Braxton Ashcraft didn’t just wow the Detroit Tigers. The Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander left them looking.
Ashcraft drew 22 called strikes, including on four of his eight strikeouts without a walk in 5 1/3 innings, as the Pirates beat the Detroit Tigers, 3-1, on Wednesday night to end a three-game Grapefruit League losing streak before 6,975 at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Fla.
After his strongest start of spring training, Ashcraft has a 2.03 ERA, 1.05 WHP and 16 strikeouts against one walk in 16 1/3 innings over four outings. It was the second eight-strikeout game by a Pirates pitcher this spring as Bubba Chandler did it March 12 against the Atlanta Braves.
Ashcraft recorded three strikeouts in the first inning, along with hitting a batter with a pitch and giving up a single, and two came on called third strikes on curveballs to Riley Greene and Dillon Dingler.
The Pirates gave him a cushion by scoring two runs in the second inning. Casey Mize hit Nick Yorke with a pitch, then gave up a single to Tyler Callihan to put runners on first and third. Joey Bart singled to score Yorke for a 1-0 lead, and both runners advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch. Konnor Griffin drew his first walk of the spring to load the bases, and Callihan scored on a sacrifice fly to center for a two-run lead.
In the fourth inning, Callihan hit an 0-1 fastball 333 feet to right field for a solo home run and 3-0 lead.
The Tigers scored their lone run against Ashcraft in the fifth, and it was unearned. After Trei Cruz singled to first, Matt Vierling reached on an error by Oneil Cruz when he misplayed the bounce in center. Riley Greene hit a two-out RBI single to cut it to 3-1, but Ashcraft got Spencer Torkelson to fly out to right to prevent any more damage.
Note: Cam Sanders is expected to start for the Pirates against the Baltimore Orioles at 6:05 p.m. Thursday at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota.