Ashcraft delivers strong start in home state as Bucs rally for win

ARLINGTON -- It takes less than a tank of gas to drive from Robinson, Texas, to Arlington -- and even with higher prices at the pump, Pirates right-hander Braxton Ashcraft’s many friends and family who made it to Globe Life Field on Wednesday night got their money’s worth.

Ashcraft was a star pitcher and wide receiver at Robinson High School near Waco, about 110 miles away from Arlington, graduating in 2018. On Wednesday, in an 8-4 win over the Rangers, Ashcraft was as sharp as he’s been since leaving home, going deeper into a Major League game than ever (seven innings pitched), throwing more pitches than ever (94) and wriggling out of a jam at the end to complete his final inning.

“It is great to be able to go about my work and have all the people that I grew up around and with in the stands,” Ashcraft said. “Everybody says it takes a village to raise people, and it rings true ... A lot of people messaged me saying they were going to be here in support.

“I put a lot of work in from a very young age and a lot of the people that were here got to see that while I was a kid. To be able to see it come to fruition, pitching in the big leagues against a team that I grew up watching, and come out with a win here -- it’s really cool.”

The Pirates righty’s velocity ticked up a bit on all five of the pitch types he threw Wednesday, especially on a crisp slider that he deployed far more than usual (31 percent of his pitches compared with a career usage of only 18.5 percent).

He was efficient, too. Through five innings, the 26-year-old had thrown only 68 pitches; a 10-pitch sixth inning bought him more time, and he got a called strikeout and a double play to end a 16-pitch seventh frame.

“It was such a gutsy performance by Braxton for so many reasons,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “It looked like he was able to make an adjustment early on in the game, I don’t know if it was third inning, fourth inning, but to be able to get back in the zone and be as efficient as he was ... he got in a pretty good rhythm.”

Although Gregory Soto allowed two earned runs in the eighth to relegate Ashcraft to a no-decision, the Bucs put runners on the corners with singles by Nick Gonzales and Spencer Horwitz in the top of the ninth. Gonzales scored on a swinging bunt fielder’s choice by pinch-hitter Jake Mangum.

Oneil Cruz then mashed a three-run homer that bounced off the top of the right-field foul pole. The ball had an exit velocity of 116.9 mph, the hardest-hit home run in MLB this season.

The Pirates fell behind 2-1 early on Josh Jung’s two-run homer in the second inning, but Ashcraft worked his way out of that inning with three consecutive outs after an Evan Carter single. The Pirates manufactured three runs in the fifth inning, on three singles, a walk and a throwing error.

Brandon Lowe tied the game with an RBI single before Bryan Reynolds drove in the go-ahead run with a single to right. Rangers right fielder Brandon Nimmo’s throw sailed over the infield, allowing Lowe to score on the play.