McCLUTCHen

Anti or Pro, let's pull a Ted Leonsis and collectively enjoy that on June 9th, the Bucs are a .500 team this late in a season for the first time in 6 years. I will, for today, set aside the petty fact that it has been SIX YEARS since the team was .500 in June or later and give credit where credit is due.

Anybody expecting to see an old school pitcher's duel between current Bucco hurler Paul Maholm and former phenom Zach Duke got exactly that. Being pitted against a close friend and former long-time teammate seems to often bring out the best in competitors and we certainly saw living proof of that last evening. Maholm was awesome, to say the least. 6 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs, 3BB amd 4K. Duke was not too far off Maholm's pace, though, going 7IP, giving up 1 run on 9 hits and notching one strikeout. It was a typical Maholm outing in that he pitched well but got little run support. It was a typical Duke outing, too; giving up a lot of hits but not incurring much total damage. However, the story of this game are the Brothers McCutchen, Daniel and Andrew, clearly identical twins.

As has been the case for the 2011 edition of the Bucs, the team scrapped on when it looked like another W was going to slip through their fingers. But not these Bucs, at least not yet. Bucs drew first blood when Cutch brought in Tabata with a sac fly to notch our only run scored in regulation. Tabata was nothing short of outstanding last night, either. Despite his recent struggles, likely due to a nagging injury, he has been heating up and a 4 for 6 night at the plate certainly can't hurt the average. Maholm didn't give up a hit until there was one out in the 4th and he left the game after six innings with a 1-0 lead intact. The Bucs were unable to get to Duke, who exited after the 7th and the Dbacks tied it up in the 8th. Stephen Drew, in a pinch hitting role, singled off of Jose Veras to score Kelly Johnson and tie the game at 1-1. Rookie Tony Watson was called upon to make his major league debut in a tie game with men on base and proceeded to strike out the first two batters he faced, ending the inning. What a gutsy move by Jake Taylor to go to the rookie here and what a gutsy performance in that situation, your MLB debut, to strike out two guys in a tie game with men on base.

The Bucs looked like they were poised to take the lead back in the bottom half of the 8th, but the Dbacks defense was not having any of it. Cutch smoked a hot shot between 3rd and short, only to see a leaping Stephen Drew make an outstanding catch. Drew did not start in order to get more right handed bats against Maholm, but he made a very strong case to be player of the game in this contest. The Pride of PR followed Cutch by smashing a drive down the first base line only to see Cuban Defector Pedro Cerrano Juan Miranda make an equally outstanding catch to rob him. Walker had been denied a hit on another great effort in his previous at bat, as well. The 9th saw Joel Hanrahan trot out and for the second straight night, he was dominant, getting the Dbacks down 1-2-3 but the Bucs weren't able to win it in the home half of the inning and we headed to extra frames.

The Dbacks took the lead in the 10th when Daniel Moskos surrendered his first earned run in the majors. Kelly Johnson led off with a single and was bunted to 2nd base by Ian Kennedy. Stephen Drew promptly singled up the middle to score Johnson and Cutch couldn't handle the ball cleanly, allowing Drew to have second on his error. Moskos IBB-ed Upton to put the force on but didn't end up needing, retiring Young and Miranda to end the inning. The Bucs were not going down without a fight, though, and Cutch was going to lead the charge. Following an Xavier Paul strikeout, Cutch blasted a ground rule double to right, bringing up the Bucs most clutch hitter in the Pride of PR. Walker was 0 for 4 coming into this at bat but he had hit the ball very hard and deep his first 2 at-bats and was robbed in the previous 2. Something had to give way and wouldn't you know it; it did. Walker singled up the middle and Cutch FLEW home to tie it at 2-2. GI Jones PH for Moskos, but fanned with Walker swiping 2nd in the process. Dusty Brown was up with the game on his bat and did exactly what a 29 year old with 20 major league games under his belt would do- not get the run home.

The Dbacks threatened in the 11th with the Guy Who Cried replacing Moskos. Nady led off with a double and moved to 3rd on a single by Disney Villain Henry Blanco. However, the Guy Who Cried got Ryan Roberts to fan and Kelly Johnson to ground into an inning ending double play. The Bucs managed 2 baserunners in the bottom of the 11th with back to back 2 out singles from Brandon Wood and Jose Tabata. Xavier Paul couldn't get Wood home and we moved on to the 12th. The Guy Who Cried found himself in trouble again, this time allowing a lead off single to Gerardo Parra, who stole second and then moved to third on a wild pitch with 2 outs. I said it yesterday and I reiterate, the number of Wild Pitches and Passed Balls this team racks up is mind boggling. Anyways, D-Cutch walked Young intentionally but got Sean Burroughs, who hasn't been in the majors since 2006, to fly out. The bottom of the 12 was one of the shortest innings in recent memory, lasting all of 6 pitches and one batter. Cutch stepped into the batters box with ending the game in mind and did exactly that by depositing a 3-2 pitch high and JUST inside the left field fair pole to give the Bucs the walk off win! 30-30!  The Guy Who Cried gets the W and the Box Score is McCutchen Mania. W- D. McCutchen, HR- A.McCutchen RBI- A. McCutchen 2 .Final Count: Bucs 3, Dbacks 2 in 12 innings.

Player of the Game: Cutch. Little doubt about this one. 3 for 5, 2 RBI 2-runs scored including the game tying run in the bottom of the 10th and game winning walk-off HR in the 12th. Tabata, Drew, Maholm, and Duke all made strong cases, but Cutch WAS the Bucs scoring offense. Accounting for every run in one way or another.

Head Scratcher of the Night- This goes to Kirk Gibson for not playing Stephen Drew until late. Even if he is only batting .231 vs lefties, he still has driven in 14 of his 35 runs against them. He came off the bench to go 2 for 3 and knock in both Dbacks runs as well as making a tremendous catch in the bottom of the 8th.

Face Palm of the Night: Once again, the pitchers and catchers for the Bucs have GOT to do something about the wild pitches, passed balls, and blocked balls in general. I cannot recall seeing our catchers blocking so many pitches in the dirt nor dropping as many pitches right in their mitt. We somehow staved off any official PB's, but Brown dropped another one that hit him square in the mitt and nearly allowed a runner to freely move 90 feet closer to home. Jake Taylor was  a great catcher, maybe Hurdle should consult his alter ego and seek some advice.

In the end, the Bucs are in good shape right now and that is GREAT. Now, Nutters will get down on me for not pulling the aforementioned Ted Leonsis and writing a One Shining Moment piece where I declare we have arrived, but the Bucs have to keep on rolling. We can't see a losing streak here, we've got to sweep this series and take 2 out of 3 from the Mets. That would put us at 33-31 or uncharted waters known as a WINNING RECORD. There is a lot of baseball to be played and if the Bucs can continue the next 102 games the same way they have treated the first 60, the Streak may actually come to an end in 2011. That would REALLY be an awesome event to witness, but history tells me it is unlikely.I truly hope that I am wrong.

Also, we need to develop nicknames for the following: Hanrahan, Tabata, Cedeno, and Snyder.