Pirates Announce Starting Pitchers vs. Cardinals
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates begin the final series of their nine-game road trip and need even more from their starting pitchers.
The Pirates face the St. Louis Cardinals for a weekend series Busch Stadium, Aug. 28-30, their final series of August as well, which came after their west coast road trip against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, Aug. 21-23, and the San Diego Padres at Petco Park, Aug. 24-26.
Pittsburgh listed two starting pitchers, with Jared Jones for the series opener on Aug. 28 and Braxton Ashcraft for the series finale on Aug. 30, with a "TBA" for Aug. 29.
St. Louis has two left-handed pitchers in Quinn Matthews for the series opener and Matthew Liberatore in the series finale, plus right-handed pitcher Kyle Leahy for the second game.
Jones Looking For Consistency Towards End of 2026
It wasn't the easiest outing for Jones against the Dodgers on Aug. 22, as he threw just four innings and a season-high 87 pitches.
Jones struggled with control, issuing a career-high five walks, while giving up two runs in the eventual 4-3 loss.
He utilized his fastball well, with four strikeouts, and is throwing his changeup more consistently, getting a good whiff rate on it, but a strong Dodgers lineup poised him problems early on.
Jones hasn't had the best August, with an 0-3 record in four starts, a 7.88 ERA over 16.0 innings pitched, 19 strikeouts to 11 walks, a .313 batting average allowed and a 2.00 WHIP.
He did have a strong start vs. the Boston Red Sox at PNC Park on Aug. 15, allowing a solo home run over five innings and working out of a few jams.
The St. Louis Cardinals lineup should poise less problems for Jones, so this could be a great chance for him to get back on track the final month of the season.
Who Comes Out for the Bullpen Game?
The Pirates will have this game as a bullpen day and they'll have a few options for how they go about it.
Right-handed pitcher Lake Bachar started the last one against the Dodgers on Aug. 23, throwing two innings and giving up a run, while fellow right-handed pitcher Carmen Mlodzinki came in afterwards, allowing three runs over three innings.
Mlodzinski had started three games after Mitch Keller suffered a season-ending right arm teres major muscle injury in early August, but posted a 14.04 ERA over 8.1 innings pitched and forced the Pirates to change plans.
He hasn't pitched well since the transition and him going back to the bullpen didn't help him vs. the Dodgers, but he should still get a bulk role.
Bachar also started in the 8-3 win over the Red Sox on Aug. 16, throwing three scoreless innings and working out of a couple of jams, so it's likely he starts again.
The Pirates did have right-handed pitcher Khristian Curtis throw three scoreless innings at the end of that game and could call up one of the few rookies for this next bullpen game.
Ashcraft Entering New Stage of Dominance
There haven't been many more effective pitchers in baseball the past three starts than Ashcraft and he's looking to finish 2026 as one of the best in MLB.
Ashcraft has won two of this last three decisions, posted a 1.17 ERA over 23 innings pitched, giving up just 12 hits and issuing two walks, while posting 16 strikeouts.
His most recent outing vs. the Padres in the series opener on Aug. 24 went incredibly well, until a balk call brought in a run and drove up his pitch count to 90 pitches in the sixth inning.
Ashcraft still only allowed four hits and a walk, while shutting down the Padres offense throughout those six innings.
He was fantastic in his two previous starts, throwing a complete game in the 13-1 win over the Miami Marlins at loanDepot Park on Aug. 13 and going eight innings in the 4-1 win over the Detroit Tigers at PNC Park on Aug. 18.
Ashcraft threw just 85 pitches and posted 10 strikeouts against the Marlins in one of the most efficient outings in MLB history, while throwing just 80 pitches vs. the Tigers.
It's a mixture of getting first pitch strikes on most of the batters he's facing and then getting ground outs and fly outs for quick innings.
Ashcraft was excellent in his last start vs. the Cardinals at Busch Stadium on May 21, posting nine strikeouts over seven innings and allowing just four hits, two walks and a run in the 6-2 victory.
The Pirates will hope Ashcraft can do so once again vs. the Cardinals and keep their postseason dreams alive.
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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.