Andrew McCutchen wins NL MVP in a Landslide

Andrew McCutchen is the NL MVP Winner by a landslide. McCutchen received 28 of 30 first place votes becoming the seventh Pirate in franchise history to win the NL MVP. Among the Pirates to win the award since it was created in 1931, McCutchen has joined Dick Groat (1960), Roberto Clemente (1966), Dave Parker (1978), Willie Stargell (1979 – tied with Keith Hernandez) and Barry Bonds (1990 and 1992). Hall-of-Famer Paul Waner also received the National League Most Valuable Player Citation in 1927. The 27-year-old McCutchen hit .317 with 38 doubles, five triples, 21 home runs, 84 RBI, 97 runs scored and 27 stolen bases in 157 games in 2013 while leading the Pirates to the postseason for the first

Andrew McCutchen hitting .451 in month of August

Andrew McCutchen (.323 – 17 HR – 73 RBI) has his name right in the thick of the MVP race. McCutchen who had a so-so first half of the season, is hitting .381/.467/.627 with 7 home runs, 24 RBIs and 6 stolen bases since the All-Star break. McCutchen is on a tear in August, hitting .451 this month and has an OPS of 1.176. McCutchen’s NL Ranks: • 4th in NL in BA (.323) | • 5th in NL in OPS (.914) | • 7th in NL in R (79) | • 8th in NL in BB (59) | • 6th in NL in SB (26) | • 9th in NL in SLG (.513) | • 9th in NL in

Post-Game Buzz: McCutchen leads Pirates past Reds 6-5

PIRATES 6 – REDS 5 Win: Tony Watson (1-0) Lose: J.J. Hoover (0-3) Save: Jason Grilli (4) Andrew McCutchen hit a tiebreaking home run in the seventh inning and drove in three runs leading the Pittsburgh Pirates (4-6) to a 6-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds (5-5) on Friday night in front of 24,366. In a game where the Pirates jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the second inning, the Pirates would end up showing some fight to prevail against a Reds team that has been in their heads. Down 5-1, the Reds slowly clawed back as Devin Mesoraco drove in a run with a groundout in the fourth and then hit an RBI double in the sixth to

Andrew McCutchen on Pirates late rally falling short; “Good teams get the job done”

CUBS 3 – PIRATES 2 Win: Travis Wood (1-0) Loss: James McDonald (0-1) Save: Carlos Marmol (1) The Pittsburgh Pirates came up short Thursday afternoon, dropping a 3-2 decision to the Chicago Cubs who take two of three from the Pirates. The Pirates wasted a strong outing from James McDonald who allowed two hits and one earned run in seven innings. McDonald struck out four and walked two in the loss. McDonald threw 98 pitches, 61 for strikes. The Pirates bats were silent, managing just one hit through eight innings and a late rally in the ninth fell short. The Pirates only managed four hits in the game. This loss will be about squandered opportunities. Trailing 3-0 in the ninth,

Morning Pirates Buzz: McCutchen joining MVP Discussion & more Buzz

MORNING PIRATES BUZZ Winners of four straight, and 12 of their last 15 games, the Pittsburgh Pirates (32-27) enter Monday’s off-day in first place in the NL Central, following a 7-6 Reds loss last night to the Detroit Tigers. What we saw this past weekend is that the Pirates are beating teams they should and winning at home, sweeping the Royals and improving to 19-11 at home this season. [instory] The Pirates 13-16 on the road, now embark on a six game road trip that begins Tuesday night against the Baltimore Orioles (34-26) who sit in fourth place in the tough AL East, followed by a three game set against the Cleveland Indians (32-27) who are in second place in the

Pirates at the All-Star Break: 2nd Half Division Race; Injury Updates; Stats Watch & More

The Latest Pirates Buzz 1 GB at the All-Star Break Following today’s 9-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs, the Pittsburgh Pirates enter the All-Star Break at 47-43, one game out of first place in the National League Central. NL Central Standings 1. Milwaukee Brewers (49-43) 2. St. Louis Cardinals (49-43) 3. Pittsburgh Pirates (47-43, 1GB) 4. Cincinnati Reds (45-47, 4 GB) 5. Chicago Cubs (37-55, 12 GB) 6. Houston Astros (30-62, 19 GB) 2nd Half Divisional Play In the NL Central, the Pirates feasted on the Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs (13-5 combined record) in the first half but also performed well against the rest of the division, aside from their struggles against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Pirates have gone

Morning Pirates Buzz: McCutchen’s walk-off blast has Pirates back at .500

Morning Pirates Buzz — Coming off a thrilling come from behind victory Tuesday night, Andrew McCutchen was the hero Wednesday night in extra innings, getting the Pirates back to .500. McCutchen led off the 12th by taking a 3-2 pitch from Arizona Diamondbacks starter Zach Kroenke (0-1) just inside the left-field foul pole for his 10th home run of the season. It was McCutchen second walk off homer of his career. The victory improved the Pirates record to 30-30, their best record this late in the season since the 2005 season when they were 30-30 on June 11, 2005. “We’re .500 and that’s about the significance of it to us,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “It will have more significance

McCutchen the most exciting player in the organization since Barry Bonds?

Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen is the most exciting player the Pirates have had since Barry Bonds. Through his first 17 games of his MLB career, McCutchen has put on a show, hitting .333, leading all rookies in the month of June for hits (26), runs (12) and RBI’s (13). The most impressive stat McCutchen has put up thus far, is ranking second in the majors with 5 triples. McCutchen has blazing speed on the basepads, and Pirates fans finally have a reason to turn on Pirates games from time to time to get a look at McCutchen. McCutchen’s hot start is even more impressive when comparing his performance to MLB’s top prospect Matt Wieters, who has also appeared

Pirates Notebook: News and Notes

Tony Sanchez, the Pirates 2009 1st round pick will begin his professional baseball career with the State College Spikes tomorrow, Saturday, June 20. He will remain with State College thru Wednesday, June 24, and will report to the West Virginia Power on Saturday, June 27. *The Pittsburgh Pirates agreed to terms with second baseman Brock Holt from Rice University today. Holt was the teams 9th round selection. Holt hit .348 with 12 home runs and 43 RBI in 59 games as a junior for Rice. *A National League Scout tells Inside Pittsburgh Sports, that “Pittsburgh has two potential All-Stars in Andrew McCutchen and Gorky’s Hernandez.” McCutchen (.333 avg) has had some tough at bats at times and a few miscues

Pirates take 2 of 3 from the Tigers

Pirates move four games behind Brewers for first place Ross Ohlendorf picked up his first win in his last five starts as the Pirates took two of three from the Detroit Tigers to move four games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for first place in the National League Central. Ohlendorf had his strongest outing of the season, limiting the Tigers to one run and two hits over 6 innings to end a two game losing streak. Delwyn Young, replacing the slumping Brandon Moss, had three hits and Andrew McCutchen was 2 for 3 as Tigers pitcher Dontrelle Willis gave up a career-high eight walks and six earned runs in 3 2/3 innings and took the loss. Young pushed his batting average