Andrew McCutchen hits 1st homer of spring training as Pirates rally past Phillies
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Andrew McCutchen hadn’t played in a Grapefruit League game since March 12 while nursing a sore elbow, but he made a major impact in his return to the Pittsburgh Pirates lineup.
McCutchen hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies for his first homer of spring training — and first in a Pirates uniform since September 2017 — to spark a late rally for a comeback victory.
The Pirates got an RBI single by Drew Maggi, and Chris Owings scored the winning run on a Noah Skirrow wild pitch to pull off a 4-3 walk-off win Tuesday afternoon at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Fla.
McCutchen signed a one-year, $5 million contract in January to return to the Pirates after a five-year hiatus. Batting third and serving as designated hitter, McCutchen went 2 for 3 with a run scored and two RBIs in his return to boost his batting average to .300 (6 for 20).
It was his first homer for the Pirates since Sept. 26, 2017, when he went deep twice and had eight RBIs in a 10-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles. McCutchen hit his first career grand slam in the second inning and added a three-run homer in the sixth in that game.
The Pirates got a solid five-inning start by JT Brubaker, who allowed two runs on four hits with six strikeouts, boosting his spring total to a Grapefruit League-high 26 strikeouts. The Phillies got an RBI single by Scott Kingery in the second inning and a 416-foot homer by Jake Cave in the fifth for a 2-0 lead.
They stretched it to 3-0 when Weston Wilson singled to score Bryson Stott in the sixth against right-handed reliever Robert Stephenson, who was making his spring debut after dealing with right-arm discomfort.
McCutchen’s homer in the sixth, a 391-foot drive to right field off Jake Jewell with an exit velocity of 109.6 mph, cut the Phillies’ lead to 3-2. The Pirates got scoreless innings of relief from Dauri Moreta, Yohan Ramirez and Yerry De Los Santos to set the stage for their ninth-inning comeback.
Canaan Smith-Njigba drew a leadoff walk against Skirrow, who also walked Owings. Maggi’s single to left scored Smith-Njigba to tie the score, and Owings advanced to second. Rodolfo Castro moved both runners with a bunt single to third baseman Uziel Viloria, who had just replayed Will Toffey. After a Tyler Heineman popout to the catcher, Owings scored on Skirrow’s wild pitch for the win.
The Pirates are off Wednesday but will play the Boston Red Sox on Thursday in Bradenton.