PHILADELPHIA - The All-Star Game gave Paul Skenes and Braxton Ashcraft a chance to soak in the moment on Monday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park, but it also left both Pirates pitchers with the same sharp feeling: Pittsburgh’s offense should have had company here.
Sitting together in Ashburn Alley beyond the outfield, Skenes helped ease Ashcraft into the scene before media day even got rolling. He introduced the first-time All-Star to his friend, Plum native Pat McAfee, who was broadcasting live from the event. From there, the two Pirates pitchers spent time side by side talking through a mix of topics - Skenes on labor talks and where he stands in the game, Ashcraft on the breakout season that has put him here.
The one subject that really lit them up, though, was the lack of Pirates bats on the roster.
“Someone should be here,” Skenes said. “We’ve scored the most runs in the league.
You don’t do that without having really good offensive players. I know one through nine we’re very good.
I know we don’t have [Shohei] Ohtani, [Bryce] Harper or [Kyle] Schwarber, who’s like the guy. But we have a lot of guys who are really good.
I think that should be recognized.”
“It stinks,” Ashcraft said. “We’ve kinda been at the mercy of the fact that everybody has been doing it. We put up unbelievable numbers this year, but that’s a product of everybody contributing in a big way.
“It’s hard to say a second baseman with 21 home runs [Brandon Lowe] doesn’t deserve to be an All-Star or Bryan Reynolds doing what he’s done this year, playing every game, Ryan O’Hearn putting up the numbers he has. It stinks we don’t have more representation in that.”
The Pirates are tied for first in runs scored with 516, own the most hits in baseball at 886 and rank second in OPS at .768, yet no one from the offense made the cut. For Ashcraft, that gap says as much about attention as it does respect.
Much like manager Don Kelly said in Spring Training, Ashcraft believes Pittsburgh’s offensive turnaround may have taken the rest of the league by surprise. If that production keeps rolling through the second half and into next season, he figures the recognition will come with it.
“I don’t know if it’s respect as much as it is attention,” Ashcraft said. “The Pirates haven’t lived up to expectations that we’ve had for ourselves in the clubhouse in years past.
I still think we’re not quite there yet this year in playing our best baseball, which is a really cool opportunity because we’re playing really well right now. It’s just cool to see the trend we’re on right now.
Really motivated to continue that throughout the rest of this year.”
That confidence was easy to understand given how Pittsburgh has played lately. The Pirates swept the Brewers, and the current stretch of 22 straight games against teams with records of .500 or better has already produced eight wins in the first 13.
The team has won its past two games behind Skenes, while Jared Jones was perfect in his last outing. The bullpen took a step forward Saturday in a pair of one-run wins, and the offense has kept churning.
It all adds up to a group that feels good about what’s ahead. Pittsburgh has its best first-half record since 2016 and reached 50 wins before the break for the first time since 2015.
“Certainly excited,” Skenes said. “I know we’re a good team.
We just have to keep going. Optimism and excitement don’t really do anything.
We have to go out there and execute the way that we have been over the past couple weeks. Just have to keep playing our brand of baseball.”
For now, though, the two pitchers are trying to enjoy the All-Star experience as much as they can. Ashcraft said he and his wife, Cassidy, plan to take in as much of the 2 1/2 days in Philadelphia as possible, knowing what the invitation means and not wanting to waste a second of it.
He also said having Skenes around has made the whole thing easier. The veteran All-Star has shown him the ropes, explained what to expect and helped keep things loose.
At one point, while Ashcraft was filming an interview for SportsNet Pittsburgh, Skenes couldn’t resist getting in a jab: “Look at him,” Skenes said. “The center of attention, just like always.”
“A lot of things get thrown at you,” Ashcraft said. “You’re pulled in a lot of different ways.
Having somebody that you’re close with, who you trust, who you’ve been around for a long time, it’s kind of reassuring. You’re not necessarily feeling like you’re going into it blind.”
Neither pitcher will actually take the mound in the game. Skenes started Sunday, and Ashcraft’s start was moved from Friday to Saturday after the rainout. Ashcraft also has a blister on his right finger that he’s trying to let heal, though he said he did think about pitching anyway.
Even with the All-Star spotlight in front of them, the message from both was clear: the real focus is what comes next. The Pirates feel like they’ve built something worth pushing forward, and the numbers - and the recent wins - back that up.
“I kind of feel bad for Pirates fans,” Skenes said. “I’d hope they can get over it a little bit because we both just won the games that we started.
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