Even in an 11-5 loss which seemed to snowball by the pitch for the Pirates, Andrew McCutchen was able to give an encore from his emotional home opener to the 21,162 fans at PNC Park in the closing moments of Saturday's game against the White Sox.
Down to his team's final out, McCutchen took a Reynaldo Lopez four-seam fastball left over the plate to the opposite field, and the ball arced over the Clemente Wall for his first home run in black and gold since Sept. 26, 2017, against the Orioles, also at PNC Park.
CUTCH HAS HOMERED AT PNC THIS IS NOT A DRILL pic.twitter.com/AIQTfct9XW
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) April 9, 2023
The home run off of Chicago's closer was not the only offensive output for the Pirates, but it might've been the most significant for a couple of reasons:
1. Just as was the case in the home opener, he brought the loudest roars of the night, from the pregame lineup announcement to his return to the dugout after touching home plate in the ninth.
2. As Derek Shelton described after the loss, it was a testament to how McCutchen can stay locked into an at-bat even when the game is hanging by a thread after unraveling over the course of six innings.
"I think the significance there is it's off their closer, which is important for us if he gets a chance to see him (Sunday)," Shelton said. "And I think the one thing with Cutch that you'll see throughout the year is that he just doesn't give away at bats. The thing that stands out to me is being able to drive the ball to right field. I think that's important for just his swing overall."
McCutchen hit third in Shelton's order ahead of birthday boy Carlos Santana. The pair combined for six of the Pirates' 10 hits and drove in four of the Pirates' five runs. The now-37-year-old Santana went 3-for-4 with three singles, a walk drawn, and an RBI.
"It's great, especially for him. I'm happy for him," Santana said of McCutchen. "He's played hard every day, he's preparing. I know the fans support him, that's why he's excited. The family, watching the game every day and supporting him. He's excited, he's happy to come back here. He told me he's going to play every day hard."
