Healthy again, Ashcraft posts longest start to date in solid season debut

CINCINNATI -- The Pirates on Monday got a glimpse of what a fully healthy Braxton Ashcraft could mean to the starting rotation.

In a 2-0 loss to the Reds at Great American Ball Park, the Pirates’ hard-throwing right-hander set new career highs in innings (six) and pitches (87), allowing just four hits and two runs. He was strong, maybe too strong at times, as he walked four batters while striking out three.

His previous career high was 5 2/3 innings and 73 pitches, both at St. Louis on Aug. 28 of last year.

“He did a great job. [The] pitch count was in check [and he was] able to go six innings,” said Pirates manager Don Kelly. “He did a nice job of filling up the zone and really used all of his pitches for strikes. His fastball was up there pretty good, too.”

To Kelly’s point, Ashcraft’s fastball topped out at 98.3 mph, averaging 96.6. But one of the reasons for his effectiveness Monday night was his unpredictability. He threw 29 curves, 22 sinkers (averaging 96.3 mph), 21 four-seam fastballs and 15 sliders. He threw the curve most often because it was also the pitch he felt best about.

“I don't feel like I had the best command or shapes on either of my fastballs,” Ashcraft said. “It was just stuff that we need to work on. But the curveball was good, kept me out of a lot of damage. Didn't have much feel for the slider, which is normally the bread and butter. So back to the drawing board with that stuff, and work on it this next rotation and go back and get back after them.”

In a game where opposing starter Chase Burns held the Pirates hitless in the first four innings and scoreless in his five, it was up to Ashcraft, a former reliever, to keep the Bucs close.

“Throwing six innings is always a plus,” Ashcraft said. “It always helps the bullpen, and coming from having experience being out there, it's always nice when your starter goes six innings. But ultimately, it doesn't matter. We want to get wins, and that fourth inning kind of bit us in the butt.”

In the fourth, he gave up hits to Elly De La Cruz and Eugenio Suárez and a walk to Sal Stewart before a sacrifice fly from Spencer Steer and an RBI triple by Will Benson brought in the two runs.

“Made the pitch that we wanted to Benson and put a good swing on it,” Ashcraft said. “And that's baseball. Baseball happens.”

It could have been worse, but catcher Henry Davis nailed De La Cruz trying to steal second with a laser of a throw.

“He's an incredible talent back there,” Ashcraft said. “He's an unbelievable defender, unbelievable mind, and it's easy to trust him with anything. Whether that's on the field, off the field, whatever, he's always the most prepared, and he's just an unbelievable defender.”

Ashcraft entered his first start of 2026 coming off his first fully healthy offseason after 2021 Tommy John surgery, knee meniscus surgery in ’20 and surgery on his non-throwing shoulder in ’19.

“This offseason was different than most of the others I've ever had,” Ashcraft said. “Just being healthy, closing out the year last year healthy. Going into the offseason, working on certain things that I haven't really had the opportunity to in the past.

“Just built my body out to be able to withstand a substantially higher workload and be able to cover 180 innings at least this year. The objective is go and make 30 starts and go six innings a start. Will that happen? Probably not. But, I mean, that's the objective.”

He’s at least one-for-one in 2026.