Ashcraft, bullpen lead Bucs to another series win

ST. LOUIS - - The elephant in the room was so large it could no longer fit in the clubhouse.

Pittsburgh’s bullpen accrued a 4.31 ERA from Opening Day through Aug. 3, the day of the Trade Deadline, which ranked 20th in baseball. General manager Ben Cherington promptly kicked the elephant out the door, acquiring four relievers to flip the unit on its head.

Since Cherington’s moves, which included the acquisition of veterans Luke Weaver and Kirby Yates, along with projects Camilo Doval and Lake Bachar, the Pirates’ bullpen had produced a 2.80 ERA entering Sunday’s affair, ranking fourth in MLB. Pittsburgh’s new unit flaunted its talents in St. Louis, covering 14 1/3 innings, surviving a seventh-inning scare.

The relief corps allowed two runs in the seventh to push a three-run lead to one, but came up clutch with six key outs to help the Pirates to a 5-4 win over the Cardinals. The victory gave Pittsburgh its fourth series win in its last five, and further proved the newfound prowess of the bullpen, with some small road bumps still remaining.

“[It’s] been really good, and everybody is coming in and filling up the strike zone and really attacking,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said of his bullpen. “I think that it's turned into a strength for us.”

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Braxton Ashcraft is usually a starter pushed to his limits. Though with just 71 pitches and a two-run lead after five innings, Kelly pulled Ashcraft in favor of Yates. The 39-year-old veteran is nearing the end of his career, but still has plenty left in the tank – setting down the Cardinals lineup in order.

Yates made way for Doval. The former All-Star closer never found his way in the Bronx after joining the Yankees at last year’s Deadline. In Pittsburgh, Doval tallied a 1.50 ERA in 12 innings entering Sunday's appearance. Doval’s blazing fastball and unique arm angle create a challenge for hitters, but he can sometimes beat himself.

Doval walked the leadoff batter and then gave up a single, a double and another walk before exiting with two runners still on. The three-run lead had fizzled to one, and the Cardinals nearly flipped the game on its head, but Yohan Ramírez stranded two runners on base to keep the lead.

“Nails,” Ashcraft said of the bullpen. “Since the All-Star break, you give the game to the bullpen, and the bullpen comes through. There's no reserve there. Obviously, we try to go as deep as we can, but you turn the game over to a bullpen, can come to a clubhouse, get your work done with a lot of comfort.”

Weaver has carried over much of his success from the Mets, and continued to do so on Sunday, despite allowing a leadoff single. He struck out a batter and held the runner at first.

Pittsburgh’s bullpen gave its offense a chance in the series opener on Friday by not allowing the deficit to exceed three runs in a 4-1 loss. On Saturday, the Pirates’ relievers took over the game in their scheduled bullpen affair, allowing only two runs as Bachar opened and six pitchers were used as Carmen Mlodzinski excelled in a 6-2 win.

Gregory Soto and Evan Sisk were used on back-to-back days on Friday and Saturday, and mixed with Bachar and Mlodzinski, all four were unavailable Sunday.

Weaver and Mason Montgomery were needed on Saturday and Sunday, and performed as expected. When Montgomery entered to record the final three outs, he rode a 12 1/3 scoreless streak dating back to July 27. A perfect August has featured only four hits against no runs in 9 2/3 innings, holding a miraculous 19.6 strikeouts per nine.

Montgomery explained his success has come from sticking to the game plan: strike one, strike two and expanding the zone for strike three. Montgomery faced the top of St. Louis’ order in the ninth, retiring them in order to keep his scoreless streak intact and earn his seventh save.

The Pirates’ bullpen of old likely wouldn’t have been able to rebound from Doval’s outing, but with Weaver in the picture and Montgomery’s scoreless August, the heart rate rarely rose.

“All these guys we added are really good pitchers,” Montgomery said. “It's certainly a nice feeling knowing that any guy you put out there is going to be able to get the job done.”