Andrew McCutchen had the big hit as the Pirates edged the Cubs at PNC Park last night, but a fan celebrating the run-scoring double fell from the stands atop the Clemente Wall.
Joe Block recaps the game.
Just after McCutchen’s double, a man fell from the stands above the 21-foot-tall Clemente Wall onto the warning track below. Others nearby said he was celebrating the hit and lost his balance. Pirates and Cubs medical staff and Pittsburgh EMS rushed to attend to him as he lay motionless on the ground. He is listed in critical condition at Allegheny General Hospital. Manager Derek Shelton describes the scene.
Shelton reacts to the incident.
Pirates players decided as a group not to comment on the incident. McCutchen posted on his social media afterward, “Let us think about his loved ones and hug our families a little tighter tonight. I hope he pulls thru. May God Bless you all.”
The series concludes this afternoon at PNC Park. It’s another good pitching matchup with the Pirates’ Paul Skenes [3-2, 2.39 ERA] facing Chicago’s Colin Rhea [1-0, 0.96 ERA]. It’s a 12:10 airtime, 12:35 first pitch on WCCS.
PIRATES INJURY NEWS
Pirates catcher/first baseman Endy Rodriguez is going to miss another week waiting for his injured finger to heal. He suffered a lacerated knuckle on April 14th and because it’s on a joint, the skin isn’t healed yet.
Senior director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk says Spencer Hortwitz is on schedule in his rehab from wrist surgery, Nick Gonzalez had returned to baseball activities while wearing an ankle brace, Jared Jones is throwing a baseball from sixty feet and anticipating a return after the All-Star break, and pitchers Johan Oviedo and Dauri Moreta are having “no issues” in their comebacks from Tommy John surgery.
ALTOONA CURVE
Altoona managed only three hits, singles by Jack Branigan, Sammy Siani, and Tres Gonzalez, in a 6-0 loss to Akron. Po-Yu Chen starts for the Curve tonight.
