By JOHN PERROTTO
PITTSBURGH — Andrew McCutchen was walking out of the Pirates’ clubhouse after Thursday night’s game when someone said, “Hey Cutch, it’s not supposed to look this easy.”
The rookie center fielder smiled and said, “Oh, yes it is.”
McCutchen was kidding, of course, but he sure made it look easy again as he almost single-handedly rallied the Pirates to a 3-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians at PNC Park.
McCutchen singled home the winning run with no outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to cap a night in which he doubled and scored the first run, then worked a bases-loaded walk from the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner to drive in the tying run as the Pirates rallied from a 2-0 deficit against Cliff Lee.
“I don’t get nervous in pressure situations, I’m very lucky that way,” McCutchen said. “I really trust myself and have learned how to stay calm. I take deep breaths between pitches and try to stay relaxed. I just try to trust my approach at the plate, trust my hands and trust my pitch recognition.”
It does indeed seem that the 22-year-old McCutchen never gets nervous, as he is hitting .330 with 18 RBIs in his first 20 major-league games since being recalled from Class AAA Indianapolis on June 4.
“I think it goes back to him being in the limelight ever since he was drafted,” Pirates manager John Rusell said. “He’s always had to deal with pressure and he’s very mature about it. He’s not like the normal young player.”
McCutchen capped a ninth-inning rally against Matt Herges (2-1) with a single to left field that scored Jack Wilson, who led off with a single to left.
Wilson, who went 3-for-3 with a walk, took second on pinch hitter Eric Hinske’s single to left, then stole third base when McCutchen bunted through a pitch.
“It’s either a smart play or a stupid play, depending on if you’re safe or not,” Wilson said with a smile.
McCutchen followed with his game-winning hit to give the Pirates their second win in the three-game series.
The rally made a winner of Matt Capps (1-3), who pitched a scoreless ninth.
The Pirates tied the game at 2 in the seventh inning on an outstanding eight-pitch plate appearance by McCutchen as the rookie center fielder coaxed his bases-loaded walk after falling behind 0-2. That forced home Andy LaRoche, who had drawn a leadoff walk.
“I don’t know what was the better at-bat, that one or the one in the ninth,” McCutchen said. “I liked them all.”
McCutchen also accounted for the Pirates’ first run when he doubled leading off the sixth and scored on Freddy Sanchez’s sacrifice fly.
Pirates left fielder Nyjer Morgan preserved the tie in the top of the eighth when he made a leaping catch of a drive by Victor Martinez to save a potential two-run home run.
Ross Ohlendorf started for the Pirates and allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings with three walks and two strikeouts. The Indians took a 2-0 lead off Ohlendorf when Shin-Soo Choo lined an RBI double to center field in the fourth inning and Martinez hit a leadoff home run into the shrubbery in center in the sixth.
However, the Pirates battled back against Lee to tie the game thanks in large part to McCutchen. Lee gave up two runs on four hits in seven innings with three walks and five strikeouts.
“It was a great game to win against a guy like Lee,” Wilson said. “Normally, I’ll watch the first six at-bats right-handers have against a pitcher in his previous game and when I watched Lee five of them struck out. I thought it might be a long night, but we hung in there against him.”
Russell was ejected in the sixth inning by home plate umpire Jerry Layne for arguing that Morgan should have been awarded first base with a hit by pitch when a pitch from Lee appeared to smack the fingers on his right hand while he tried to bunt. Layne called the pitch a strike.
It was the second ejection in Russell’s two years as Pirates’ manager. He was also tossed on Aug. 24 last season at Milwaukee by home plate umpire Bob Davidson.
