Graham Ashcraft took another meaningful step in his comeback Tuesday night, getting into game action for Triple-A Louisville as he works his way back from a UCL strain in his pitching arm.
The Reds right-hander, out since the end of May, pitched one scoreless inning in relief in his minor league rehab outing. Ashcraft allowed a hit, issued a walk and struck out two while throwing 13 cutters, 10 sliders and four fastballs. He also produced four whiffs in the inning.
Ashcraft chose the non-surgical route after the injury, opting against surgery and instead receiving a PRP injection. Now, after Tuesday’s rehab appearance, he is moving closer to rejoining a Cincinnati bullpen that could use another arm late in games.
The Reds are essentially out of the postseason picture, but Ashcraft’s return would still matter. He gives Cincinnati another option for the back end of games alongside Luis Mey, Tony Santillan and Emilio Pagan.
Before the injury, the 28-year-old had logged 26 games this season and posted a 3.33 ERA with 32 strikeouts in 27 innings.
Cincinnati’s offense, meanwhile, kept running into the same wall. The Reds were nearly shut out for a second straight game Tuesday, saved only by Sal Stewart’s ninth-inning home run. It was also the second night in a row that the Giants lost a starter before the end of the third inning because of injury, yet San Francisco’s bullpen still kept Cincinnati off balance and quiet for the second consecutive night.
“It’s like we get in a mode where I think we’re trying to hit everything," Reds manager Terry Francona said. "The kid came in, threw his fastball to both sides of the plate and then we started chasing the changeup.
We’ve got to know what we want to do and stick to the plan. Start trying to hit everything, and then we get ourselves into trouble.”
According to Matt Wilkes, the Reds are on pace to be shut out 18 times this season, which would be their highest total since 1933.
There was also a scare on the mound for Cincinnati starter Brady Singer. In the sixth inning, he appeared to hurt himself while sliding for a ball that went off his glove. Singer looked to be in pain, but after two warm-up pitches he stayed in the game.
“I just jammed my ribs a little bit, but I felt fine," Singer told MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. "It was just kind of grabbing. I landed a little weird.”
Francona said the Reds will have Singer checked out anyway.
“Sean (McQueeney) thinks it’s more of a bruise-type thing," Francona said. "Certainly, we’ll check him tomorrow, but the feeling is it’s kind of a bruise.”
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Ranked No. 22 overall by MLB Pipeline, Dunos return matters for a club that has been watching its upper-level depth closely. He had been trending in the right direction with a strong offensive line and plenty of extra-base damage, and now the focus shifts to how quickly he can get back into rhythm after the layoff. [Read more 🡒]