The end of a rough April came with a milestone for Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates. McCutchen collected a triple and a single on Wednesday night against the Chicago Cubs to give him 1,000 hits for his career. The Pirates hope the milestone will help the perennial MVP candidate bust out of one of the worst slumps of his career.

Despite the 2-for-5 performance on Wednesday, McCutchen finished April with a .194 batting average, the second worst of his seven-year career. That included an 0-for-16 stretch. McCutchen is typically a slow starter, but this was poor by his standards. From 2012 to 2014, McCutchen batted .277 in April. 

If history has any merit in 2015, May will be the month that McCutchen starts to heat up. Over the last three years, he has batted .330 with a .935 OPS and 12 home runs. However, he is only 4-for-15 over his last four games. 

It is clear that McCutchen is hampered by a nagging lower body injury. Many have speculated it is a knee issue as his powerful twist through the swing has not been the same. The good news is that he has driven some balls to the wall in the last week, which may be a sign of getting on the other side of the mysterious injury. 

The breakout for McCutchen may have to wait for the next series, after the Pirates visit the St. Louis Cardinals this weekend. McCutchen will face Lance Lynn in the opener of the series. He has a career .143 average against Lynn. He is 2-for-3 against John Lackey, Saturday's starter. McCutchen is 2-for-6 against Sunday's starter, Michael Wacha.

The 1,000th hit is a testament to McCutchen's longevity in the league and his ability at the plate. McCutchen will hope the milestone jump starts his season on his way to his next 1,000. 

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About the author
Doug Smith
Doug has a communications background that started with a local weekly newspaper as a high school junior. He has experience in both print and digital as a freelance writer. Doug has covered baseball, soccer, golf, tennis and hockey for three different blog networks. His last print assignment was as a Features editor for a regional newspaper in northwest PA. His personal interests include soccer, especially MLS and the German Bundesliga. He also likes to play tennis in his spare time. He appreciate your readership and welcomes any and all comments. Thank you.