© Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
LOS ANGELES — Although it wouldn’t have necessarily changed the outcome of the game, an outfield miscommunication between Gregor Blanco and Andrew McCutchen allowed the Los Angeles Dodgers to score the final two runs of their 5-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday night.
Afterwards, McCutchen admitted that he should’ve given way to Blanco, who started in center field.
“The mentality is catch everything [when you’re the centerfielder],” McCutchen said. “For me, that’s what I’m trying to do. Just trying to catch every ball. The last thing you hate to do is have both of you looking at each other and it drops.
“The mentality is catch every ball, but at the same time I have to understand that the guy in center is the leader out there and he’s the one that, when he calls for it, it’s his ball.”
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Before being traded to the Giants this offseason, McCutchen spent a majority of his time with the Pittsburgh Pirates as their starting centerfielder. McCutchen didn’t indicate that being a former centerfielder led to the miscommunication, but he did list what he needs to know about his fellow outfielders to prevent a similar incident from happening in the future.
“I think he was playing a little to pull,” McCutchen said. “That ball went my way, so I figured, ‘let me catch it.’ But he’s the centerfielder at the end of the day and I need to know his range, know his signals, his hands, him screaming, and communicate a little better. That’ll work itself out.”