Braxton Ashcraft Adds More Pirates History to Season
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PITTSBURGH — Braxton Ashcraft has had a sensational 2026 campaign for the Pittsburgh Pirates and his last start was one of his best.
The right-handed starting pitcher posted 10 strikeouts with no walks over six innings and 86 pitches, giving up just one run in the 11-1 blowout victory over the Seattle Mariners at PNC Park on June 24.
Ashcraft became the first Pirates pitcher in the Modern Era (Since 1901) to throw 10 strikeouts and issue no walks in multiple starts in a season.
His other start doing that was posting 11 strikeouts over six innings in a 9-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins at PNC Park, a feat he managed to achieve within a month of both outings.
How Ashcraft Carved Up the Mariners
The way Ashcraft began his outing didn't signify that he would have the performance he did, as he gave up three straight singles and a run.
Ashcraft then settled in, with back-to-back strikeouts of All-Stars in first baseman Josh Naylor and left fielder Randy Arozarena and go a flyout to get out of the first inning without further run damage.
He gave up just two hits and posted eight strikeouts over the next five innings, which allowed the Pirates offense to get going, posting a five-run fourth inning and eventually scoring 11 runs in the win.
Ashcraft had the best success with his curveball, getting six of his 10 strikeouts on it, posting a 53% whiff rate (8/15), and a 75% first pitch strike (6/8).
Pitch | Usage | Average Velocity |
|---|---|---|
Curveball | 29/86 (34%) | 85.3 mph |
Four-Seam Fastball | 26/86 (30%) | 97.6 mph |
Slider | 21/86 (24%) | 91.4 mph |
Sinker | 9/86 (10%) | 97.7 mph |
Splitter | 1/86 (1%) | 93.3 mph |
Ashcraft credited catcher Endy Rodríguez for guiding him in the game and finding success with the curveball, which he started going with once he began executing it.
“I mean, I don’t think that it necessarily was the solidified gameplan, but it was kind of what the game told us that we had tonight," Ashcraft said. "Endy did a really good job of recognizing that and just the more I throw that pitch, the better it feels and the better feel I have for it. Just when you have something working, you kind of lean on it and that’s what we did tonight.”
Much of Ashcraft's came success with him starting out at-bats in his favor, a 78% first pitch strike, doing so on five of his six fastballs, on four of his six sliders and on all three of his sinkers.
Ashcraft had success with his entire pitch mix vs. the Mariners and credits it for how effective he was in the outing, keeping the hitters guessing every time.
“Just being able to get ahead with different stuff," Ashcraft said. "Not necessarily just auto-throwing fastballs down the middle, 0-0. They’re major league hitters and major league hitters can hit those pitches. So just being able to mix and throw everything for a strike, I think that’s the biggest thing. Whenever you look at stuff like that, just being able to be confident in throwing any pitch in any count for a strike.”
Ashcraft Continues Fantastic 2026 Season
There aren't many pitchers in baseball having a better campaign than Ashcraft has had, making it even more impressive that this is his first full season as a starter.
Ashcraft has posted a 7-3 record over 16 starts, a 3.07 ERA over 96.2 innings pitched, 107 strikeouts to 22 walks, a .232 batting average allowed (BAA) and a 1.09 WHIP, as well as a 9.96 K/9, 2.05 BB/9 and a 4.86 K/BB.
Stat | NL/MLB Ranking |
|---|---|
Innings Pitched (96.2) | 3rd/4th |
Strikeouts (107) | Tied-4th/Tied-8th |
K/BB (4.86) | 5th/10th |
BB/9 (2.05) | 6th/15th |
K/9 (9.96) | 10th/14th |
ERA (3.07) | 10th/15th |
WHIP (1.09) | 11th/21st |
BAA (.232) | Tied-14th/Tied-31st |
He's thrown 10 quality starts in 16 outings, consistently gone deep into games and shattered any concerns about him becoming a successful starter in the major leagues.
Ashcraft's success is a big part of why the Pirates are so high on their pitching staff, along with the likes of 2025 National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes, veteran Mitch Keller, future ace Bubba Chandler and Jared Jones back from injury.
These 10 strikeouts put him over the century-mark this season, but what matters most to Ashcraft is getting his team the win and that he most certainly did vs. the Mariners.
“Not really. It’s a milestone obviously, first year in the big leagues and being able to eclipse 100 strikeouts," Ashcraft said. "It’s really cool, but ultimately the biggest priority here is winning and being able to go out and put us in position today, it means a lot.”
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Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.