McCutchen prepped not only for Friday's rematch with the Cardinals but for his start in Tuesday night's All-Star Game presented by T-Mobile by winning a battle of wills with St. Louis reliever Seth Maness. Leading off the last inning, the two battled through 11 pitches, and in the end, McCutchen pummeled a 91-mph sinker for his 11th homer of the season to extend his hitting streak to 16 games.
"I can't use that 'the ball is not carrying' thing anymore," McCutchen said of the reaction he has had to some drives that felt gone off the bat but weren't.