Braxton Ashcraft pitches eight strong innings and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Detroit Tigers 4-1 on Tuesday night. Ashcraft allows five hits, strikes out four, and does not issue a walk while throwing 80 pitches.
The Pirates’ offense includes a home run by Oneil Cruz, who returns from the injured list. After Cruz’s homer, Pittsburgh continues to limit Detroit, with the Tigers scoring on a fifth-inning home run by rookie Brett Callahan. Yahoo Sports notes that Ashcraft is coming off the first complete game of his career in a win over Miami last week.
Outlets emphasize different slices of the same game: one account highlights Ashcraft’s “eight efficient innings” and pitch control, while another underlines the context of his recent complete game and his run of results. All describe the final score, Cruz’s return homer, and Ashcraft’s dominant pitching performance.
