Pirates' Braxton Ashcraft Adds History to All-Star Resume
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PITTSBURGH — Braxton Ashcraft has pitched amongst the best in baseball and showed that once again, as he faced the Minnesota Twins.
Ashcraft posted a career-high 11 strikeouts in the 9-3 win over the Twins in the series finale at PNC Park on May 31, while allowing just five hits, a two-run home run and no walks over 80 pitches and six innings.
He became the 12th Pirates pitcher in the Modern Era (since 1901) to throw 11 strikeouts or more while issuing no walks, with Mitch Keller last doing so vs. the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards on May 14, 2023, posting 13 strikeouts.
Ashcraft also is the first Pirates pitcher with at least 11 strikeouts and zero walks issued in an outing with 80 or fewer pitches and the 11th MLB pitcher in the Modern Era. Ryan Pepiot of the Tampa Bay Rays last did it on Sept. 18, 2024 vs. the Boston Red Sox at Tropicana Field.
It was another fantastic start for Ashcraft in 2026 and one that is propelling him to the top of the sport.
How Ashcraft Dominated the Twins
Ashcraft was stellar through the first five innings, giving up just two hits and getting eight of his strikeouts, with two each in the first, third and fourth innings.
His only blemish was the two-run home run to Twins third baseman Brooks Lee on a four-seam fastball left out over the plate in the top of the sixth inning, but he finished his outing by striking out all three batters in the inning.
Ashcraft mixed up his pitches well, relying mostly on his four-seam fastball, slider and curveball, but also utilizing his splitter as well.
Braxton Ashcraft Pitch Mix vs. Twins
Pitch | Usage | Average Velocity |
|---|---|---|
Four-Seam Fastball | 24/80 (30%) | 97.2 mph |
Slider | 23/80 (29%) | 92.6 mph |
Curveball | 19/80 (24%) | 85.2 mph |
Sinker | 10/80 (13%) | 96.9 mph |
Splitter | 4/80 (5%) | 92.7 mph |
Ashcraft using all of his pitches allows him to keep hitters off balance and not rely on one thing to get a batter out, resulting his efficiency this season.
“I think it’s just depth," Ashcraft said on his pitch mix. "A lot of my arsenal is, I’d like to say, fastball, or the four-seam/curveball, but in reality, it’s nice to be able to go vertical and horizontal and being able to kind of lean on both of those things, whether it’s the curveball or the slider, being able to pitch vertically or horizontally in any moment is really nice and it adds a layer and Henry [Davis] does a really good job of organizing that and calling the game accordingly."
What Ashcraft did extremely well in this start was go right after the Twins hitters and force swing and miss, which saw him accrue an impressive 47% whiff rate, with 24 whiffs on 51 swings.
His four-seam fastball and curveball amassed four strikeouts each and then he got two strikeouts on his slider as well, with all three pitches combining for a 48% whiff rate.
Pitch | Strikeouts | Whiff Rate |
|---|---|---|
Four-Seam Fastball | 4 | 35% (6/17) |
Slider | 2 | 47% (7/15) |
Curveball | 4 | 64% (9/14) |
Sinker | 1 | 40% (2/5) |
Splitter | 0 | - |
“I mean, that’s kind of my M.O. is just staying in the zone," Ashcraft said on his approach. "Suffocating the zone with strikes. I put a lot of trust in [catchers] Henry [Davis], Endy [Rodríguez], whoever’s back there.
"Stick to the plan, I understand what’s going on with hitters and it allows me to kind of turn my brain off and focus on the task at hand, that’s throwing strikes and getting guys out of the zone. So being able to have the confidence in them back there, it’s really nice."
It's not just other hitters that notice how dominant Ashcraft is this season, but the Pirates hitters too, with Ryan O'Hearn enjoying playing behind his starter and watching him go to work.
"He’s coming at you," O'Hearn said on Ashcraft. "He’s pounding the strike zone. With that tempo, as a hitter, I know what that’s like when a guy’s rolling like that. It feels like you’re down 0-2 or whatever. You’re in a two-strike count almost immediately. Pretty cool to watch him go."
Ashcraft Completes Fantastic May
There were less than a handful of pitchers who had a better month of May than Ashcraft did and it's an encouraging sign for the Pirates going forward.
Ashcraft finishes May with a 4-0 record in six starts, a 1.99 ERA over 40.2 innings, 42 strikeouts to just five walks, a .221 batting average allowed (BAA) and a 0.93 WHIP.
He allowed multiple earned runs in just two starts and two earned runs or less in five of his starts, playing a big role in some important wins for the Pirates this past month.
Even more impressive with this start was pitching as efficiently as he did, considering that Carmen Mlodzinski follow him out of the bullpen and ended up going on the restricted list.
"Best case scenario," Pirates manager Don Kelly said postgame. "I mean for Ash' to go six, as efficient as he was, 80 pitches, it was exactly what we were hoping, max 85, to be able to keep him short and I think that's a credit to Braxton for being efficient and doing what he's been doing extremely well and for our offense for giving us a really nice cushion and jumping out to a big lead."
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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.