'He was unbelievable': Graham Ashcraft sets career highs as Reds snap losing streak

SAN FRANCISCO – After the Cincinnati Reds completed a winless homestand, owners of the worst record in the National League, Graham Ashcraft offered a glimmer of hope for the future.

Ashcraft, a 24-year-old right-hander, put together arguably the best start of his young career and lifted the Reds to a 4-2 victory in their series opener against the San Francisco Giants on Friday. He permitted two runs across eight innings and struck out a career-high eight batters.

"He was unbelievable tonight, man," Reds catcher Aramis Garcia said. "There were some cutters that he was throwing – literally, as I'm catching them, I'm like, 'oh my god.' Some of the cutters he was throwing to these lefties, they were literally 98-mph sliders. It was unbelievable."

Ashcraft's dominant performance snapped the Reds’ seven-game losing streak. The Reds have a 24-46 record, the second-worst start through 70 games in franchise history. The 1934 Reds team, which finished with 99 losses, had the worst start at 23-46-1.

Developing pitching is the key to the Reds' rebuilding efforts and Ashcraft continues to show why he's a pitcher to build around. His cutter, which he holds like a four-seam fastball, is like a video game cheat code.

"It just doesn’t get much better than that what he did tonight," Reds Manager David Bell said. "Definitely attacking the zone, no walks, a lot of groundballs. Cut, sink, up, down, just attacking in every way. Just really impressive."

Ashcraft gave up a combined 17 hits and 10 runs in his two previous outings before Friday. All rookies have a learning curve and Ashcraft felt he was too reliant on his slider in his last start. The game plan against the Giants was to rely on his cutter until their hitters forced him to throw something else.

The result: Six of his eight strikeouts came through his cutter and he induced 12 groundouts.

Another part of Ashcraft's success, Garcia said, was his ability to establish his sinker early in the game. It was his second time facing the Giants and hitters had to respect the sinker instead of choosing between his cutter and slider.

"The slider is slower, so if they see it enough, once it misses middle, it's going to get hit," Ashcraft said. "It's a little bit harder to hit – I mean, I'm not a hitter – but it's a little bit harder to hit a 97-mph cutter and sinker than it is to hit an 87-mph slider."

What stands out to teammates is Ashcraft's confidence. He knows how difficult it is to hit his cutter. There aren't many starting pitchers in the world who can match his cutter's velocity.

He dared veteran hitters to try to hit his cutter. He struck out Brandon Belt in a four-pitch at-bat with all cutters in the seventh inning. Two batters later, Brandon Crawford was on the receiving end of four straight cutters and whiffed twice. Ashcraft let out a yell after the inning-ending strikeout.

"Confidence is everything," Garcia said. "You can feel it when you're catching him. You can feel it when you're watching him in the dugout. Whenever you can take the mound or step in the box with confidence, it's a difference maker."

The Giants produced back-to-back groundball singles against Ashcraft to open the eighth inning. Reliever Joel Kuhnel began warming in the bullpen, but Bell wanted to give Ashcraft every chance to pitch out of it.

"He’d been great all night," Bell said. "That can kind of simplify the thought process right there."

Facing the top of the lineup for the fourth time with a pitch count nearing 100, Ashcraft induced a comebacker to the mound to start a double play. The Giants added a run through a two-out bloop single and Ashcraft’s last out came on a flyout to the warning track, but the rookie rewarded his manager's trust.

"I came in afterward and I was like 'one more' and he was like 'I can't let you,' " Ashcraft said of his conversation with Bell after the eighth inning. "I was like 'I understand,' but I wanted to get back."

Ashcraft allowed six hits and three of those came in his final inning. He didn't issue any walks. He threw 104 pitches, 70 strikes. He's seven starts into his Major League career and his teammates already expect starts like Friday from him.

"(Hunter) Strickland, last night we're hanging out and he goes, 'you're going to go eight and I'm going to come in and I'm going to shut it out,' " Ashcraft said. "That's what happened." 

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds score: Graham Ashcraft, Nick Senzel lead road win vs. Giants