Pirates Three Stars of the Week: Congrats to Cutch and These Players

Last week, the Pittsburgh Pirates wrapped up a long home stand with six games — three against the Oakland A’s and three against the New York Mets.

After dropping two of three against Oakland, the Pirates won the series against the Mets, putting them at 3-3 on the week.

The Pirates are back in first place in the National League Central and lead the Milwaukee Brewers by one games

Perhaps the  biggest story was Andrew McCutchen collecting the 2,000th hit of his major league career on Sunday, becoming the 291st player in league history to do so.

Third Star: Rich Hill – 1-0, 2.57 ERA, 2er/7.0ip, seven hits, two walks, six strikeouts, one appearances/one start

Hill tossed a season-high seven innings of brilliant baseball against the New York Mets on Friday night and was the pitcher of record in the Pirates’ win.

It took Hill 119 pitches to do so, the most he’s thrown in a game since 2006 and the most by a Pirates’ pitcher since James McDonald in 2012.

Rich Hill's curveball is insane.

71.8 MPH, 2717 RPM, but… 67 inch vertical break, 19 inch horizontal break here….. pic.twitter.com/tFeQsgpXOp

— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) June 9, 2023

Second star: Ke’Bryan Hayes – .423/.423/.577, 11 for 26, two doubles, one triple, four RBIs, one steal, six games

Hayes continued his hot streak at the plate and included in that was a five-hit performance in a 5 for 5 game against New York.

In addition to his improved offense, Hayes again showcased his elite defense.

Ke’Bryan Hayes is the best 3B glove in baseball pic.twitter.com/Hf1loHgIdF

— Barstool Baseball (@StoolBaseball) June 11, 2023

First Star: Jack Suwinski – .333/.389/.800, 5 for 15, one double, two home runs, four RBIs, five games

Suwinski did what he does best this week and used his power to launch a pair of home runs.

In Sunday’s win over the Mets, Suwinski hit a game-tying home run off the foul pole in right field.

Jack SuWAYGONEski 😤 pic.twitter.com/uiWWxXQvt5

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) June 11, 2023

The Pirates hit the road this week and will face the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers for the first time this season following an off day on Monday.

Check back next week to see the Pirates’ top three performers from the week ahead.