Pittsburgh Pirates Andrew McCutchen earns second consecutive NL Player of the Month Award-MLB News
The Pittsburgh Pirates and the centre fielder Andrew McCutchen had another reason to celebrate on Thursday, August 2, as McCutchen was once again named the Budweiser Presents National League Player of the Month Award.
McCutchen had won the Award last month as well and he was to successfully defend it in July. With it, McCutchen has now become the second Pirates player to win it for two months consecutively after Bobby Bonilla did it in 1988.
While Andrew McCutchen may have several contenders in the league battling for this Award, he was entitled to it for obvious reasons: Unmatched stats in July. The player hit .446 with seven homers to his credit in 41-for-92.
He hit 15 RBIs and scored 22 runs. His wonderful performance also ensured the team’s victories, and being second in the National League Central as the Pirates continue to fight for the top slot.
Andrew McCutchen, it is pertinent to remember, got the Award last month for having had .370 hitting average, hitting seven homers coupled with 26 RBIS. He now is the only player in the Major Leagues to have got the Award for the two consecutive months since 2006 when the Philadelphia Phillies Ryan Howard had earned this glory.
If there was one big competitor who could challenge McCutchen, it was Cincinnati Reds Joey Votto who is out of for now since the knee surgery that he had a couple of weeks ago, uncertain as to when will the return be in the line-up.
The Pirates, incidentally, are to brace themselves for a tough fight against the Cincinnati Reds starting Friday, when the two teams will play a three-game series.
His focus is to help the team make it to the top slot. "We'll get there," McCutchen said of the race with the Reds, "and when it comes, we'll be ready to go. I'm sure it will be a pretty fun series."
McCutchen, while proud and excited with the endowment of another Award, is focusing on the three-game series that will determine how equipped the Pirates are when it comes to fighting the seemingly unbeatable Reds.
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