Graham Ashcraft overpowers Pirates to earn Cincinnati Reds' first series win of season
Graham Ashcraft had already struck out Pittsburgh Pirates designated hitter Ji-Man Choi twice when they matched up again in the seventh inning.
The at-bat ended in the same way as the previous two. Ashcraft unfurled an 89-mph slider and Choi nearly fell to a knee as he tried to make contact on the pitch that dipped below the strike zone.
It was that type of day for Ashcraft and Pirates hitters. Ashcraft, in his season debut, permitted one run in seven innings to lead the Reds to a 3-1 victory at Great American Ball Park and earn their first series win of the season. Ashcraft punched his hand into his glove and yelled, “Let’s go!” when he walked off the mound at the end of the seventh inning.
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Ashcraft, who broke a bat on his first pitch of the afternoon, allowed four hits and one walk while striking out six. He surrendered a solo homer to Bryan Reynolds in the fourth inning, but otherwise didn’t have another runner touch third base against him.
Mixing nearly an equal number of cutters and sliders, Ashcraft induced a ton of ground balls to keep his pitch count low when he wasn’t striking out batters.
Reds reliever Derek Law, a Pittsburgh native, inherited runners on the corners with one out in the eighth inning and pitched out of it with a shallow flyout to right field and a groundout. Alexis Díaz earned his first save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning.
Takeaways from the final game of the Reds-Pirates series
1. Jason Vosler, filling in at first base with Joey Votto on the injured list, continues to perform against righthanded pitching. He hit a solo homer in the second inning against Vince Velasquez, pulling a slider over the right-field wall.
Vosler added a double in the eighth inning.
2. Jonathan India rated as one of the worst defensive second baseman in the league last season. His nagging hamstring injury certainly played a factor, but he needed to show improvement this year to remain at the position long-term, especially with the restrictions on defensive shifts.
India showed much to spring training at a lighter weight than last year, and he focused on his speed when he trained in the winter. All that work paid off in the third inning. He ended the top half of the inning when he corralled a ground ball by ranging five steps to his right, sliding and making a strong throw to toss out Oneil Cruz with a runner on base.
In the bottom half of the inning, India showed his speed when he scored from second base on a ground ball that rolled about 15 feet away from Cruz, Pittsburgh’s shortstop, after the ball deflected off Cruz’s glove.
3. Defensive miscues put the Reds in a dangerous position in the eighth inning. Third baseman Spencer Steer failed to grab a ground ball when he ranged a few steps to his left, allowing the leadoff hitter to reach against Reds lefty reliever Alex Young.
The next batter, Cruz, hit a blooper between shortstop and left field. Reds shortstop Kevin Newman tried to call off left fielder Jake Fraley, but Fraley was closest to it and came up a short on a diving attempt.
Young and Law combined to retire the next three batters against the heart of the Pirates lineup.
4. The Reds didn’t have a pitcher complete six innings in a start until the 32nd game of the season last year, one of the contributing factors to their abysmal 3-22 start. This year, via Ashcraft, it took three games.
Manager David Bell emphasized building up starters to a higher workload for the start of the season. Nick Lodolo threw a league-leading 109 pitches Saturday and Ashcraft’s 95 pitches Sunday are tied for the ninth-highest total in MLB.
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Stat of the day
TJ Friedl hit one home run across his first 45 games in the major leagues, known more for his speed and defense. After working on his swing in Triple-A last summer, he has nine homers in his last 44 games. He hit a solo homer in the fifth inning Sunday.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds vs. Pirates: Graham Ashcraft leads Cincinnati to series win
