PITTSBURGH — So much for Andrew McCutchen taking it easy on his former team.
The former Pirates star entered Thursday's game hitting just .136 in 17 career games against them, including an 0-for-5 performance Wednesday and 23 strikeouts in 73 plate appearances (31.5%).
That run ended in a couple key spots during a 3-2 Brewers victory over the Pirates on Thursday afternoon at PNC Park, which completed a three-game sweep.
In addition to homering on the first pitch of the game, McCutchen drove a two-run single over Josh VanMeter's head with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth inning to push Milwaukee in front for good.
McCutchen finished the game with three hits and three RBIs while the Pirates lost for the sixth consecutive time to Milwaukee this season. Pittsburgh is 6-23 against the Brewers since sweeping a three-game series in Pittsburgh Aug. 21-23, 2020.
The go-ahead runs came off Chris Stratton, who relieved David Bednar to start the ninth and loaded the bases by allowing three consecutive singles. McCutchen went down and got a curveball from Stratton and shot it the other way.
If VanMeter was 6-foot-3, he might’ve snared it. He’s not. He’s generously listed at 5-11. As it stood, the two runs eclipsed the two Pittsburgh scored in the bottom the seventh, a mini-outburst that had this looking like a Pirates win for a solid 20 minutes or so.
The rally started with a Ben Gamel single and Michael Chavis double, putting runners on second and third with nobody out. Jack Suwinski hit a grounder to short that Willy Adames booted, leading to one run.
Diego Castillo drove a fly ball to center, the sacrifice fly scoring Chavis and pushing the Pirates in front.
Also important in this one was an impressive start the Pirates got from Jose Quintana, who allowed the first-pitch homer to McCutchen and nothing more.
In fact, this was probably the best version of Quintana anyone has seen since the Pirates signed him this offseason, the 33-year-old slinging a three-pitch mix with equal parts fastballs, curveballs and changeups.
Quintana has fared well against the Brewers (13-8) throughout his career and did so again on Thursday, giving the Pirates five innings of one-run ball. Among the four hits he allowed, McCutchen’s barely cleared the short wall in left, while the three others were wasted.
What’s more, Quintana didn’t walk a batter and struck out nine, the most in a game for him since he whiffed the same amount May 3, 2021 against the Rays. The last time he walked none and struck out nine was all the way back on Aug. 30, 2017.
With a changeup that has looked better and better each time out, Quintana generated 16 whiffs (seven on his changeup) to go along with 14 called strikes.
Despite not factoring in to the decision, Quintana dropped his career ERA to just 2.74 in 19 games (18 starts) totaling 111 2/3 innings against Milwaukee.
The McCutchen home run could probably be classified as a mistake, but not a huge one. It came on a fastball up in the zone, though the ball traveled just 355 feet. Ben Gamel gave chase until he crashed into the wall.
Quintana regrouped nicely by striking out shortstop Willy Adames, right fielder Hunter Renfroe and first baseman Keston Hiura to close the opening inning. Four of the first six strikeouts Quintana notched came on fastballs, which is impressive considering that pitch averaged just 90.5 mph on Thursday, essentially the same as it has this season.
Working in Quintana’s favor have been the curveball and changeup, which can make his fastball and sinker appear more dangerous.
Facing Freddy Peralta, another of the Brewers’ horses, the Pirates tallied just Josh VanMeter’s third-inning single through five.
In the sixth, Bryan Reynolds — who had been in a 2-for-27 funk with 13 strikeouts — cracked a single at 101.3 mph to right after Daniel Vogelbach served a soft one into center. With two on and two out, however, Ke’Bryan Hayes flew out to right field to end the threat.
Around the horn
Pirates starting pitchers do not have a win in 19 games. The only team that has gone longer to start a season, per the Elias Sports Bureau: the 1988 Orioles, who lost their first 21 games.
