Graham Ashcraft did a big fist pump as he hopped off the Great American Ball Park mound and let out a yell.
It was the first time he pitched himself into trouble all evening against the Washington Nationals. He had two runners in scoring position, and he couldn’t afford to walk Victor Robles, the No. 9 hitter in the lineup, as he protected a three-run lead.
Ashcraft offered Robles six consecutive sliders. In a full count, the final slider clipped the outside corner for a called third strike to end the inning. Ashcraft was fired up as he led the Reds to an 8-1 victory Thursday to open a four-game series in front of 12,799 fans.
"The biggest focus has just been filling up the zone," Ashcraft said. "Don’t try to throw around guys, go right at them and attack them and make them hit my best stuff. I feel like I’m going to beat them every time."
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It was Ashcraft’s third career start and he’s done nothing but impress. He gave up one run in seven innings, permitting four hits and one walk while striking out five. He reached 100 mph with his cutter and threw a first-pitch strike to each of the first 10 batters he faced.
During the fourth inning, Reds second baseman Matt Reynolds turned to Farmer and asked him if Ashcraft was their nastiest pitcher.
"I was like, ‘man, I don’t know,' " Farmer said. "You’ve got Luis (Castillo), but then you’ve got him who throws 99 mph both ways and he’s got a banger of a slider. His personality is incredible as well. I don’t think he really realizes how good he is and that’s what makes him good."
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What stands out about Ashcraft is he’s willing to pitch to contact when he possesses dominant stuff. He had only one inning Thursday when he threw more than 14 pitches. He induced a staggering 14 groundball outs. Ashcraft heard an outfielder in the dugout saying, "man, I love when Ashcraft is pitching. I don’t have to do much out there."
Even Juan Soto, one of the league’s best hitters, rolled over to the right side of the infield three times.
"I wasn’t going to throw around (Soto)," Ashcraft said. "I know what he can do, but he hasn’t seen my kind of stuff. I like to think I beat him today."
Ashcraft is a difficult at-bat because his pitches move in every direction. He throws the hardest cutter among all MLB pitchers, capable of reaching 101 mph. He throws a sinker with the same velocity, but it has much more horizontal movement. Then his slider was responsible for all five of his strikeouts.
He worked on his slider between starts and it gained 2.5 mph with a sharper bite to it.
It'd be easy for a young pitcher with that level of movement on pitches to try to strike everyone out. Farmer said he's similar to Wade Miley with his ability to induce weak contact even though they are complete opposites as pitchers.
"It’s a really uncomfortable at-bat," Reds manager David Bell said, "because you don’t know which direction his fastball is going to go – the cutter and the sinker."
Starting pitching struggles were at the root of the Reds’ abysmal April. Now the Reds have Ashcraft, Castillo, Tyler Mahle, Hunter Greene and Mike Minor. It’s not a coincidence the Reds are showing signs of life and no longer look like a team destined to lose 100 games.
The 24-year-old Ashcraft surrendered a solo homer to Josh Bell in the seventh inning, which snapped his 12 2/3-inning scoreless streak. Ashcraft, with his three starts against Toronto, San Francisco and Washington, owns a 1.53 ERA.
“The fact that the teammates are raving about him," Bell said, "that’s the best compliment, for sure."
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Joey Votto gave Ashcraft a three-run cushion in the first inning with a homer against right-handed starter Joan Adon. Votto, who was a couple of inches from homering twice at Fenway Park on Tuesday, didn’t leave any doubt with his 390-foot blast to right field.
The Reds added five runs in the seventh inning, which included Matt Reynolds’ first homer since May 21, 2017 and a three-run homer from Kyle Farmer. It was Farmer’s fourth homer in his last seven games.
"I had a friend in Double-A who once told me, I was struggling a little bit, and he says, ‘you’ve got to lose it to find it,' " Farmer said. "I lost it there for a little bit, so I think I found it."
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