | 435 | 312 | 1998 | 2017 | 21-40 | 2586 | 11031 | 1582 | 2725 | 1647 | 565 | 78 | 435 | 1587 | 312 | 49 | 1084 | 1795 | .279 | .350 | .486 | .837 | 4751 | 89DH7/3 | HOU,KCR,NYM,NYY,SFG,STL,TEX |
15 | Don Baylor | 118 | 2135 | 338 | 285 | 1970 | 1988 | 21-39 | 2292 | 9401 | 1236 | 2135 | 1403 | 366 | 28 | 338 | 1276 | 285 | 120 | 805 | 1069 | .260 | .342 | .436 | .777 | 3571 | D793H8 | BAL,BOS,CAL,MIN,NYY,OAK |
16 | Alfonso Soriano | 112 | 2095 | 412 | 289 | 1999 | 2014 | 23-38 | 1975 | 8395 | 1152 | 2095 | 1171 | 481 | 31 | 412 | 1159 | 289 | 84 | 496 | 1803 | .270 | .319 | .500 | .819 | 3874 | 74DH9856 | CHC,NYY,TEX,WSN |
17 | Joe Carter | 105 | 2184 | 396 | 231 | 1983 | 1998 | 23-38 | 2189 | 9154 | 1170 | 2184 | 1303 | 432 | 53 | 396 | 1445 | 231 | 66 | 527 | 1387 | .259 | .306 | .464 | .771 | 3910 | *7983DH/45 | BAL,CHC,CLE,SDP,SFG,TOR |
18 | Steve Finley | 104 | 2548 | 304 | 320 | 1989 | 2007 | 24-42 | 2583 | 10460 | 1443 | 2548 | 1671 | 449 | 124 | 304 | 1167 | 320 | 118 | 844 | 1299 | .271 | .332 | .442 | .775 | 4157 | *89H7D/1 | ARI,BAL,COL,HOU,LAA,LAD,SDP,SFG |
Ranked by career OPS+ McCutchen would be tied for 12th with Sammy Sosa with 128.
Of the 18 other players, Nine are hall of famers, four were not voted in because of their ties to steroid use, and Carlos Beltrán will likely be headed to Cooperstown himself at some point in the coming years.
Of that group, no player with a career OPS+ over 118, who is not part of the four left out for ties to steroids, other than the aforementioned Beltrán, has not been inducted into the hall of fame.
It speaks to how hard it is to sustain power and speed production over the course of a career. Especially as stolen base numbers league wide have dwindled.
This is a game recap, Jamian White will have your commentary for the milestone soon, but I can’t help but insert some commentary of my own here.
For a long time, I thought this wasn’t possible. It seemed unthinkable that this reunion could happen, and that it could make sense. I thought I had seen the last of Andrew McCutchen in the black and gold.
I was wrong.
I was worried that he was going to be done soon after the ACL tear in 2019.
I was wrong.
I was worried about how much was left in the tank after the first season of his career where he wasn’t an above replacement level hitter in Milwaukee.
I was wrong and I’m pretty darn happy that I was wrong on all accounts.
McCutchen is off to a sluggish start, but I’m not really that concerned, he hasn’t looked like a player with nothing left to give. It’s looked like a player who’s always started slow trying to find his timing with a big milestone on his mind.
Maybe I’m wrong, maybe we’re witnessing the sharp end of career decline, very few go out on a high note. I know this for certain; I’m going to enjoy it all the same.
I’m happy the fans, and for McCutchen and I’m grateful that he will forever be a Pittsburgh Pirate.
Here was how McCutchen was received by the clubhouse after the game.
Mr. 300⭐️ pic.twitter.com/V3n7D7ljHU
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) April 14, 2024
Here’s his postgame TV interview with Hannah Mears on Sportsnet Pittsburgh.
“It’s hard to be liked on both sides of the state”
– Cutch gets Home Run 300 as a Bucco in Philly! @SNPittsburgh @Pirates @TheCUTCH22 pic.twitter.com/L9DVQzAClJ
— Hannah Mears (@mearshannah_) April 14, 2024
The Pirates head north to New York City to take on the Mets in Queens in a three-game set starting tomorrow at 7:10pm EST as Martín Pérez will take on former Brewer Adrian Houser.