SAN DIEGO _ Andrew McCutchen threw up his right arm as he rounded first, watching the ball he'd just knocked off the right-field foul pole roll back toward the infield. He circled the Petco Park bases unencumbered for the third time Sunday afternoon. His three home runs powered the Pirates, who beat the San Diego Padres, 7-1.
McCutchen hit his 20th, 21st and 22nd home runs of the season. He took one out against starter Clayton Richard in the first inning and hit two more off Jose Torres in the eighth and ninth. He also walked twice, and is now hitting .292 with a .385 on-base percentage and a .535 slugging percentage. Since moving to sixth in the lineup in late May, he is hitting .369 with 16 home runs.
McCutchen also made a diving catch to rob Yangervis Solarte of a hit in the left-center field gap.
The Pirates ended their four-game losing streak, but still finished their West Coast road trip at 3-6. Gerrit Cole won two of those games.
The starting pitcher did not finish the sixth inning in three of the four games in the losing streak. Sunday, Cole finished seven, allowing one run and five hits while striking out eight. In five starts this month, he has 34 strikeouts in 32 innings and a 2.25 ERA.
Jose Osuna hit a two-run triple and Jordy Mercer had two hits, including an RBI single. Josh Bell hit a pinch-hit home run in the ninth.
Josh Harrison left the game in the third inning after an awkward landing on the first-base bag. He hustled to beat the throw on a grounder to shortstop. Dusty Coleman's throw pulled Jose Pirela off the bag, and as Harrison ducked under a possible tag from Pirela, his left leg hit the bag awkwardly.
Head athletic trainer Todd Tomczyk examined Harrison, who jogged and high-stepped down the right-field line to test the leg. He initially stayed in the game but exited before the end of Andrew McCutchen's plate appearance. Max Moroff pinch-ran for him and replaced him at second.
The Pirates later termed Harrison's injury as left lower leg discomfort.
Harrison is hitting .278 with a .355 on-base percentage, a .428 slugging percentage and 11 home runs this season.
