The Pirates are heading into the last leg of their nine-game road swing, and the pitching plan is front and center as they open a three-game set against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium from Aug. 28-30.
Pittsburgh has lined up Jared Jones for the series opener on Aug. 28 and Braxton Ashcraft for the finale on Aug. 30, with Aug. 29 still listed as “TBA.” St. Louis will counter with left-handers Quinn Matthews and Matthew Liberatore in the first and third games, while Kyle Leahy is set to start the middle contest.
Jones gets the first crack at resetting his August. His last outing came against the Dodgers on Aug. 22, when he lasted four innings, threw a season-high 87 pitches and issued a career-high five walks in a 4-3 loss.
He still punched out four batters and got solid work from his fastball, while his changeup continued to show better consistency and a strong whiff rate. The problem was the matchup: a deep Dodgers lineup put him under pressure early.
The month hasn’t gone smoothly for Jones overall. In four August starts, he’s 0-3 with a 7.88 ERA across 16.0 innings, along with 19 strikeouts, 11 walks, a .313 batting average allowed and a 2.00 WHIP. He did, however, put together a better showing against the Red Sox on Aug. 15 at PNC Park, when he gave up a solo homer over five innings and worked through several jams.
Against a Cardinals lineup that should pose fewer problems, this looks like a real chance for Jones to get back on track as the season enters its final month.
The middle game is expected to be handled by committee. Lake Bachar worked the last bullpen game against the Dodgers on Aug. 23, covering two innings and allowing a run, with Carmen Mlodzinski following and giving up three runs over three innings.
Mlodzinski had started three games after Mitch Keller suffered a season-ending right arm teres major muscle injury in early August, but his 14.04 ERA over 8.1 innings pushed the Pirates to rethink the arrangement. The move back to the bullpen didn’t help him against Los Angeles, though he should still be in line for a bulk role.
Bachar also opened the 8-3 win over the Red Sox on Aug. 16, when he tossed three scoreless innings and navigated a couple of jams, so he appears to be the likeliest option again. The Pirates also had Khristian Curtis fire three scoreless innings at the end of that game, and they could bring up one of their rookie arms for this next bullpen day.
Ashcraft, though, is the arm drawing the most attention right now. Few pitchers in baseball have been better over the last three starts, and he’s in position to close 2026 as one of the best in MLB. Over his last three decisions, he’s won twice and posted a 1.17 ERA in 23 innings, allowing just 12 hits and two walks while striking out 16.
His latest start came against the Padres on Aug. 24, and it was smooth sailing until a balk call allowed a run to score and pushed his pitch count to 90 by the sixth inning. Even then, he held San Diego to four hits and a walk over six innings and kept the offense in check the whole way.
Before that, Ashcraft was even sharper. He threw a complete game in the Pirates’ 13-1 win over the Marlins on Aug. 13 at loanDepot Park, then followed with eight innings in a 4-1 win over the Tigers at PNC Park on Aug.
- Against Miami, he needed just 85 pitches and struck out 10 in one of the most efficient outings in MLB history.
Against Detroit, he worked with only 80 pitches.
The formula has been simple and effective: strike first, then let the contact come. Ashcraft has been landing first-pitch strikes, getting grounders and flyouts, and moving through innings quickly.
He also knows the Cardinals well enough from this season’s earlier meeting. In his last start against St. Louis at Busch Stadium on May 21, he struck out nine over seven innings, gave up four hits and two walks, and allowed one run in a 6-2 win.
The Pirates will be hoping for a repeat performance when Ashcraft takes the ball again, with the final month of the season and their postseason hopes still in view.
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