Staying consistent with what has been an unfortunate trend since the All Star break, the Buccos dropped another series, this time at Miami versus the Marlins. The first two games were incredibly depressing, but game three showed that this team might be ready to turn a corner.
Game one had positives, but they were far outweighed by the negatives. Yes, Paul Skenes only gave up one earned run over five innings, and Yohan Ramirez went near-perfect in relief, going three innings while only allowing one baserunner. However, pretty much everything else was bad. Skenes, while turning in a better performance than late, started to show major lack of control signs by the fifth inning and was pulled after just 65 pitches. He also did not reach 97 once on the radar gun, and looks like a completely different pitcher than his previous two seasons. The offense was dreadful in this one, as Eury Perez completely dominated the Bucs. He went seven shutout, and the Marlins’ arms after him also shut out the Pirates. Ronny Simon was the only Pirate to reach base twice, and the bats weren’t able to tally a single extra-base hit.
Game two was even worse. Carmen Mlodzinski was matched up against Janson Junk, who has turned in a sub-par year so far. And yet, you never would have known, as Mlodzinski was out of the game by the third inning while Junk went six and only allowed a single earned run. Jacob Gonzalez and Esmerlyn Valdez provided the only two runs of the game on a sac fly and a fielder’s choice, and it simply wasn’t enough. The Marlins were relentless early in this one, scoring once in the second, four times in the third, and another in the fourth. After Mlodzinski gave up four runs in 2.1 innings, the bullpen after him was relatively shaky, as Evan Sisk and Lake Bachar both struggled, and the Marlins extended the lead to 8-2, which would hold.
And yet, despite those first two performances, what happened on Thursday has to instill at least some confidence back into this team. The headline of this one? Braxton Ashcraft probably pitched the best non-shutout game of all time. Not just for the Pirates – MLB history. The All-Star truly unbelievable in this one. He managed to go the distance while striking out ten and giving up just a single run. However, the most impressive part of the outing was the efficiency. Ashcraft needed just 85 pitches to achieve that pitching line, which has never been done before in MLB history. Backing him was a resurgent Pirates offense. After being dormant for weeks and heading to the fifth inning tied in this one, the Pirates exploded for 13 runs down the late innings to ensure Ashcraft got his win. The Bucs’ 7-8-9 hitters were on another level, as Jake Mangum, Jared Triolo, and Rafael Flores Jr. combined for 8 hits and 10 RBI. Mangum was a homer from the cycle and Triolo knocked three hits with a homer, but the biggest story of the game besides Ashcraft was Flores. Flores not only called a masterful game for Ashcraft, he also threw out one of the fastest baserunners in the league and pounded TWO three-run homers. Granted, the last one was off a position player, but Flores put up a massive performance. Besides these stars, Spencer Horwitz, Jacob Gonzales, and Esmerlyn Valdez all tallied multiple hits to pass the baton to the aforementioned bottom of the order.
Game three went so well that the first two games almost seem excusable. However, at the end of the day, time is running out for the Bucs. They find themselves five games below .500 now, and while they have been ravaged by injuries, the team has simply played poor for a month now.
Series MVP is obvious – It is Braxton Ashcraft. When the Pirates needed something to rally around the most, he delivered far more than ever could have been expected, and hopefully set the tone for the Bucs going into the weekend.
Emerging Bubba Chandler will get the ball for game one tomorrow against the Red Sox at home. Let’s Go Bucs!
