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Home Runs for Everybody!
Last night the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Atlanta Braves 12-5 in 10 innings. The game started out normal enough. The Pirates got an okay start from Trevor Williams as he went five innings and allowed three runs but then the rails fell off.
The Braves took the lead in a four-run sixth inning and managed to hold onto it until two outs in the ninth inning. Jose Osuna had a bases-loaded single to tie the game at three. The Pirates followed that up with a Felipe Rivero scoreless bottom of the ninth and then the 10th inning happened. The Pirates scored seven runs, including back-to-back-to-back home runs by David Freese, Jose Osuna, and Jordy Mercer. When it was all said and done, the Pirates had a 12-5 lead and a much-needed victory.
This was the first time since 2013 the Pirates hit three straight home runs. The 2013 occurrence featured Pedro Alvarez, Russell Martin, and Garrett Jones homering off Jake Arrieta. Baseball is a funny game and regardless of how the team is doing in the standings, weird moments are going to happen. Last night’s game doesn’t really change much for the Pirates but it was damn fine television.
Where have you gone, Andrew McCutchen?
Andrew McCutchen had a night off last night and it was probably necessary. There is no denying that McCutchen’s prediction of a monster year has yet to come true. He’s been struggling to hit with any sort of consistency. He did have a pinch-hit single to lead off the 10th inning last night. Perhaps that will jump-start what is beginning to look like another lost season for the former MVP.
I am going to drop all journalistic integrity for a moment and talk about something personal. Watching Andrew McCutchen go from perennial MVP candidate to a player struggling to hit above .200 is truly one of the saddest things I’ve seen in sports. This isn’t just a player declining with age, this is the man that helped save baseball in Pittsburgh falling off the face of the earth. When the Pirates were still mired in their 20-year losing streak, McCutchen was THE source of hope for many fans. As McCutchen blossomed into an All-Star and MVP, the team rose with him. We saw three straight playoff seasons for a franchise that looked completely dead.
Watching McCutchen’s decline hurts and I hope he regains even a shade of his former glory. Not just to increase his trade value but to give fans a reason to cheer before he inevitably wears the uniform of another team.
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