Braxton Ashcraft’s complete game on just 85 pitches Thursday might not be the only throwback statistical oddity achieved by a Pirates player this season.
It’s much less attention-grabbing than Ashcraft allowing just one run on three hits with 10 strikeouts during a 13-1 victory over the Marlins, but it also represented another step one of Bryan Reynolds’ goals this season.
To play in all 162 games.
“Hopefully I can do it,” said Reynolds, who has appeared in all 123 of the Pirates’ games so far, starting 119 of them. “That’s something I would want to do at some point in my career.”
If Reynolds can pull it off, he would become the seventh Pirate (10th instance) in the Expansion Era (since 1961) to play in all of the team’s games in one season, joining an impressive list:
• Dick Groat, 161 in 1962
• Bill Mazeroski, 162 in 1964 and 1966 and 163 in 1967
• Matty Alou, 162 in 1969
• Omar Moreno, 162 in 1980 and 103 in 1981
• Johnny Ray, 162 in 1982
• Jason Bay, 162 in 2005
Reynolds has actually appeared in 132 straight team games dating back to Sept. 17, 2025 against the Cubs. Which, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, is tied for the fourth-longest streak by a Pirate since 1989, trailing Bay (307, 2004-06), Bobby Bonilla (189, 1989-90), Kevin Young (142, 1998) and matching Andrew McCutchen (132, 2011).
“It’s unbelievable,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said of Reynolds’ metronomic availability. “He’s always ready to go. He takes care of himself, prepares and recovers.
“The thing you appreciate, you know you’re getting a professional every single day — defense, hitting, everything. Just the way he attacks every single day is elite.”
For Reynolds, he knows no other way. It’s how he’s always done things.
As a kid, he remembers being amazed by Cal Ripken Jr., although he was just 3 years old when Ripken broke Lou Gehrig’s streak of 2,130 consecutive games played.
It was more how people talked about Ripken, his readiness and desire to be available for his team every day.
Growing up Brentwood, Tenn., Reynolds was a Braves fan and loved watching Chipper Jones. Though the first-ballot Hall of Fame never played in 162, Jones did average 155 games played during a nine-year stretch from 1996-2004.
“I was younger,” Reynolds said. “I didn’t know [playing all 162] was a thing, really.”
Since Reynolds made his MLB debut in 2019, just 23 players have appeared in all 162 games, an average of about four per full season.
Rafael Devers actually played in 163 last year, while five more appeared in 162. Matt Olson, MLB’s active leader for consecutive games played, has logged more than 900 in a row.
Reynolds knows he isn’t there, but he does rank seventh in MLB in games played since the 2020 season with 936, a nod to his durability and desire to never come out of the lineup.
“You just have to play through things sometimes,” Reynolds said. “You’re not gonna feel good every day. You have to know what you can play through.”
This run for Reynolds has had a few close calls. He didn’t start a home game in April against Washington and May road games in Toronto and San Francisco. But he wound up pinch-hitting.
In mid-June, Reynolds was a late scratch at Colorado with left groin discomfort but tied the game with a pinch-hit single in the eighth.
Kelly will occasionally give Reynolds a few innings off at the end of lopsided games and use the designated hitter spot to lessen his workload. But unless Kelly hears from Reynolds, it’s automatic.
The Pirates skipper is comfortable allowing Reynolds to police himself.
“We’re close,” Reynolds said. “So, if I need one, I’ll tell him.”
There’s still a ways to go this season. If Reynolds doesn’t feel right, he’ll probably take a day, not wanting to shortchange the Pirates or his teammates.
He also does everything possible take care of his body after games and prepare appropriately before them.
It may not seem like much, but it’s the same way Reynolds will almost always run out ground balls or hustle on and off the field. Much like his personality, there’s nothing overly complex about it.
It’s just how he was raised to play the game.
“I’ve always played like that,” Reynolds said. “You hit a ball to first base and you’re out by a mile, yeah, I don’t necessarily think you need to run 100%.
“But any other ground ball, it’s not asking a lot to give a full effort. It’s kind of disrespectful to the coaches who coached you growing up, your parents who did all the stuff for you and teammates. It’s not hard to try to play hard.”
Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH on X.