Lead the Way, Andrew McCutchen

Andrew McCutchen has carried the Pittsburgh Pirates to within sniffing distance of first place with his performance this month. The Pirates star outfielder has done it all for the Bucs, who sit a game out of first place in the NL Central.

McCutchen flashed some great glove work again last night and Cardinals manager Mike Matheny noticed. McCutchen ended a two-out Cardinals rally in the fifth on a ball hit deep to center by Allen Craig. “Any momentum you get, any extra runs are big. That was taken,” said Matheny.

But it’s what McCutchen has done at the plate that has carried the Bucs, despite his humble ‘everybody’s contributing’ quote after the Pirates 14-5 win over the Cardinals. Sure, Cutch does have a point – different Pirates are stepping up on occasion, but McCutchen has been dead steady.

He is hitting .365 in June with seven bombs as the Pirates have played their way into the thick of things in the NL Central going 21-11 in their past 32 games. All of McCutchen’s homers have come since May 8.

McCutchen now sits near the top in many categories in the National League. He is fifth in the NL in average, sixth in homers with 15, sixth in RBI with 51, third in slugging at .594 and fifth in OPS with a .994.

Quietly, others around the Majors are starting to notice Andrew McCutchen. It’s hard not to. Especially when it’s McCutchen who is leaving a trail of destruction behind him as his Pittsburgh Pirates are rolling to series win after series win.