PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Braxton Ashcraft has been dominant this season, but had to make a change in his most recent against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Ashcraft chose his slider as his pitch against the Giants, which worked out in his favor, as he posted four strikeouts, en route to just one run allowed over seven innings in the eventual 13-3 victory. It's a pitch that Ashcraft had great success with his rookie season in 2025, but hadn't done as well with it prior to this start. Ashcraft showed that even when his other pitches aren't doing so well, he can find ways to excel and still dominate opposing hitting, Why Ashcraft Went With the Slider Ashcraft had only thrown his slider on average 18% of the time, but that jumped up to 34% in this outing and increased He generated seven whiffs on 15 swings, the most he's done on any pitch in any start, and also had 12 whiffs in a start, the most in a start in his career.…