McGehee has taken over at first base for Pirates

Casey McGehee is batting .237 and is barely considered an everyday player for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but he's been big of late.

McGehee, acquired in a trade over the winter to provide offense, finally is coming through. He has hit all five of his home runs in June and has a .293 average and 15 RBI this month, and that trend continued Thursday when he clubbed a three-run home run in Pittsburgh's five-run first inning.

"He's had a big month," manager Clint Hurdle said after the Pirates held on for a 5-4 victory at Philadelphia. "It was good to see because he started off without much traction, but he worked hard to find his way back. He's one of the guys who's really provided some offense, driven the ball to all parts of the field."

McGehee has maintained a confident poise throughout, and that might have helped most when he lost even his platoon role alongside Garrett Jones at first base.

Now he's become a fixture there, while Jones has played mostly in right field.

"I've always believed in what I can do," McGehee said.

McGehee also made the defensive play of the day -- perhaps anywhere in baseball -- on Thursday with a dramatic, over-the-shoulder catch of a popup while flipping over a railing on the first-base side.