McCutchen went 2-for-4 with an RBI single Wednesday against the White Sox. In his 943rd career game, McCutchen served as his team's designated hitter for the first time ever. His break from the outfield may be short-lived, however, as Wednesday's center fielder Starling Marte appeared to injure his left ankle late in the game against Chicago.

McCutchen (knee) went 1-for-4 with a double in his return to the lineup Tuesday. He flew out to the center field wall in the eighth inning, narrowly missing a game-tying two-run dinger. McCutchen still continues to battle a left knee injury, but he'll get a chance to rest it for the second time in four days with Thursday's off day.

McCutchen is back in the lineup Tuesday against the Brewers, Tom Singer of MLB.com reports. McCutchen was given a maintenance day Monday, but he's back in the lineup Tuesday, manning center field and batting third against Brewers starter Taylor Jungmann.

McCutchen is not in the lineup for Monday's game against the Padres, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports. McCutchen is hitting a robust .422 since May 20, but he has appeared a little banged up of late, so manager Clint Hurdle felt it was a good time to give his center fielder his first day off since May 14. Starling Marte will slide over and cover center field for the Pirates on Monday night.

McCutchen went 2-for-5 with an RBI double Friday in Atlanta. His march toward a .300-plus batting average continues, as he's now slashing .295/.382/.497. McCutchen's strikeout rate of 13.6 percent is the lowest of his career while his BABIP of .313 remains nearly 20 points below his career mark (.329). June has also been the center fielder's best month -- he's hit .326/.397/.542 over the course of his career. After a slow start, Cutch is back to his usual production.

McCutchen raised his season's batting average to .292 on Tuesday, going 4-for-5 while missing the cycle by a home run. He's up to .292/.379/.497 with seven dingers, 34 RBI and three steals. By comparison, McCutchen sported a line of .304/.425/.469 with five homers, 25 RBI and seven steals at the same time in 2014. It's possible Pittsburgh rests the superstar Wednesday in order to give him two days down with Thursday's off day.

McCutchen collected three hits, including a pair of doubles, in five at-bats against San Diego on Thursday. He's batting .333/.410/.588 with five homers and 18 RBI in 117 plate appearances over the past month. McCutchen's .291 BABIP remains well off his career mark of .337, suggesting there's more good things to come from the center fielder -- so long as he keeps his left knee healthy.

McCutchen went 2-for-3 with his third homer in four games and fifth in 11 contests Sunday afternoon. He nearly tripped after beating out an infield single in the third inning, wincing in pain. McCutchen stayed in the game and seems to be able to overcome whatever knee pain he feels. The .261 batting average is his highest since Opening Day as is his .823 OPS.

McCutchen went 3-for-4 Saturday with two RBI and his sixth home run of the season. He's now hitting .361 (13-for-36) over his last 10 games with four home runs and 10 RBI, and the concerns over McCutchen's knee and the poor start to the season are rapidly fading away.

McCutchen went 1-for-3 with a double off the right field fence and a run scored Friday. In the eighth inning he was hit by an Erik Goeddel pitch in the back of the upper arm/shoulder area, but stayed in the game. It appears he'll be okay for Saturday's tilt, though there's a chance the team could play it safe with him. McCutchen is batting .291/.374/.494 with three homers and 12 RBI in his last 91 plate appearances.