Pirates Offense Lifeless in Shutout Loss to Reds
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates made additions to address their poor offense this offseason, but that doesn't mean that everything is fixed just yet.
The Pirates suffered a 2-0 shutout defeat to the Cincinnati Reds in the series opener at Great American Ball Park on March 30, marking their first game without scoring a run in 2026.
Pittsburgh finished with just four hits and five walks and struck out 11 times in the defeat, one that saw them waste a strong pitching outing from right-handed starting pitcher Braxton Ashcraft.
The Pirates fall to 1-3 on the season for the second straight season, as they lost two out of three games in the first series of the season vs. the New York Mets at Citi Field.
Pirates Ineffective Against Chase Burns
The Pirates struggled against Reds right-handed starting pitcher Chase Burns, who had a strong outing in his season debut.
Burns struckout seven batters, giving up just one hit and three walks over five scoreless innings and 78 pitches.
He didn't give up a hit until the top of the fifth inning, with Pirates first baseman Spencer Horwitz leading off with a single.
Second baseman Brandon Lowe was the Pirates hitter that had the best success against Burns, walking twice in the first inning and the fourth inning.
The Pirates did have O'Hearn walk as well with two outs in the fourth inning, but shortstop Jared Triolo struck out to end that chance.
Pittsburgh had one other base runner in scoring position, as third baseman Nick Gonzales stole second base in the top of the fifth inning, but center fielder Oneil Cruz struck out.
Braxton Ashcraft Earns Quality Start
Ashcraft made his season debut as well and had a strong outing for the Pirates in defeat, posting career-highs of six innings and 87 pitches for the Pirates, giving up two runs, but still earning the quality start.
Those runs came in the bottom of the fourth inning, after catcher Henry Davis threw out Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz at second base after he singled to lead off.
Ashcraft walked first baseman Sal Stewart and then gave up a single to designated hitter Eugenio Suárez, putting runners at the corners, then got a sacrifice fly from left field Spencer Steer, giving the Reds a 1-0 lead.
He then gave up a triple to left fielder Will Benson, with Suárez scoring from first base to double the Reds' lead at 2-0.
Ashcraft went mostly with his curveball, four-seasm fastball and sinker, and added his slider, as he went between his offspeed and velocity in his outing.
Pitch | Usage | Average Velocity |
|---|---|---|
Curveball | 29/87 (33%) | 83.9 mph |
Four-Seam Fastball | 23/87 (26%) | 96.6 mph |
Sinker | 20/87 (23%) | 96.3 mph |
Slider | 15/87 (17%) | 90.9 mph |
It wasn't the most dominant outing from Ashcraft, giving up four hits and four walks with just three strikeouts, but the Pirates bullpen needed a rest after a long first series vs. the New York Mets at Citi Field and he provided that.
Pirates Waste Chances Late On
The Pirates got two strong innings from right-handed relief pitchers in Isaac Mattson and Justin Lawrence. Mattson threw a scoreless seventh inning and Lawrence struck out the side.
O'Hearn led off the top of the seventh inning with a single, which extended his hitting streak to 13 games, the longest in MLB, which dates back to last season.
Gonzales also singled with two outs to put two runners on, but Davis struck out to end that scoring chance.
The Reds relied on right-handed relief pitchers in Jose Franco and Graham Ashcraft, who combined for three scoreless innings.
Right-handed pitcher Connor Phillips came on the Reds in the top of the ninth inning and walked both designated hitter Marcell Ozuna and O'Hearn back-to-back to start out.
Phillips came back and struck out Triolo, then got both Horwitz and Gonzales to pop out to get the save for the game for the home team.
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.