Barco eats innings for Bucs out of bullpen after Ashcraft's tough start

PITTSBURGH – Pirates No. 4 prospect Hunter Barco landed in Pittsburgh less than 30 minutes prior to Tuesday night’s first pitch.

In Memphis with Triple-A Indianapolis at the start of the day, his services were called upon by manager Don Kelly to help aid a taxed pitching staff following Monday night’s bullpen day. But Barco’s travel plans didn't go according to plan and the reliever found himself stranded at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for over five hours. After finally arriving in town, the 25-year-old did his best to keep the Pirates in the game with 4 2/3 relief innings in Pittsburgh’s 11-7 loss to the Cardinals at PNC Park.

“I haven’t done anything like that before, but it’s whatever you have to do,” Barco said.

Barco threw 84 pitches (52 strikes), allowed five runs on six hits and a pair of walks. It was the second consecutive game that the team relied upon a top prospect to shoulder the load on the mound in a relief appearance.

“Those are my guys down there, and being able to protect them and their arms in whatever way I can,” Barco said. “Just going out there and doing my job until they take it away from me.”

Barco cooled down St. Louis' offense on the mound momentarily after entering, but he lost the command of his pitches later in the game. He allowed three runs in the top of the seventh inning and two more in the eighth to push Pittsburgh’s deficit to eight runs.

“For him to land at 6:15 and do what he did tonight saved the bullpen a lot,” Kelly said. “At the beginning, kept it within reach, making it 6-3, then they were able to tack on some. But I thought he did a really great job under tough circumstances.”

Barco has now allowed 12 runs (10 earned) on 14 hits and nine walks in his 11 2/3 innings out of the bullpen this season.

He was forced to enter the game earlier than anticipated after starter Braxton Ashcraft failed to pitch through the fifth inning.

Ashcraft allowed a career-high six runs on six hits and three walks over just 4 1/3 innings. He struck out seven batters, but his outing was plagued by a pair of long home runs in the early innings. After escaping a one-out walk in the first inning, he allowed a 415-foot home run to Nolan Gorman in the second and a two-run 407-foot homer to Victor Scott II in the third. The homers accounted for two of the seven hard-hit balls against the Pirates right-hander.

“There are gonna be good ones and bad ones,” said Ashcraft, who was placed on the bereavement list Saturday before being activated prior to Tuesday's game. “To get down real big early on, I was proud of the way this team fights and continues to fight. It’s really encouraging. It’s exciting to be a part of. But I just have to be better there.”

Ashcraft opened the fifth inning by walking a pair of batters on eight pitches and later departed – after throwing 87 pitches – with a runner at third base.

Ashcraft had been as steady as any Pirates starting pitcher prior to the game. Entering the game, Ashcraft had compiled a 2.29 ERA in his first 13 big league starts, the sixth-lowest mark in franchise history during the Live Ball Era. He hadn't allowed more than two runs in any of his previous five outings and pitched a career-high seven innings in his most recent outing against Texas last Wednesday. Ashcraft’s efforts in his first five starts this season points to Tuesday's outing being considered a mere blip on his strong first month of the season.

“In general, the execution has to be better,” Ashcraft said. “Strike one, then when you get to two strikes, putting guys away, making pitches in the zones that I want them to get to, that just has to be more dialed in. Overall, I’m really proud of the guys and the way they battled through that.”