After the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Cincinnati Reds, 1-0, on Friday night, Reds starting pitcher Graham Ashcraft was asked about his opponent in the pitcher’s duel. Brewers ace Corbin Burnes struck out 13 batters in six scoreless innings on Friday, but Ashcraft didn’t want to say much about the former Cy Young Award winner.
“There were some things that I read that he said that I don’t really agree with,” Ashcraft said. “So that’s why I’m trying not to really talk about him right now.”
During the All-Star break, Burnes was quoted saying, “I think (the Reds) need a lot more pitching than maybe one starter.” Ashcraft saw the quote, and it was a topic of conversation among the Reds during batting practice before Friday’s game.
While Cincinnati’s success in 2023 has been fueled by some incredible rookie hitters and one of the deepest lineups in baseball, the Reds rank 27th in baseball in ERA. And while the Brewers have one of the thinnest lineups in baseball, they have a top-10 pitching staff headlined by Burnes.
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The Brewers drew even with the Reds in first place in the NL Central with Friday’s win, continuing a division race that’s picking up steam between two budding rivals.
Burnes and the Brewers’ pitching staff represents Milwaukee’s edge over the Reds. Friday’s 1-0 win was the type of win that showed why the Brewers have been able to overcome their inconsistent lineup. Burnes looked like one of the best pitchers in baseball, and Devin Williams closed out the game with a perfect ninth inning. In between the two All-Star pitchers, the Brewers bridged the middle relief with a right-hander with a 3.00 ERA and a right-hander with a 1.87 ERA.
The Brewers lined up their rotation for this big series to get Burnes on the mound for Game 1, and Burnes delivered one of the most impressive starts of his career.
“He changed speeds a bit more (than normal),” Reds manager David Bell said. “He has such a good fastball that maybe he doesn’t need that. He had a good one tonight, but he did a good job mixing in the breaking ball. He kept us off-balanced a bit more.”
If the Brewers keep pace with the Reds heading into the trade deadline, they’re expected to look to add position players who could help turn their lineup around. Meanwhile, for a Reds team that’s looking to be buyers at the trade deadline. General manager Nick Krall has an opportunity to upgrade the rotation, the bullpen or both entering the stretch run.
Even in a best case scenario, the Reds realistically won’t be able to add a pitcher until much closer to the August 1 trade deadline. Most deals involving pitching don’t take place until close to the buzzer.
At least in the short term, and potentially for longer, the Reds are counting on the pitching staff that is currently on the active roster to keep pace with rotations like the Brewers’.
“You should want to have every teammate you have in that clubhouse and want them there in the end with you,” Bell said. “It’s really important to our team, the closeness of our team and how much fun they have together and how they’ve played. I’m all for seeing it that way. It’s the way it should be.”
Starting pitcher Hunter Greene and starting pitcher Nick Lodolo’s returns aren’t expected in the near future. Greene cleared a major hurdle this week in his rehab from a hip injury, but he’s still at least a few weeks away from returning. While Greene could return in August, Bell said that Lodolo’s (calf/tibia) return in August isn’t certain.
With their top two starters on the injured list, the Reds are counting on a new-look rotation. Rookies Andrew Abbott and Brandon Williamson have been thrown right into a playoff race. Ben Lively is in a big league rotation for the first time since 2019 and just came off the injured list following a pectoral injury. Veteran Luke Weaver has a 7.00 ERA in 2023.
Then there’s Ashcraft, who allowed just one run in six-plus innings on Friday.
“Graham absolutely went out, matched (Burnes) and gave us every opportunity to win that game,” Bell said. “To do that against Burnes when he’s pitching like that is very impressive. Graham has really shown in his last few times out that he’s gaining his confidence back.”
Ashcraft had his third straight quality start, and he was as efficient on Friday as he has been all season. The Reds are counting on a young group of starting pitchers to go stride-for-stride with the Brewers rotation. Ashcraft and Abbott give the Reds their best shot at a front-line starting pitcher on the active roster.
Ashcraft looked lost on the mound for stretches in May and June. But after developing more consistent mechanics, improving the command of his slider and getting his feel back with his two-seam fastball, Ashcraft feels confident about what he can accomplish in the second half of the year.
“The key word is rhythm,” Ashcraft said. “I was able to find that rhythm with my arm and my mechanics. Things started to clean up. I started to pound the zone a lot more. With the mechanics, it’s making sure the arm and the movement of the body is all synced up like it’s been. That’s what we’ve been going after and it’s paying off.”
An upgrade to the Reds’ rotation could help put the team over the top in August and September. James Paxton, Lucas Giolito, Michael Lorenzen, Lance Lynn and Jack Flaherty headline the group of pitchers who could be available in a deadline deal.
Krall says that every contending team could use bullpen help, and the Reds are no exception. Since the Reds have received so many short starts from their starting pitchers, they enter the second half of the year with multiple pitchers who have been pushed to their limits but have risen to the moment so far in 2023.
The players on the Reds roster know that they can’t worry about the future. Even if an upgrade is coming, it most likely won’t come until after the Reds finish this year’s season series against the Brewers.
For now, the Reds need their pitchers to match up against Brewers pitching like Ashcraft did against Burnes.
“For us, we believe in the people we have in our clubhouse,” Bell said. “That’s easy to do with the people we have and the players that we have and the pitchers that we have. There’s no other way to approach it.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Graham Ashcraft is motivated to prove what the Reds’ rotation can do