Braxton Ashcraft didn’t just give the Pirates a win Thursday in Miami. He gave them a template.
After two games of a series that had been drifting the wrong way, Pittsburgh needed somebody to take charge and snap the club out of its slide. Ashcraft did it with a nine-inning masterpiece, carving up the Marlins in a 13-1 rout at loanDepot park and sending the Pirates home with at least a little momentum after avoiding the sweep.
The right-hander was brutally efficient from the jump. He worked the zone, challenged hitters and finished the night with 85 pitches, 64 of them strikes. He struck out 10, generated 10 whiffs and leaned on his sinker more than his four-seam fastball while getting plenty of swings and misses with the curveball.
That kind of efficiency put him in rare company. Ashcraft became the first Pirate to throw a complete game in fewer than 90 pitches since Jeff Karstens needed just 83 on July 15, 2011, at the Astros. He also joined only Doug Drabek and Karstens as the third pitcher in the pitch-tracking era since 1988 to post a nine-inning complete game with 85 pitches or fewer.
For Pittsburgh, the timing couldn’t have been better. The Pirates had dropped seven straight series and 12 of their last 15 games, and Brandon Lowe said late Wednesday that the group needed to relax and play the way it had early in the season. Ashcraft answered that call, and then some.
The offense backed him with a big night of its own, starting with Jared Triolo. He finished with three hits, including a homer, while driving in three and scoring three times.
Jake Mangum added three hits as well, including a double and triple, along with an RBI and three runs scored. Rafael Flores Jr. delivered the knockout punch, finishing with six RBIs after a pair of homers.
Jacob Gonzalez also joined the party with a two-run homer in the ninth, his sixth of the season.
Pittsburgh’s first breakthrough came in the fifth inning, and it came in a couple of strange ways. Mangum opened the frame with a triple, driving a first-pitch sweeper from Tyler Phillips 354 feet to center for his second triple of the season.
He then scored on a balk by Phillips, giving the Pirates their first run on a balk since Triolo did it on July 14, 2023, against Ross Stripling of the Giants at PNC Park. It was their first road balk run since Ke’Bryan Hayes scored on one against Ramon Rosso of the Phillies on Sept. 26, 2021, at Citizens Bank Park.
Triolo followed with a louder swing. He jumped on a 1-0 sinker up in the zone and sent it 395 feet to center for a solo homer after Jakob Marsee, who had robbed Esmerlyn Valdez of a homer the night before, nearly made another play at the wall but instead carried the ball over for Triolo’s second homer of the season and a 2-0 lead.
The Pirates kept stretching the margin in the sixth. Mangum was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force in a run, and Triolo came through again with a first-pitch curveball through the left side for a two-run single and a 5-0 advantage.
Flores blew the game open in the eighth with a three-run shot to left on a two-strike curveball. He added another homer in the ninth off position player Javier Sanoja in garbage time, part of a day that ended with six RBIs.
Ashcraft had already made the game feel out of reach by then. He needed only 33 pitches, 22 for strikes, to get through his first four innings while striking out four and posting five whiffs. A smooth double play started by Triolo at third helped him escape early trouble in the first, and Flores later erased a baserunner by throwing out Esteury Ruiz trying to steal in the third.
By the time Ashcraft reached six innings, he had thrown only 56 pitches, the fewest through six innings by a Pirates pitcher since Ivan Nova needed 52 on May 30, 2017, against the Diamondbacks. From there, he never let the game slip.
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Pirates Make A Paul Skenes Decision Fans Will Be Watching Closely
With the Pirates trying to manage Paul Skenes carefully over the stretch, manager Don Kelly announced Friday that the right-handers scheduled start Sunday will be pushed back to Wednesday. The move gives Skenes extra rest, and Kelly made clear it is not tied to any injury concern, a small but important distinction for a club that has every reason to be deliberate with one of baseballs most closely watched young arms.
Lake Bachar will take the ball Sunday against the Red Sox in Skenes place, giving Pittsburgh a different look for a game that had been lined up around its ace. Skenes said he understood the decision and supported it, which only adds to the sense that this is about the bigger picture and not any immediate alarm surrounding his availability. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Outfield Shuffle Puts Spotlight On A Bigger Problem
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The bigger concern is still the same one that has hovered over this group for weeks: the club is waiting on Oneil Cruz, who is working his way back on a rehab assignment after a hand injury. Until he returns, the Pirates are left to patch together the outfield in ways that can keep the offense afloat, but also underline how much they miss one of their most dynamic players. [Read more 🡒]
Rafael Flores Jr Is Giving Pirates Fans A Reason To Believe
Rafael Flores Jr. has been the kind of midseason spark the Pirates have been hoping to uncover, and the rookie catcher is starting to make himself impossible to ignore. Since arriving from the Yankees, he has flashed the power that made him an intriguing addition while also giving Pittsburgh steady work behind the plate, a combination that can change how a club views its depth chart in a hurry.
His latest burst came over the last two games against the Marlins and Red Sox, when he turned in a string of hard damage that kept the offense moving and helped fuel back-to-back wins. For a Pirates team always looking for young players who can stick, Flores Jr. is giving them a reason to think they may have found one, even if the bigger question is how far this stretch can carry him. [Read more 🡒]