McCutchen’s Big Swing, Falter’s Solid Effort Give Pirates Series Win Over Marlins

PITTSBURGH — Andrew McCutchen climbed the leaderboards with a big home run, and Bailey Falter had a solid start for the Pittsburgh Pirates in their 5-2 win over the Miami Marlins in Wednesday’s rubber match at PNC Park. 

How We Got There

The Pirates (28-41) manufactured a run with runners on the corners and two outs in the second. Ke’Bryan Hayes broke from first base attempting to get caught in a rundown, but catcher Nick Fortes threw wildly to second base, which allowed Henry Davis to score from third. 

Andrew McCutchen provided the big swing for the Pirates with a three-run home run to left-center off Marlins starter Cal Quantrill (3-7) in the bottom of the fifth to give them a 4-0 lead. 

Heriberto Hernández got the Marlins (25-41) on the board with his first-big league homer off Bailey Falter in the sixth. After Braxton Ashcraft relieved Falter (5-3) later in the inning, the Marlins scored another on Jesús Sánchez’s RBI groundout.

Adam Frazier tacked on an insurance run via a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth.

Dennis Santana, Caleb Ferguson and David Bednar combined for 3.1-scoreless innings of relief to end the game. Bednar recorded his ninth-straight successful save.

Key Moment

The Marlins had the go-ahead run at the plate with two outs in the sixth inning. Dennis Santana, who was brought in to face pinch-hitter Kyle Stowers, recorded a strikeout to keep the score at 4-2. 

Star of the Game

Andrew McCutchen not only led the Pirates to a win, but he made some history. More on that below.

Stat to Know

Andrew McCutchen’s three-run home run was his 241st with the Pirates. McCutchen passed Roberto Clemente for third place on the Pirates’ all-time list. He trails only Willie Stargell (475) and Ralph Kiner (301).

No. 241 for No. 22 👏 pic.twitter.com/2evy3ATi6I

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) June 11, 2025

Notable Performances

• Bailey Falter: 5.1 innings, five hits, one run, one walk, three strikeouts, 71 pitches/50 strikes
• Andrew McCutchen: 1 for 4, one home run, three RBI, one run
• Ke’Bryan Hayes: 2 for 3, one run

Noteworthy

• The win capped off a 6-3 homestand. The Pirates dropped two out of three games against the Astros, swept the Phillies and took two of three from the Marlins.
• The Pirates recalled RHP Carmen Mlodzinski from Triple-A Indianapolis and optioned RHP Kyle Nicolas
• C Joey Bart started a rehab assignment with Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday.

Up Next

The Pirates will hit the road and head to Chicago for the start of a four-game series at Wigley Field on Thursday night. LHP Andrew Heaney (3-4, 3.24 ERA) will start for Pittsburgh. The Cubs have yet to announce a starting pitcher. First pitch: 8:05 p.m. ET.