DETROIT — It really just felt like a fun thing to do at the time.
OK, more accurately, it was Andrew McCutchen making good on a promise to flash the Zoltan — a hand gesture plucked from the movie “Dude, Where’s My Car?” — after leading off with a single on Sunday in Baltimore.
While wearing a pair of black and gold Anderson Silva-inspired shoes from 2013 where the UFC fighter’s logo was replaced with the Zoltan sign, McCutchen must’ve been feeling nostalgic about what became popular in 2012-13.
How players who came up with a big hit would press their thumbs together and contort their hands into the shape of a “Z,” a celebration that seemed to develop its own sort of cult following.
“I had to unleash the spirit of the Zoltan,” McCutchen said with a smile on Tuesday at Comerica Park. “Had to unleash it. I was leading off. I made a joke with somebody because I had these on.”
McCutchen then held up his shoes, with a Z on the heel.
“I said, ‘If I lead off and get a knock, I’m flashing it.’ ”
OK, so does that mean the sign is back?
“I don’t think so,” McCutchen said. “We didn’t make it a team thing. ... But who knows? Maybe it’ll catch a wave.”
The reaction inside the dugout was pretty much non-existent, McCutchen said, which apparently made him feel old.
“These guys are too young to even know,” McCutchen, 36, said. “I knew there was one person who was gonna notice it — and he did — and that was AJ Burnett. He saw me do it, and he talked to me after the game. He was like, ‘Man, did you flash the Zoltan?’ I was like, ‘I did.’ We laughed about it.”
More success and winning games would obviously have to come first, but on a Pirates team that has been passing around a PIkachu plush toy, swinging a foam sword and taking turns donning a jacket after home runs ... it certainly isn’t outside the realm of possibilities.
“Every now and then,” McCutchen added, “I might have to bring it out.”
Another intriguing trend here could be McCutchen hitting out of the leadoff spot, which he did for the Pirates for the first time since Aug. 13, 2011, against the Orioles.
In 2,093 career plate appearances there, McCutchen has a .257 average and .793 OPS. He’s been much more productive hitting third (.291 and .869), which obviously dates back to his most dominant stretch in 2012-15, but that’s also where he has hit most frequently this season.
It isn’t McCutchen’s preferred spot in the order. It’s also not his most productive. But if the Pirates need a spark — as they did Sunday — he’s happy to try to help to provide it.
“We need a guy who can start things off and get on base,” said McCutchen, who’s sporting a .357 on-base percentage this season. “I know I can do that.”
Nearing returns
Vince Velasquez threw live batting practice on Monday in Bradenton, Fla., and is expected to make his first rehab start later this week, likely with Triple-A Indianapolis, Pirates manager Derek Shelton said.
Velasquez, who has been on the 15-day injured list since May 5 with right elbow inflammation, threw 45 pitches over three innings. He’s eligible to come off of the IL on Saturday.
Rob Zastryzny (left ulnar neuritis) began a rehab start with Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday night. He’s been on the 15-day IL since April 16.
Having Zastryzny back should be a big boost for the Pirates bullpen, which has been operating with just one lefty: Rule 5 pick Jose Hernandez.
“He was throwing the ball well,” Shelton said. “Any time you can balance out — three of the last four clubs we’ve faced, including this one, have multiple left-handers, sometimes three and four — it’s definitely helpful.”
‘They’ll come’
It’s been a strange season for Bryan Reynolds. No home runs since April 7. Yet he had hit safely in five straight prior to Tuesday and in 16 of his past 18 (.309 average).
He was also hitting .370 with runners in scoring position and had amassed 20 extra-base hits; only seven hitters throughout MLB entering play Tuesday had more.
“I feel like they come in bunches,” Reynolds said of the homers. “I know they’ll come. As long as we’re winning games.”
They really do. Last year, Reynolds had five homers in his first 40 games, then exploded for 10 over his next 32. He followed that with one bomb in a 26-game stretch, then went off with five homers over his next 11 contests.
“That’s always how I’ve been,” Reynolds said. “Just kinda how it works for me.”
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: May 16, 2023, 10:27 p.m.
