I suppose this goes without saying, but when I type something like perhaps a struggling lefty and Coors Field are what Andrew McCutchen needs to get jump-started, I don’t actually expect the result to be that Andrew McCutchen goes out and lights the Rockies up for three home runs. McCutchen did exactly that, though, launching a two-run solo homer to left in the first, a solo shot to center in the second, and a three-run homer to right in the sixth inning. Of course, McCutchen did just this, dragging the Pirates along with him to a 9-4 win.
Like Jeff Locke last night, Gerrit Cole dealt with the altitude by firing a bunch of fastballs at the Rockies to go with very little else (83 fastballs in 103 pitches) and hoping for the best. Like with Locke, it mostly worked; Cole got a bunch of ground balls to make up for his low strikeout total, and two of the four runs he allowed were un-earned. With a little help from a Starling Marte outfield assist in the bottom of the fifth and McCutchen’s explosion, that was more than good enough to get the Pirates the win tonight.
McCutchen’s offense wasn’t all; David Freese hit one directly after him in the first, and Starling Marte crushed a long home run two batters later in the sixth. Gregory Polanco, Jordy Mercer, and Francisco Cervelli all chipped in two hits.
The Pirates have won 5 of their last six, and are now 12-9; only the fast-starting Cubs and Nats have more wins in the National League.
Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images
