The Pittsburgh Pirates (34-34) are back at .500 with an 8-6 win over the Florida Marlins (34-33) on Saturday afternoon and are just 1.5 games out of a wildcard spot.
Andrew McCutchen (.323 – 11 HR – 41 RBI) continued his power surge, hitting a three-run homer and Jody Mercer (.230 – 4 HR – 16 RBI) also homered in the win.
The Pirates managed 18 hits. Josh Harrison (.298 – 4 HR – 15 RBI) and Chris Stewart (.266 – 0 HR – 3 RBI) each had three hits and Gregory Polanco (.385 – 1 HR – 5 RBI) had two hits and two RBIs.
Starling Marte (.261 – 5 HR – 23 RBI) went 2-5 and extended his hitting streak to six games.
“We’ve got a lot of guys swinging the bat, basically from one to nine,” Andrew McCutchen said.
After hitting just four home runs in his first 54 games, McCutchen has 7 home runs in his last 13 games.
Charlie Morton (4-7, 3.09 ERA) improved to 4-7 on the season, allowing five hits and two runs in seven innings pitched. Morton is now 4-1 with a 2.40 ERA in his last five starts. He has won three straight.
The Pirates winners of four straight and 16 of their last 24, are back at .500 for the first time since April 17th.