Andrew McCutchen’s three-run homer in the ninth inning was icing on the cake in Pittsburgh’s 7-4 win over the Twins Saturday night in Minneapolis.
McCutchen hammered a fastball from Twins reliever Jordan Balazovic into the upper deck in right-center field. It went an estimated 438 feet and left his bat at 106.2 mph, according to Baseball Savant.
For the first time since June 30, Andrew McCutchen has gone yard. McCutchen's three-run shot, the 298th of his career, has some Twins fans headed towards the exits. Pirates lead, 7-3.
Home Run: 11
Distance: 438 feet
Exit Velocity: 106.2 mph pic.twitter.com/mxRzyAKVLs— Justice delos Santos (@justdelossantos) August 20, 2023
The biggest missed opportunity was in the sixth inning when the Twins struck out three straight times after loading the bases with nobody out. Jorge Polanco started the inning with a walk, followed by back-to-back singles by Carlos Correa and Max Kepler. The next three batters – Royce Lewis, Donovan Solano and Joey Gallo – all struck out swinging to end the threat.
On the flip side, Twins starter Sonny Gray allowed just two hits through five innings before the Pirates got to him for three runs in the sixth. He gave up two singles and a walk to load the bases, and then with two outs Andrew McCutchen and Ke’Bryan Hayes hit back-to-back singles off Gray to give the Pirates a 3-2 lead.
Minnesota took the 2-0 lead on an RBI double by Max Kepler in the first inning and an RBI single by Michael A. Taylor in the fifth.
Lewis, who went 0 for 4, hit a towering shot down the left field line that went just foul. Ten feet further to the right and it would’ve been a game-tying homer for the rookie.
Cleveland also lost Saturday so the Twins’ lead in the AL Central stays at five games.
Up next: Twins vs. Pirates, Sunday at 1:10 p.m. CT.
