PITTSBURGH — Andrew McCutchen will get the day off in Thursday’s series finale against the San Francisco Giants.
It’s not related to the continued maintenance of the thumb problem that he’s been dealing with. Instead, manager Clint Hurdle just wanted to give his struggling superstar a day off. McCutchen had played nine consecutive days and had hit 7 for 32 in that stretch (.219).
“It’s not specifically the thumb, it’s just about getting him off the field and getting him a rest, as we do with all the guys, mentally and physically,” Hurdle said. “At the end of this stretch of play, before the actual first full off day, we’ll have gone to the park 47 of 48 days. If you look at the timeline of Andrew’s play, today was a day we were looking at earlier to give him a break.”
The day off is another piece of Hurdle’s arsenal to try to get McCutchen back on track. He said they’ve “talked about a lot of different things,” including giving him an extended break. For now, they will see what a day off can do to get his swing back in shape.
“We’re trying them one at a time,” Hurdle said. “(Multiple days off) could be an option down the road. … This is the next option. We’ve tried moving some things around, we’ve tried different routines. He’s tried some different things as well to try and spark performance. The day [game] after a night game, we’ll try to stay away from him the best we can to give him a full day off.”
Hurdle reiterated what he said the last time he discussed McCutchen’s struggles — his early work looks good, but he’s having difficulty getting it to translate to in-game at-bats.
“There’s still three things he’s trying to incorporate on a consistent basis: number one, getting his foot down early; number two, a good swing versus a big swing; and number three, mistakes inside of the ball and not outside of the ball,” Hurdle said.
Those issues are causing McCutchen to be pull-happy and have a tendency to roll over some pitches, which is borne out in the fact that he has just three extra-base hits in the month of June. His hard-hit batted ball percentage is the lowest it’s been since he was a rookie in 2009.
GLASNOW MAKES IMPRESSION
Tyler Glasnow pitched seven no-hit innings in Triple-A Wednesday, and that certainly got Hurdle’s attention. But what also got his attention was the five walks, and that lack of command is something that he’s been dealing with all season. Glasnow leads the International League with 47 walks on the season.
“The last three times, it’s been four or five walks and power innings and they don’t hit it. He’s not letting anyone else play,” joked Hurdle. “He’s continued to grow in a lot of wonderful and strong ways. I think one of the last measures we look for is command. Triple-A command is hard to force [as] big-league command. There’s so many weak pockets in Triple-A lineups where if you get to a certain point in the lineup, you can get things taken care of. Big-league lineups aren’t the same. They aren’t as forgiving.”
Despite the ongoing issues with walks, Glasnow is still being considered as a spot starter for Sunday, when Juan Nicasio’s turns comes up. The team expects Nicasio to be back in Pittsburgh Thursday, but he will likely head to the bullpen, and Gerrit Cole isn’t expected to be ready to come off the disabled list.
Glasnow would be pitching on three days’ rest after throwing 102 pitches on Wednesday. Justin Masterson would be on regular rest, but he gave up five runs in 4.2 innings his last time out and hasn’t been able to get fully stretched out since returning from shoulder surgery. Chad Kuhl would be other primary option. He is scheduled to pitch Saturday for Indianapolis.
“He’s an interesting guy that got our attention in Spring Training,” Hurdle said. “He’s a guy that we’re keeping our eye on. [Glasnow and Kuhl] would be the two guys in the conversations with [Indians manager Dean Treanor] that are starting options down the road.”
NOTES
• Starling Marte (left foot) is also not starting, meaning that Gregory Polanco will make his second career start in center field. Sean Rodriguez and Matt Joyce will man the other outfield spots.
• Chris Stewart (left knee) will get the day off after making his return to the starting lineup Wednesday night.
