Maybe Andrew McCutchen only hits when it counts.

Participating in his first All-Star Home Run Derby, the Pirates’ star center fielder managed to knock only four balls over the fences at Kauffman Stadium on Monday night in Kansas City, Mo., and failed to advance past the first round.

Hitters in the competition were given 10 outs. McCutchen hit a 435-foot shot after he made two outs and launched a 436-foot missile after four outs, but then made five straight outs before hitting two successive homers of lesser distances on the gold charity balls.

Still, McCutchen managed to exceed the total of the three previous Pirates who competed in the Derby.

Barry Bonds hit two homers in 1992; Bobby Bonilla (1990) and Jason Bay (2005) failed to go deep.

Detroit’s Prince Fielder became only the second player to win multiple titles, thrilling the crowd with eight splash shots into the right-field fountain and beating Toronto’s Jose Bautista, 12-7, in the final.

Ken Griffey Jr. won three titles, in 1994, ‘98 and ‘99.

McCutchen was a late replacement for Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton, who had arthroscopic knee surgery Sunday.

That morning, McCutchen got the news via text from the Dodgers’ Matt Kemp, the “captain” of the four-member National League contingent.

Needing to find a pitcher on short notice, McCutchen lined up Fort Meade (Fla.) High School baseball coach Jon Spradlin, who was an assistant and a mentor to McCutchen when he went there.

McCutchen is leading all big league hitters with a .362 average and has 18 home runs at the break. He hit two Sunday in a 13-2 Pirates’ win over the Giants.

Last year he hit 23 homers, a career high. Listed at 5-foot-10, 185 pounds, he is not considered a prototypical slugger and joked with reporters Sunday that he never dreamed of being part of a Home Run Derby.

But McCutchen is strong for his size and has a quick bat.

“He has deceiving power,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said a few weeks ago. “He’s one of those guys that has tremendous bat speed. The ball jumps off his bat and he has tremendous opposite-field power.”

All four of his homers, however, came on pitches that he pulled to left and left-center fields.

Pirates fans had extra incentive to root for McCutchen, as if they needed it. The club announced Monday that during each game of a three-game series against the Cubs at PNC Park on July 23-25, tickets for lower outfield box ($28) and outfield box ($24) seats would be reduced by one dollar for every homer McCutchen hit.

Even though McCutchen didn’t win, he did knock $4 off the ticket prices.

This article was written by Channel 11's news exchange partners at TribLIVE.