Pittsburgh Review

Andrew McCutchen is not fully fit. Both he and Pirates manager Derek Shelton hinted postgame that his recovery is still ongoing.

McCutchen missed the last three games after aggravating a left quad strain while attempting to score in the 10th inning against the Padres on Wednesday. This recent injury adds to an earlier strain from a week ago, compounded by a partially torn Achilles sustained last September and the general wear and tear of being 37 years old in his 16th Major League season.

“I would say swinging the bat, he’s fine, but he’s still moving gingerly if you watch him,” Shelton said. “If you get to just jog, then he’s in a good spot, but he’s still grinding a little bit. He’s able to get his swing off, obviously, but other than that, I think he’s still grinding a little bit.”

“You guys see me running around the bases,” McCutchen said. “I'm not where I need to be. But I'm going to do what I can. I'm here to hit right now. That's what I'm going to do. Try my best and if I've got to gimp around the bases, I'll gimp right now. Just trying to do my job."

Despite not being at full strength, McCutchen demonstrated his batting prowess on Sunday by hitting two home runs that erased an early four-run deficit for the Pirates. Although they took the lead in the top of the 10th inning, the Dodgers responded against David Bednar in his second inning of work, leading to a 6-5 loss for Pittsburgh at Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers scored two-out RBIs in both the first and second innings off Bailey Falter, but Pittsburgh's bullpen managed five scoreless frames afterward. This allowed McCutchen to tie the game with his second two-run homer off Anthony Banda in the eighth inning.

Bryan Reynolds singled home Michael A. Taylor in the 10th inning for a brief Pirates lead before Teoscar Hernández's base hit ended the game for Los Angeles.

McCutchen's performance provided some hope for Pittsburgh but wasn't enough to stop their losing streak from extending to seven games—a season-high. His decision to play through injuries raises questions about why he doesn't take more time off for recovery.

"Because my 70 percent is better than zero percent,” McCutchen stated. “If I can swing the bat, I'm going to swing it. If I can't run, I can't run, but my job is to hit and DH. They're not asking me to steal bases or anything...I took a few days off and I’m like, 'All right, I'm ready to go.' That's where I am now."

This isn't McCutchen's first experience with young Pirates teams struggling late in seasons; similar situations occurred notably in 2011 and 2012. While it's premature to write this team off entirely, swift improvement is necessary.

“The game takes no prisoners,” McCutchen reflected. “It doesn't matter who you are...You've got to show up the next day and be ready to win...Game doesn't care who you are...You've got to be ready...That's what I've learned...I'll be ready tomorrow...That's what we have to do.”

“We don't feel bad for each other in here," he added. "We're just going to shake it off and get ready."