MILWAUKEE -- Andrew McCutchen joined an exclusive group of Pirates legends on Wednesday night at Miller Park.
In the first inning of the Pirates' 8-2 loss, McCutchen crushed the first pitch he saw from Brewers starter Chase Anderson deep to left-center field for his 25th home run of the season. It was also the 200th homer of McCutchen's career, making him the fourth player to reach that milestone in a Pirates uniform.
The others? Hall of Famers Willie Stargell, Ralph Kiner and Roberto Clemente. Stargell is the Pirates' all-time home run leader with 475. He is followed by Kiner (301) and Clemente (240). McCutchen joined them in Pittsburgh's 200-home run club in his 1,332nd game with the Bucs.
For Pirates manager Clint Hurdle, those three names were enough to represent the significance of McCutchen's milestone.
"Close the book on it right there. That's pretty good company to keep," Hurdle said. "And he's 30. He didn't just turn 40 and hit his 200th. He's 30. That's a nice milestone, man. I'm proud of him and happy for him."
McCutchen was not exactly overwhelmed by the round-number milestone he reached Wednesday night. He believes there will be plenty more in his future.
"It's cool, but I plan on playing for another 10 years," McCutchen said. "It's cool to be here for a day, but I'll try to keep pushing forward. It was a good day for the homer and all, but we're past that. That's it."
McCutchen has totaled 532 extra-base hits since his Major League debut on June 4, 2009, the seventh most in Pirates history. He exclusively trails Hall of Famers in that category, too: Stargell, Honus Wagner, Paul Waner, Clemente, Pie Traynor and Max Carey.
McCutchen has 25 home runs in a season, which is tied for the second-highest total of his career, for the first time since 2014. He went deep 31 times in 2012, the first of four consecutive seasons he finished in the top 5 of the National League Most Valuable Player Award voting. He has put together seven straight 20-homer seasons dating back to 2011, his third year in the Majors.
The 30-year-old outfielder turned around his season after a rough start by slashing .369/.473/.687 from May 26-July 30. That tear ended with a three-homer game against the Padres in San Diego.
McCutchen cooled off after that, however, batting just .222 with only one home run in August as opponents carefully pitched around him. He may be rounding back into form down the stretch, though. McCutchen has hit .297 with five extra-base hits over his last nine games. After going homerless for 116 straight plate appearances, he has gone deep in two of the Pirates' last three games.
According to Statcast™, McCutchen's 200th career homer traveled a projected 415 feet with an exit velocity of 107.8 mph.
Miller Park has historically been kind to McCutchen. He's hit 90 of his 200 homers at PNC Park and now has hit 21 in Milwaukee, his second-highest total among Major League parks. He has reached base safely in 13 straight games against the Brewers and 17 consecutive games in Milwaukee's ballpark.