Pirates Pitching in Deep Trouble Without Braxton Ashcraft
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CHICAGO — The Pittsburgh Pirates' pitching has been much better over the past month, but they're running into a major problem in the final two weeks of the season.
The Pirates struggled massively on the mound against the Chicago Cubs, losing 12-2 in the series opener at Wrigley Field on Sept. 11.
Pittsburgh didn't have Braxton Ashcraft for his scheduled start, as he is on the 15-day injured list with right-side discomfort, and instead relied on three rookie pitchers, Wilber Dotel, Khristian Curtis and Antwone Kelly for eight innings.
It didn't work, resulting in a blowout defeat, and the pitching staff must find a way to replace their best starter.
Pirates Rookie Pitchers Not Ready For Challenge
One game shouldn't determine how young pitchers will perform in the future, but this was a brutal display from the Pirates rookie trio.
Dotel had a decent first inning as the starting pitcher, but then gave up three straight singles to load the bases in the second inning, and all three runs scored on a sacrifice fly and then a two-run single from Cubs catcher Carson Kelly.
Curtis, who had excelled in his past three outings for the Pirates, had an even worse go of it, allowing two runs in the third inning and then four in the fourth, including a two-run home run to Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman to make it 9-1.
Kelly came in the sixth inning and immediately gave up a leadoff triple, a single, a double and a sacrifice fly for two more runs to score, plus a leadoff double, then back-to-back singles for a run in the seventh inning.
Pirates manager Don Kelly noted that Dotel struggled in the second inning, Curtis didn't have the command and Kelly just caught too much in the plate, but that all three pitchers can learn from this.
"...Just, tough day and a good learning experience coming into this environment in a big game. Just something that’s easy to talk about the mindset of going 1-0 when you’re winning and after a tough loss, we got to take the same mindset going into tomorrow.”
While Kelly will have faith in his rookies, there are so few games left in the season that they can't just throw games away like this.
The Pirates are five games back in the National League Wild Card race and need to win almost every game, with the luck of other teams losing, to earn a postseason spot.
It's always possible the rookies turn it around, but with so few games remaining, how many chances will the Pirates give them to figure it out?
You Just Can't Replace Braxton Ashcraft
Ashcraft was incredible for the Pirates this season, going from a newcomer in the starting rotation to one of the better pitchers.
He earned his first All-Star nod and posted a 14-6 record in 28 starts, a 3.65 ERA over 165.1 innings pitched, 173 strikeouts to 35 walks, a .235 batting average allowed and a 1.09 WHIP.
Ashcraft, despite his lengthy injury history, has thrown more innings than most pitchers this season and has still been incredibly effective.
He had two of his best starts this past month, a complete game in the 13-1 win over the Miami Marlins at loanDepot Park on Aug. 13, throwing 85 pitches and posting 10 strikeouts, then eight innings and just 80 pitches in the 4-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers at PNC Park on Aug. 18.
No one on this Pirates pitching staff, aside from maybe Paul Skenes, can have those kinds of performances, and Skenes hasn't had the Cy Young season he had last year.
That kind of effectiveness over a long outing is something that the Pirates can't just replicate, and they were always going to be worse off with Ashcraft injured.
Who Now Starts With Ashcraft Out?
Ashcraft isn't the only Pirates starting pitcher out injured, as Mitch Keller suffered a season-ending right arm teres major muscle injury in early August.
The Pirates were already using a bullpen game in lieu of Keller's absence, with Lake Bachar the spot starter and then the rest of the bullpen coming in afterwards.
Pittsburgh ran through its bullpen the last time out in the 4-2 win over the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field on Sept. 9, using eight pitchers over nine innings.
The Pirates now have two bullpen games, but how long can they use this many bullpen pitchers while also hoping they can support their three starting pitchers, Bubba Chandler, Jared Jones and Skenes?
Carmen Mlodzinski is the only pitcher that they could stretch out for longer outings, but the Pirates had him start in place of Keller, something he struggled with in August, and he's pitched one-inning outings the last two times out.
It's a tough challenge for Kelly, but he and the Pirates' coaching staff will have to find a way to make this work.
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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.