Braxton Ashcraft strikes out a career-high 11 as Pirates rout Twins to sweep series

Matt Press, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on May 31, 2026

Published in Baseball

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Sunday didn’t start quite how the Pirates would have hoped.

Shortstop Konnor Griffin was placed on the 10-day injured list as he recovers from a minor right forearm injury. Carmen Mlodzinski — who was in line to make a move from the starting rotation to the bullpen — was placed on the restricted list.

Still, the afternoon offered some solace. Braxton Ashcraft (5-2, 2.77 ERA) struck out a career-high 11 in his six-inning start and the Pirates’ offense burst for a five-run fifth inning en route to a 9-3 victory against the Minnesota Twins at PNC Park.

The Pirates’ series sweep marked their third of the season.

Ryan O’Hearn missed two weeks while on the injured list due to a right quad strain suffered May 16 against the Philadelphia Phillies, but he showed no signs of rust after being activated for Sunday’s game.

Leading off the bottom of the second inning, O’Hearn hammered a 2-2 slider into the right field seats for his eighth homer of the year.

Jared Triolo — filling in for Griffin at shortstop — drove home Oneil Cruz with an opposite field single shortly after, marking his first time this season with an RBI in consecutive games.

The Pirates continued to get to Twins’ righty Zebby Matthews. In the third inning, Nick Gonzales smacked his first home run of the year with a 407-foot, two-run shot to center field. Then, in the fifth, Spencer Horwitz led off the inning with a double and Brandon Lowe immediately lined an RBI single to chase Matthews out of the game.

Still, Mike Paredes couldn’t slow the offensive outburst in relief for the Twins. The Pirates tacked on four more runs off Paredes — including a two-run single for Henry Davis — to take a 9-0 lead.

Twins’ third baseman Brooks Lee broke up the shutout with a two-run homer in the sixth inning, but that was the only damage for Ashcraft in an otherwise dominant outing.

It was over when …

Gonzales pummeled a two-run homer in the third to put the Pirates up, 4-0.

On the mound

Ashcraft threw 80 pitches and pieced together another solid start to cap an impressive month of May. In six starts this month, the 6-foot-5 righty compiled a 1.82 ERA and averaged seven strikeouts per game. He tossed at least six innings in each of those games and didn’t issue a single walk in four of them.

Mlodzinski was in line to make an appearance out of the bullpen but was placed on the restricted list prior to the game. Instead, Cam Sanders — who was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis — took the ball and pitched a clean seventh inning.

Brandan Bidois took the final two frames and gave up a home run in the ninth.

At the plate

The Pirates combined for eight hits and batted 4 for 8 with runners in scoring position. Davis’ two-run single and Gonzales’ two-run homer both came with two outs. O’Hearn went 2 for 4 in his return from the injured list, and seven different Pirates tallied a hit.

Bucs bites

Gonzales last homered on July 28 of last year, and his 412 at-bats without a home run since marked the second-longest active streak in MLB behind Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Chandler Simpson (629 at-bats).

He only went 1 for 5 Sunday, but Horwitz has proven productive from the leadoff spot. He has a hit in 18 of his last 20 starts, and he batted .333 with a .986 OPS during the month of May.

Ashcraft is the 12th Pirate with an 11-strikeout and zero-walk game in the modern era.

Up next

The Pirates have a day off before heading down to Houston for a three-game set against the Astros. Bubba Chandler (1-6, 4.85) will get the start in the series opener at 8:10 p.m. Tuesday against Mike Burrows (3-6, 5.40), who was part of the three-team trade that sent Lowe, Jake Mangum and Mason Montgomery to the Pirates in December.

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