Pirates Pleased With Braxton Ashcraft’s Outing Against Mariners originally appeared on SportsNet Pittsburgh.
Add SportsNet Pittsburgh as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ offense came to life in Wednesday’s 11-1 home win over the Seattle Mariners.
Pittsburgh gave the ball to Braxton Ashcraft who gave up a run in the first inning, but was dominant after that. He finished his outing going 6 innings, allowing one run on five hits, while he struck out 10.
Pirates manager Don Kelly was thrilled with Ashcraft’s outing and how he’s pitched as of late.
He’s been really good for us and was again [Wednesday],” Kelly said postgame on Wednesday. “The way he was able to settle in after the first three guys got on, credit to him being able to slow things down and do what he was able to do. Threw a ton of strikes. Got a ton of punchouts. Was efficient. Only 86 pitches through six innings. He pitched great.”
Although Ashcraft’s stuff was dominant, the right-hander gave a lot of credit to Pirates catcher Endy Rodriguez for how he called the game.
“It’s a testament to Endy being able to recognize stuff — hitters’ plans, deficiencies in their swing on a given day or in a given at-bat,” Ashcraft said. “I put a lot of trust in him to put me in a good situation, with the right pitch selection. Being able to be in the zone, attack guys with my best stuff and remain confident that we’re on the same page, it’s a blessing.”
Ashcraft improved to 7-3 with a 3.07 ER in 16 starts this season and is over 100 strikeouts on the season, at 107.
With the 11-1 win, the Pirates are back to .500 at 40-40 and will look for the series win against the Mariners on Thursday at 12:35 p.m. ET.
More MLB: How Long Is Konnor Griffin Out? Forearm Injury Updates, Return Timeline for Pirates Shortstop
About the Author
