Braxton Ashcraft Gets a First But Pirates Offense Blanked By Reds; Had Chance in 9th
Despite a strong start from Braxton Ashcraft, the Pittsburgh Pirates were blanked by Chase Burns and a trio of Cincinnati Reds relievers in a 2-0 loss at Great American Ball Park on Monday night.
Scoring Plays
Bottom 5th, 2-0 Reds: Cincinnati (3-1) broke the scoreless tie on Spencer Steer’s sacrifice fly. Later in the inning, Will Benson tripled home a second run off Pirates starter Braxton Ashcraft (0-1).
Key Moment
Marcell Ozuna and Ryan O’Hearn drew back-to-back walks to begin the top of the ninth against Connor Phillips but the Pirates (1-3) came up empty. Jared Triolo struck out, Spencer Horwitz flied out and Nick Gonzales popped out to shallow right field. Phillips earned his first-career save.
Player of the Game
Reds starter Chase Burns (1-0) earned his first Major League win after carrying a no-hitter into the fifth inning. The right-hander blanked the Pirates on one hit across five innings with three walks and seven strikeouts.
Stat to Know
Braxton Ashcraft set a career-high by pitching six innings in his first start of the season. His previous career-high was 5.2 innings last year on Aug. 28 against the St. Louis Cardinals. It was also the first quality start of Ashcraft’s young career.
Notable Performances
- Braxton Ashcraft: 6.0 innings, four hits, two runs, four walks, three strikeouts, 87 pitches/52 strikes
- Brandon Lowe: 1 for 2, two walks
- Ryan O’Hearn: 1 for 2, two walks
Noteworthy
- Spencer Horwitz broke up Chase Burns’ no-hit bid with a leadoff single in the first inning. It was Horwitz’s first hit of the season.
- Ryan O’Hearn extended his hitting streak to 13 games. That’s the longest active streak in MLB.
- The Pirates left eight runners on base in the loss and have left 40 runners on base through their first four games of the season.
Up Next
RHP Bubba Chandler will make his season debut for the Pirates on Tuesday night. LHP Brandon Williamson will be on the mound for the Reds. First pitch: 6:40 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh/93.7 The Fan.
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