The Walk-Off: Andrew McCutchen smashes three homers to beat Rockies

Here’s one way to get out of an early season funk: Hit three homers in a game like Pittsburgh Pirates star Andrew McCutchen did Tuesday night at Coors Field.

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(AP)

McCutchen was hitting .213 with two homers and five RBIs entering the contest and by the end, he had five homers, 10 RBIs and a .238 batting average. His OPS jumped from .684 to .826. That’s one heckuva night.

The Pirates won the game 9-4, also aided by pair of hits each from Jordy Mercer, Francisco Cervelli and Gregory Polanco. But Cutch is the story here. He struck out four times on Sunday, had the day off Monday and that seems to have helped.

Here’s a piece of trivia about his night that’s sure to delight anybody who loves early-season numbers fun and/or hates the power-lacking Atlanta Braves.

This is the best factoid of April baseball: Andrew McCutchen hit as many homers tonight (3) as the Braves’ entire team has hit this season.

— Big League Stew (@bigleaguestew) April 27, 2016

And it’s 100 percent true. Hard to tell whether to be impressed by McCutchen or just shake your head at the Braves, which, more on them in just a second.

TOP PERFORMERS

• David Price: Another way to get some early season confidence: Pitch against the Braves. Price, the new Boston Red Sox ace, struck out 14 batters as the lowly Braves let their losing streak slide to seven games. The Red Sox won 11-4 between Price’s strong outing and a five-RBI night from Travis Shaw. Price went eight innings, allowing six hits and two runs. His ERA shrunk from 7.06 to 5.76.

• Johnny Cueto: The best pitching performance of the night, however, goes to Johnny Cueto, who joined the long-line of San Francisco Giants pitchers who have shut out the San Diego Padres. Cueto struck out 11 and scattered four hits as the Giants won 1-0, going the distance to rest the struggling Giants bullpen. It was Cueto’s fourth win of the season with the Giants.

[Elsewhere: Bartolo Colon and Billy Hamilton face off in foot race to first]

• Yoenis Cespedes: Cespedes proved once again that with just one swing he can change the complexion of a game. On Tuesday, that one swing came in the seventh inning of the New York Mets’ game with the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds were up 3-0 and Cespedes came on to pinch hit with two runners on. Surprise, he hit a three-run bomb to tie the game. David Wright put the Mets ahead with a single later in the inning and they’d leave the ballpark with a 4-3 win.

MUST-SEE HIGHLIGHT

Any time Miami Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton goes yard, it’s probably worth watching. But when it comes against Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, well, that’s appointment television. Stanton did just that in the sixth inning of Tuesday’s game, smacking a three-run homer off the three-time Cy Young award winner. Kershaw’s reaction also makes this one must-see. He immediately knew the pitch was gone, crumpling on the mound for a brief second while he watched the ball sail over the outfield wall. With the blast, the Marlins scored five runs off Kershaw. They eventually won the contest 6-3.

THE SCOREBOARD
Philles 4, Nationals 3: Bryce Harper came to the plate representing the winning run with two outs in the ninth inning, but Jeanmar Gomez was able to get him to ground out to second for the win.

White Sox 10, Blue Jays 1: Chris Sale was excellent against the fearsome Jays, holding them to just one run on four hits over eight innings. He improved to 5-0.

Rays 3, Orioles 1: Kevin Kiermaier’s two-run shot in the sixth inning proved to be the difference in this one.

Athletics 5, Tigers 1: Rich Hill turned in another excellent start, going seven scoreless innings against Detroit. He gave up four hits, did not walk any batters and delivered eight strikeouts.

Cubs 4, Brewers 3: Addison Russell’s two-run triple in the sixth proved to be huge. While Ryan Braun attempted to lead the Brewers back late, they couldn’t complete the comeback.

Rangers 10, Yankees 1: Luis Severino lasted just three innings, giving up six runs against Texas. Six members of the Rangers collected at least one RBI during the drubbing.

Twins 6, Indians 5: Mike Napoli managed a dramatic game-tying home run in the top of the ninth, but his heroics were overshadowed by a Miguel Sano walk-off single in the bottom of the frame.

Cardinals 8, Diamondbacks 2: Carlos Martinez gave up just three hits over eight scoreless innings during the win. Shelby Miller struggled again, giving up five runs in five innings and walking four batters.

Angels 9, Royals 4: The Royals pounced on Jered Weaver early, but the Angels tagged Edinson Volquez for eight runs in the comeback win.

Mariners 11, Astros 1: Nathan Karns was excellent in seven scoreless innings, Robinson Cano added a grand slam in the seventh and catcher Erik Kratz pitched for Houston.

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