The Pirates once again turned into an elite baseball team the minute they dropped under .500. The Bucs routed the Mariners tonight 11-1 behind a 5th run 4th inning and another elite start from Braxton Ashcraft. The offense didn’t need a single home run to plate 11 runners, and once again showed a great ability to crowd the basepaths. This is now the 8th game of the season where the offense has put up double digit runs in a game. They made one of the best pitchers in the AL look foolish after he started with a near perfect 3 innings. What Tyler and I break down the game in further detail here:

The Pirates Under .500 Are the 27′ Yankees

The Pirates have been hovering around .500 for a solid 2-3 months at this point in the season. They have dipped below .500 on occasion, and without fail, they have fought their way back to .500, and tonight was no exception. Players who have been ice cold will become Babe Ruth at a drop of a hat; tonight’s examples are Ryan O’Hearn and Tyler Callihan, who combined for 5 hits and 5 RBIs between them. The team has now posted 4 straight victories when 1 game under breaking even, and while they continue to be frustrating, they continue to show lots of mental fortitude. This is simply a team that will hover around. 500 until the deadline when Ben has one more chance to make this a truly competitive team. The team is truly 1-2 big pieces away from pulling away from this. 500 curses.

Braxton Ashcraft We Are Not Worthy

Braxton Ashcraft has pitched yet another gem and once again steadied a shaky ship for the Pirates tonight. After surrendering his sole run in the first inning, he went 5 more scoreless and was efficient enough to go out for a 7th but was pulled because of a blowout score. His final line sits at 6 IP, 1 ER, 9 K, on 86 pitches and dropped his ERA to 3.07 on the year. He continues to impress with amazing command combined with elite whiff rates. Ashcraft surrendered 0 walks tonight and induced 15 whiffs on a 79% strike rate tonight. Braxton continues to be the Pirates’ most reliable arm in terms of efficiency and inning rates. There is a reason he is tied with Skenes on WAR and is in the top 10 for WAR among starting pitchers this season. It would be a travesty and a crime if MLB does not select him to represent Pittsburgh at the All Star Game this year.

Endy Rodriguez is Proving Me Wrong

Endy Rodriguez has been so good that he forced the Pirates to dump Joey Bart for an old AAA relief pitcher just to fix the 40-man logjam. Despite miserable stats in AAA, Endy has come up to the majors and firmly taken the starting catching job. He reaches base 3 times tonight, with a double, a single, and a walk. He started the offensive party with a clutch 2-run double, continuing his impressive poise when batting with RISP. The defense leaves something to be desired and isn’t nearly as good as Davis. However, with Cruz and Griffin being hurt for a long period of time, he has provided back-of-the-lineup support where the Pirates desperately needed him. The underlying metrics suggest he isn’t getting lucky either. Endy is walking at incredibly high rates and is beating the cover off the baseball with his exit velocities. People who held Endy stock for 3 years at this rate are eating well and deserve all the praise because I personally gave up on him a long time ago.