McCutchen went 2-for-3 with his 19th homer Friday against the Padres.

EDGE Analysis

He's cooled off since the All-Star break, slashing .250/.373/.396 with two homers and three stolen bases. The nine steals have been a pleasant surprise after McCutchen stole only six bags in 13 attempts last year. His .890 OPS in 2017 is the highest since 2014. The odds of Pittsburgh moving McCutchen prior to the deadline have increased somewhat, given the team's recent slide, but it's still unlikely a trade happens prior to the off season.

McCutchen went 3-for-4 with two walks, three runs scored and three RBI in Friday's 13-5 win over the Rockies.

EDGE Analysis

It's his first multi-hit performance since the All-Star break, extending McCutchen's current on-base streak to 12 games. He's arguably been the most valuable hitter in baseball since the calendar flipped to June, slashing .384/.481/.642 in his last 42 games with nine homers, four steals, 32 RBI and 37 runs, and Cutch's resurgence is a big reason why the Pirates suddenly find themselves back in the thick of the NL Central playoff race.

McCutchen went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a walk and two runs Thursday in Philadelphia.

EDGE Analysis

McCutchen, Josh Bell and Gregory Polanco supplied almost all of the offense in this 6-3 win, finishing with a combined nine hits and six runs scored. This was his fifth multi-hit performance in nine games since being moved from sixth to third in the batting order, and the 2013 NL MVP also has eight extra-base hits over that span. The recent uptick in performance has raised McCutchen's season line to .289/.375/.520.

McCutchen went 3-for-4 with a pair of solo homers Tuesday against Philadelphia.

EDGE Analysis

After being named the NL player of the month for June, McCutchen is off to a great start in July, going 5-for-12 with four extra-base hits. He's slashing .395/.497/.689 with eight homers and 23 RBI since May 26. While the outfielder has swiped only one of his six bags in the last 41 games, owners have no doubt enjoyed his monster turnaround. It's still a toss-up as to whether McCutchen will get dealt at the deadline, but he's definitely upped his trade value.

McCutchen is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Giants.

EDGE Analysis

McCutchen has punished opposing pitchers over the past several weeks, posting an absurd .505 on-base percentage in June, but he'll get the day off against Jeff Samardzija and the Giants. Adam Frazier will take over in center field with John Jaso drawing the start in left.

McCutchen (shin) is starting in center field and hitting third Saturday against the Giants.

EDGE Analysis

He fouled a ball off his left shin in Friday's game, but the bruise was not serious enough to keep him out the following day. McCutchen hit .411/.505/.689 with six home runs and more walks (17) than strikeouts (12) in 90 June at-bats.

McCutchen expects to play Saturday after fouling a ball off his left shin, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

EDGE Analysis

"It hurts," McCutchen said with a smile after the game. "It's good, though - but it hurts." McCutchen was also plunked in the back by an off-speed pitch Friday. The outfielder, who has reached base in eight straight plate appearances, finishes June with a .411 average, .509 on-base percentage, .689 slugging percentage and 1.198 OPS.

McCutchen suffered an ankle injury in Friday's game against San Francisco but doesn't expect to miss any time, Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

EDGE Analysis

McCutchen still went 2-for-2 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch and managed a single even after suffering the injury. He says he'll play if he can walk, and he was walking just fine after Friday's game. Still, to be on the safe side, McCutchen should be considered day-to-day.

McCutchen is starting in center field and batting third Tuesday against the Rays.

EDGE Analysis

McCutchen was dropped to sixth in the order just about a month ago after a horrendous start to the season, but he appears to have reclaimed his spot in the heart of the Pirates' order after a putting together an impressive month at the plate. The 30-year-old compiled a .380/.471/.690 triple slash with eight homers and a 19:17 K:BB in 28 games (119 plate appearances) while hitting sixth. The struggling Gregory Polanco was dropped to sixth in the order Tuesday. McCutchen should continue to slot into the top third of the order if he keeps mashing at the plate.

McCutchen went 3-for-3 with a homer, a walk, three RBI and two runs against the Brewers on Tuesday.

EDGE Analysis

Through this season's first 45 games, McCutchen was hitting a brutal .200/.271/.359 with six homers and 20 RBI, but the light came on in late May: Over the 24 games since, he's hit a spectacular .402 with eight homers and 23 RBI. That's both intriguing and confusing output from a guy who's coming off his worst MLB season and was widely considered to be in decline -- an idea his early slump did nothing to dispel. However, it's certainly tantalizing whenever we see this kind of outburst from a guy who's done it before.