Braxton Ashcraft struggles again, earns 10th win

Ashcraft came out of Saturday’s start against the Angels complaining of a bit of discomfort in his pitching arm and at this stage of the season the Pirates weren’t going to take any chances. It’s likely that his 2026 season has come to a close. Antwone Kelly was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis in a corresponding move on Thursday to take his place on the Pirates’ active roster.

Ashcraft breezed through three scoreless innings before the Angels got to him for a run on two hits in the fourth. He ran into more trouble in the fifth, giving up a solo homer to Josh Lowe and a second run in the frame on a pair of hits. Ashcraft would finish out the fifth and end his day at 67 pitches with nine strikeouts. The 67 pitches were a season-low for him, though he’s already surpassed last season’s innings total by nearly 50. The 26-year-old right-hander will take a 3.65 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and a 173/35 K/BB ratio across 165 1/3 innings into a start against the Cubs in Chicago on Friday.

Ashcraft was yanked after 71 pitches today, which could be a sign that the Pirates are beginning to monitor his workload. He’s at 160 1/3 innings for the season, which is 42 more than his previous career high from last year. Because of that, he probably won’t be allowed to put in a full September. He’s due to make his next start Saturday against the Angels.

Ashcraft appeared to get through six scoreless, only to lose the shutout on a balk. He then left with a one-run lead that failed to hold up. It’s unclear how many more starts Ashcraft, who has now thrown 39 more innings than his previous career high, will make with the Pirates nearly out of contention at this point, but he’s still thriving, having allowed exactly one run in three straight starts. He’s in line to face the Cardinals on Sunday, but the Pirates have Thursday and Monday off if they want to give him some extra time.

Ashcraft gave up five hits, walked none and struck out four. He improved to 13-5 with the win. Ashcraft allowed a solo home run to Brett Callahan in the fifth inning, but otherwise held the Tigers scoreless over eight innings. He’s allowed two earned runs in 17 innings with 14 strikeouts and one walk over his last two starts. Ashcraft has a 3.68 ERA. He’s lined up to face the Padres on the road next Monday.

It was a shutout until the ninth, when Owen Caissie hit one out to cut the lead to 13-1. Ashcraft had allowed 21 runs in his last five starts entering today, along with seven homers, so this qualifies as a bit of a course correction. Ashcraft generated a 30 percent whiff rate on 33 swings, with both the curveball and slider drawing misses while he touched 99.2 mph on the gun with his fastball. Ashcraft draws the Tigers in his next start, hopefully he can keep this form going.

Ashcraft is now 15 innings over his previous career high from last year, and while it hasn’t taken a toll on his velocity at all, his results are suffering; he’s given up 22 earned runs over 24 innings in his last five starts, taking his ERA from 3.24 to 4.08. There was nothing illegitimate about his first-half numbers, but it could be a bumpy ride here in August and September. He’ll face the Marlins next week.

Ashcraft gave up two hits, walked one and struck out five. He improved to 11-4 with the win. Ashcraft didn’t allow a hit until the fourth inning and the only run he allowed came on a solo home run by Jose Trevino in the fifth inning. Ashcraft has a 3.98 ERA. He’s lined up to face the Brewers on the road on Thursday.

Ashcraft had zero answers for Jazz Chisholm Jr., who took him deep for a three-run shot in the opening frame and a two-run blast in the third inning. He finished with two strikeouts and only issued one walk. It was a real dud for Ashcraft after a strong first half where he was selected to his first All-Star Game. He’ll attempt to rebound with a home outing against the Cubs on Sunday.

That means the team will push Mitch Keller to next week. It makes sense to use Jones, who is clearly on a pitch count, in the first start after the break because it means the bullpen will be fresh.