Pirates' Don Kelly Explains Controversial Braxton Ashcraft Decision
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed starting pitcher Braxton Ashcraft was close to another complete game, but didn't get the chance to go for it.
Pirates manager Don Kelly took Ashcraft out after eight innings and turned to left-handed relief pitcher Mason Montgomery for the ninth inning, who earned the save in the 4-1 win against the Detroit Tigers at PNC Park on Aug. 18.
Ashcraft had only given up one run and thrown 80 pitches and after throwing 85 pitches in his complete game against the Miami Marlins at loanDepotPark on Aug. 13.
Some Pirates fans at PNC Park booed the decision not to have Ashcraft come back out and witness even more history from the burgeoning ace.
Pirates Manager Addresses Taking Ashcraft Out
Pirates manager Don Kelly said postgame that it wasn't easy for him at all to do it, but that they wanted to make sure that Ashcraft is good for the rest of the season.
Ashcraft is already well beyond his season-high for innings pitched, 117 in 2025, and is already at 149.1 innings pitched after this start.
The Pirates All-Star has had a long injury history, which the coaching staff, Kelly included, is concerned with.
Kelly also noted that having both Tigers left-handed hitters in Keith McGonigle and Colt Keith up, letting Montgomery, a left-hander, finish off the game was the smart thing to do and it worked out in the end.
"Really tough decision, as well as he was throwing the ball," Kelly said. "Not just today, but last outing. I think it was everything combined from nine innings last time, eight innings today and he's already well past his innings limit and we're trying to conserve him.
"Really tough to do when he's throwing the ball that well. But to have (Montgomery) out there, especially against McGonigle and Keith coming up, it just felt like it was the right decision to go with (Montgomery)."
Ashcraft Brilliant Once Again for Pirates
While Ashcraft didn't get a chance to go for his second straight complete game, there was no doubt he dominated again.
Ashcraft allowed just five hits, no walks and posted four strikeouts, with his only blemish coming in a solo home run to Tigers left fielder Brett Callahan in the fifth inning.
Weak contact was the name of the game for Ashcraft, with just nine hard hits on 24 batted ball events (37.5%), as he got the Tigers to hit into 12 ground outs, while also throwing a first pitch strike on 24 of his 28 batters (86%).
His 15 pitches in the sixth inning were the most and aside from his 14 pitches in the fifth inning, he threw 10 pitches just once, while throwing in single digits in five other innings.
Ashcraft Pitches Per Inning vs. Tigers
Inning | Pitches |
|---|---|
First | 10 |
Second | 9 |
Third | 8 |
Fourth | 8 |
Fifth | 14 |
Sixth | 15 |
Seventh | 9 |
Eighth | 7 |
He is the first pitcher to throw at least eight innings and average less than 10 pitches an inning since Hall of Famer Greg Maddux did so, Sept. 7-13, 2000, per OptaSTATS.
Ashcraft is also one of three pitchers that threw eight innings, gave up one/zero runs and throw 85 or fewer pitches in back-to-back starts, since pitch tracking started in 1988, per Pirates PR.
It's not an easy feat throwing back-to-back complete games and Ashcraft didn't want to dwell too much on his last start.
Ashcraft instead focused on what he did well and wanted to do even better than his start vs. the Marlins, which he was quite close to doing vs. the Tigers.
"I think whenever any starter takes the mound, they want to finish the game. That's the objective there," Ashcraft said. "You have ebbs and flows, and last month I had a bad month. Just kind of reassess where I was at, what I was doing in-between outings, and how my process was within that, and just trying to do everything I can to force swing decisions.
"When you do that, again, you elicit early contact. Use your stuff to get the ball on the ground and induce weak contact. All those things kind of contribute to it, but just trying to build on it."
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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.