The Pittsburgh Pirates have one of their best hitters returning to the lineup after a stint on the injured list.
The Pirates have unfortunately fallen out of the playoff race, as they sit around ten games back from the final Wild Card spot. A rough stretch of ten straight losses contributed to that, but so did injuries to multiple players. Fan Favorite designated hitter Andrew McCutchen was one of the players who has been out.
After leaving a game on August 17 with knee inflammation, Pittsburgh announced that they are reinstating McCutchen off the injured list according to Sports Illustrated’s Jack Markowski.
“The Pirates announced that they activated outfielder/designated hitter Andrew McCutchen off of the 10-day injured list,” Markowski reported. “As their corresponding move, the team placed right-handed pitcher Ben Heller on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation.”
“McCutchen hit the IL on Aug. 17 with knee inflammation after being pulled from Pittsburgh’s contest against the Seattle Mariners a day prior. He dealt with a hamstring injury that forced him to exit a game against the Chicago White Sox on July 13 and also left against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Aug. 3 with quad tightness, though neither situation led to an IL stint.”
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McCutchen is riding a 12-game-on-base streak and was playing some of his best baseball of the season before his injury. The 37-year-old is slashing .235 this season with 16 home runs and 40 RBIs. The five-time All-Star and former National League MVP will be a welcome sight in the lineup as the Pirates aim to end the season on a good note.
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