Where Things Stand
Happy Thursday, everyone. I hope that your week is going well. The Pirates managed a nice come-from-behind win yesterday afternoon to notch the series win against the Milwaukee Brewers. This is the second straight series win against the Brew Crew, but they will take the season series 8-5. The Pirates won two of seven in Milwaukee and three of six at home. It still feels good to win the final two series. Maybe they can even carry that momentum over into the next season. That might be asking a lot, though. In yesterday’s game, the Pirates were trailing 3-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning when they were able to tie things up. They would take a two-run lead the following inning that would be good enough for the win. Ke’Bryan Hayes did that thing where he hit the baseball over the outfield wall again. That’s number thirteen on the season. The offensive production was pretty spread out across the batting order. Nobody had multiple hits or multiple RBIs. Rivas and Peguero were the only two starters to go hitless and those two combined for five of the team’s eleven strikeouts. It wasn’t a great offensive performance, but it was good enough. The pitching was pretty good outside of Colin Selby in the first inning as the game’s opener. He gave up three runs and didn’t look very good at all. He’s looked good in that role up to this point, so probably not anything to get too worried about just yet. I’ll let Cody and Connor break down all of the finer details of the game for you.
Up Next
The Pirates are 23-20 going back to July 22nd. It’s been a pretty steady run of decent baseball in what is now no longer that small of a sample size. They’ve done this largely without a full starting rotation and with some pretty awful players seeing regular playing time. It’s been pretty impressive to watch, especially after how badly May and June went. This stretch really hasn’t changed much as far as their position in the standings goes. They’re still firmly rooted in the fourth place spot in the NL Central and even after winning the last two series against the division leaders they still trail the Brewers by eleven games. They’re 7.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot but with only 22 games remaining, that is pretty much out of reach although not mathematically yet. They still have some tough series remaining, and none will be tougher than the one this weekend against the MLB-leading Atlanta Braves. The Bucs managed to play the Braves tough in their first series of the season, so there may be a glimmer of hope here. We’ll dive into the Braves series in closer detail in tomorrow’s newsletter. After this weekend’s series, there will be a week of winnable games before the schedule gets tougher for the rest of the way. Next week will be four games against the Nationals and three against the Yankees. After that, it will be the Cubs, Reds, Phillies, and the final series of the season against the Marlins. Those final four teams are currently in as Wild Card teams except the Marlins who are right on the bubble a half-game out of the final spot. It could end up being an opportunity to play spoiler for some of these teams which would be fun.
Cutch Injury
When Andrew McCutchen was removed from Monday’s game with an Achilles injury, all of the reports afterward indicated that his being removed was precautionary and that he would be fine. He sat the next game, but that seemed a good opportunity for rest with his career numbers against Woodruff not being very good. We found out prior to yesterday’s game that he was not fine and had a partially torn Achilles. He’s done for the season.
The Pittsburgh Pirates designated hitter is heading to the 10-day injured list after partially tearing his left Achilles tendon while legging out a double in a victory over Milwaukee on Monday night.
McCutchen said initially that he was "fine," but further examination by the Pirates medical staff revealed the tear. Director of Sports Medicine Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday that McCutchen will be in a walking boot for six weeks but that there has been no discussion of surgery.
The 36-year-old hit .256 with 12 home runs and 43 RBIs this season. He collected his 2,000th career hit in June and was one home run short of 300 when he limped into second base on Monday night after an RBI double down the left-field line.
It’s good that this was caught and they were able to get him shut down and start the healing process. At his age, a full tear might be a career-ending thing. This gives him the best chance to get back out there to start next season and chase some more of those milestones. Get well soon, Cutch. What do you guys think? Can Cutch be healthy and ready to go for Opening Day next season? Will he be wearing the black and gold again next season? Let me know in the comments.
Last night there was an NS9 live podcast where the guys talked about the Cutch injury and what they think it means for his future. They also dive into the unbelievable offensive production we’ve been seeing from Ke’Bryan Hayes and what they think about Andy Haines returning next season as the hitting coach. I’ll just stick it right here for your viewing pleasure.
Alright. That wraps us up for today. We’ll be back here again tomorrow with a preview of the Braves series. As always, #LetsGoBucs!