What many see as a cowardly move by the Arizona Diamondbacks and manager Kirk Gibson could keep Pirates outfielder and reigning NL MVP Andrew McCutchen out of baseball for a month. Cutch suffered an oblique injury a day after he was drilled in the back by D-Back reliever Randall Delgado.
On Friday night, Pirates reliever Ernesto Frieri entered the game in the ninth inning with a 9-4 lead over the Diamondbacks. All-Star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt came up to bat after entering the game in the top of the ninth as a defensive substitution. Frieri delivered a fastball high and inside to Goldschmidt and accidentally hit him on his hand. Unfortunately for Goldschmidt and the Diamondbacks, the first baseman suffered a fractured left hand and will be out for the season.
In the second game of the series on Saturday night, the Diamondbacks decided to retaliate and concoct their own ninth inning version of hitting the other team's star player. With the Pirates leading 5-1 and McCutchen at the plate with the bases loaded and a 2-0 count, reliever Randall Delgado beamed the Pirates' star in the back with a 95-mph fastball. Delgado was immediately ejected and Pirates manager Clint Hurdle came out of the dugout rightfully furious. McCutchen was upset with the retaliation and had some words after the game.
"After a slider away," McCutchen said of the pitch that preceded the fastball that hit him in the back, in this MLB.com article. "They're setting me up that inning -- and it was really not appreciated. Are they hoping I check my swing and it hits my hand, and I get hurt, too? If you're going to hit me, hit me. If you're going to miss me with the first pitch, hit me with the second pitch ... try to hit me. But you don't throw a slider on the next pitch, and wait for the third pitch. Because that's how people get hurt. It hit me square in the spine. If I get hurt, what happens then?"
But that wasn't when McCutchen suffered his injury. On Sunday afternoon in the series finale, McCutchen drove in the tying run in the eighth inning with a sacrifice fly. However, he immediately grabbed his left side after hitting the ball, indicating a probable oblique injury. McCutchen said he was 'stiff' after getting hit in the back the night before, which likely played a factor in the 'serious' oblique strain he suffered. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported he'll likely be out at least 3-4 weeks.
The Pirates are currently in a tight NL Central race as they sit in third place and 1.5 games behind the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers. The St. Louis Cardinals are ahead of them by 0.5 games for second place as well as the final NL wild card spot. Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, McCutchen will be shelved for at least the rest of August it seems, as they fight for their postseason hopes.
