Bats stay hot, Pirates top Brewers using 5 relievers in bullpen game

The Pittsburgh Pirates have utilized rookie pitcher Braxton Ashcraft in a multitude of situations since calling him up to the big leagues May 26, but until Monday in Milwaukee, they hadn’t given him a start.

That changed at American Family Field against the Brewers, as Ashcraft was entrusted to begin things in what was predetermined to be a bullpen game.

While Ashcraft’s first major-league start was abbreviated, as the Pirates stuck with the bullpen plan, he was sharp nonetheless in a 5-4 win.

The Pirates (32-48) used Ashcraft (three innings pitched), Hunter Stratton (one), Chase Shugart (2⅓), Isaac Mattson (1⅔) and David Bednar (one), collecting 14 hits in the series-opening victory.

“Back and forth, on the road against a good Brewers team — everyone contributed, stepped up,” manager Don Kelly said on the SportsNet Pittsburgh postgame show. “It was a great team win.”

Shugart (4-3, 3.31 ERA) was Monday’s winning pitcher, while Bednar (2.93 ERA) picked up his 11th save.

Mattson was solid later in the game, protecting a one-run lead in the seventh and eighth while recording three strikeouts.

Offensively, Nick Gonzales led the way, going 5 for 5 with a pair of doubles and two RBIs, posting a career high in hits.

Ashcraft (1.23 ERA) had a 1-0 lead upon arriving to the mound, thanks to a two-out RBI double by Gonzales in the top of the first inning that scored Bryan Reynolds, who singled off Milwaukee starter Chad Patrick.

Following an effective, eight-pitch first inning, Ashcraft got through the second without issue.

Ashcraft then delivered a tidy third, completing his scoreless day at the office having thrown 28 of his 35 pitches for strikes, striking out a pair with no walks and one hit.

“Getting an opportunity that I’ve wanted for a long time, starting a game and helping our rotation out, it’s cool to do it,” Ashcraft said. “Just being able to go out and cover three, cover three scoreless (innings) — it’s fun.”

At the plate, the Pirates were both finding a way to make contact off Patrick while also swinging and missing frequently.

Through three innings, Patrick struck out eight, but the Pirates managed seven hits.

The Pirates went up 3-0 in the top of the third when Tommy Pham finally managed to crack his first homer of the year, a 416-foot shot to center field.

His first home run since Sept. 10, 2024 scored Ke’Bryan Hayes, who drew a walk.

Following Ashcraft to the hill was Stratton, who took over with a three-run lead.

Stratton, called up from Triple-A Indianapolis on June 21 and making his first big-league appearance since May 1, allowed a pair of runs in the fourth.

After walking Christian Yelich, Stratton gave up a single to William Contreras, followed by an RBI base hit to Brice Turang, making it 3-1.

Isaac Collins loaded the bases with a bloop single into right field, before a Caleb Durbin sacrifice fly trimmed the Pirates’ lead to 3-2.

In the fifth, Gonzales quickly put the Pirates up by another run with his second RBI and third hit of the night, scoring Reynolds, who doubled.

Stratton was removed in favor of Shugart with no outs in the fifth after allowing a single to Joey Ortiz and plunking Sal Frelick.

Shugart nearly defused the jam, turning a slick double play by catching a soft liner by Jackson Chourio before erasing Ortiz, who drifted too far off the bag at second base.

But moments later, Yelich tied the game at 4-4 with a two-run homer, with one of the runs charged to Stratton.

In the sixth, Pham got aboard with a single and Isiah Kiner-Falefa put the Pirates back ahead, 5-4, with an RBI triple off Nick Mears.

Mattson replaced Shugart with one out in the seventh and preserved the lead, staying on for the eighth.

He and Yelich dueled for 11 pitches before Mattson struck him out on a 96 mph heater, but Contreras followed with a single.

Turang then got aboard with an infield single, but the Pirates successfully challenged a close play at first base, with catcher Joey Bart’s strike to Horwitz determined to have beaten Turang for the frame’s second out.

Mattson then completed his outing with a strikeout of Collins, ending the eighth.

“They’re just throwing outs” Kelly said of the Pirates bullpen. “To be there and help the team in any way they can, taking the ball and going for it – they’ve been outstanding.”

In the bottom of the ninth, Bart and Kiner-Falefa connected for a solid defensive play when Durbin tried to steal second.

Durbin overshot the bag, with Kiner-Falefa applying a tag that withstood a Milwaukee challenge.