WASHINGTON — Contrary to 2025, slugging has not been an issue for the Pirates this season. In fact, they began Saturday’s game with the fourth-highest slugging percentage in MLB and the second-best OPS.
The Pirates didn’t slug much on the Fourth of July at Nationals Park, perhaps saving the fireworks for later, but they did put on an impressive display of small over during a 7-1 win over Washington.
Pittsburgh failed to record an extra-base hit for the first time since April 25, snapping an MLB-long stretch of 62 games with at least one. Konnor Griffin stole home. Tyler Callihan bunted for a base hit. The Pirates scored a run on a bases-loaded walk and didn’t have a run-scoring hit that exceeded 86.9 mph.
The odd game represented the Pirates’ first victory with at least seven runs and zero extra-base hits since May 31, 2019, when they had 13 singles in a 9-4 win against the Brewers.
“Crazy,” Callihan said. “It was just good at-bat after good at-bat. Walks, staying true to what we can do, not trying to do too much.”
Is it fun when an offense scores a touchdown like that?
“Oh, 100%,” Callihan said. “Especially on a hot day, make them stay out there. There were several innings where they were just dying out there in the field. I was talking to some of the infielders when I was on base. They were like, ‘We have to get back in the dugout.’ ”
In the meantime, Braxton Ashcraft improved to 9-3 on the season with 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball, adjusting nicely after allowing a homer on the first pitch he threw to Nationals right fielder James Wood.
Bryan Reynolds, Ryan O'Hearn and Nick Gonzales finished with two hits apiece, as the Pirates (45-45) evened the series at a game apiece.
The small ball started in the first inning, when Griffin became the first Pirate to steal home since Andrew McCutchen on April 14, 2024 at Philadelphia.
Similar to that play, when Jared Triolo stole second, Bryan Reynolds took off from first on a double steal. But instead of cutting off the throw, Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams caught it behind the bag, allowing Griffin to score and giving the Pirates a 1-0 lead in the first.
“That was fun,” Griffin said. “Bryan took off, and as soon as they threw it, I tried to get a good read and tried to get us on the board.”
The Pirates poured it on with four runs in the second. They loaded the bases when Gonzales singled softly on a ball deflected by second baseman Nasim Nunez. Jake Mangum was hit by a pitch before Callihan laid down a gorgeous bunt.
Henry Davis helped the Pirates reclaim the lead with his 38.1-mph dribbler to third base. Then Brandon Lowe lined an 0-1 splitter that was low and away to center for a two-run single, creating a 4-1 Pirates advantage.
Lowe, whose single came off his bat at 86.9 mph, now has 60 RBIs on the season, the most for a Pirates second baseman since Neil Walker in 2015 (71) and the most for anyone at his position throughout MLB.
Esmerlyn Valdez stretched his hitting streak to nine games with a bloop single (76.5 mph) to right, scoring a fifth run. It came on a 1-1 sinker up, another example of Valdez being able to get his bat on the ball. Valdez has now hit safely in 11 of 12, with 12 RBIs during that stretch.
In the eighth, Gonzales grounded an 0-2 slider into left field (at 73.6 mph) to increase the lead to 6-1 before Davis picked up another RBI with a bases-loaded walk.
“That was really impressive,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “I thought we had really good, consistent at-bats throughout the whole order. And doing little things too: [Callihan’s] bunt, stealing, going first to third, running the bases well.
“When you score seven runs without an extra base hit, there are a lot of other things that go on in the midst of that. A lot of good baserunning too.”
Similar to how he shook off three home runs Monday in Philadelphia, Ashcraft flashed his unflappable style following Wood’s bomb — 428 feet to the third deck in right field.
By the time he fanned center fielder Dylan Crews on a sinker for the second out of the second inning, Ashcraft had found his groove, working ahead in counts and using spin to notch strikeouts.
“That happens,” Ashcraft said. “You know he’s going to be aggressive first pitch of the game. I don’t think I’ve ever thrown anything but a fastball first pitch of the game. You get clipped sometimes.
“Being able to buckle down and shut the game down after that, it was a big deal.”
Ashcraft didn’t allow another extra-base hit following Wood’s homer. He used a double-play ball to escape trouble in the fourth and got two more ground-ball outs following a one-out walk in the fifth.
Overall, it was a fairly typical outing for Ashcraft that featured a four-pitch mix, 15 whiffs, first-pitch strikes to 14 of 23 and an overall strike percentage of 66% (62 of 94). His 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball (with two walks and seven strikeouts) lowered Ashcraft’s season ERA to 3.24.
“They have a really good lineup,” Kelly said. “To settle in and keep them off the board from that point on, [Ashcraft] threw the ball great.”
Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH on X.