PITTSBURGH _ Andrew McCutchen had sent 201 balls out of the park without ever doing so with the bases loaded. His nine-year wait came to an end Tuesday night.
McCutchen went 4 for 4 with two homers, including a grand slam, and eight RBIs Tuesday during a 10-1 victory against the Baltimore Orioles at PNC Park. His evening reached the point that manager Clint Hurdle sent McCutchen out for the top of the seventh inning, then summoned him to the dugout, allowing the crowd to acknowledge McCutchen for a third time after two curtain calls were already in the books.
McCutchen drove a 2-1 pitch from Orioles starter Kevin Gausman into the seats in right-center field in the second inning. He knew it was out, and halfway to first base he lifted his hands, acknowledging that the drought was over.
McCutchen, who had doubled in the first and singled in the fifth, had a chance for the cycle in the sixth. He lined a low 2-2 fastball into the first row of seats above the Clemente Wall for his 28th home run of the season.
Trevor Williams made his 24th and possibly final start of the year and allowed one run in six innings. He gave up three hits and struck out six, lowering his ERA as a starter to 3.96. That is the lowest among Pirates starters, and Williams began the year in the bullpen.
The press release on Oct. 24, 2015 began innocently enough: "The Pirates have acquired minor league RHP Trevor Williams from the Miami Marlins in exchange for RHP Richard Mitchell." Read on, though, and disparity appeared.
Williams was a second-round draft pick in 2013 who reached Class AAA in 2015; Mitchell was a 20-year-old who had never pitched above rookie ball.
Huh?
It turned out, the Pirates demanded Williams from the Marlins after they lured away special assistant to the GM Jim Benedict, shortly after also hiring Marc DelPiano out of the Pirates' front office. The lopsided trade paid off.
The Pirates deemed Williams worthy of a roster spot out of spring training, but decided to give Tyler Glasnow the final rotation spot. Williams joined the rotation when Jameson Taillon missed time due to cancer treatment and stayed there when Glasnow went to the minors. In 15 starts since July 1, Williams has a 3.49 ERA.
