CINCINNATI (AP) — Braxton Ashcraft gave up two hits over five innings, while a pair of bases-loaded walks during a three-run third helped the Pittsburgh Pirates snap a four-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday night.
Steady rain was falling in the third inning when Reds left-hander Andrew Abbott issued four walks including two with the bases loaded to Brandon Lowe and Esmerlyn Valdez to help the Pirates take a 2-0 lead.
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Cincinnati Reds' Jose Trevino rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Cincinnati, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Tanner Pearson)
Cincinnati Reds center fielder TJ Friedl fields a fly ball by Pittsburgh Pirates' Bryan Reynolds during the first inning of a baseball game in Cincinnati, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Tanner Pearson)
Pittsburgh Pirates' Braxton Ashcraft pitches during the second inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds in Cincinnati, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Tanner Pearson)
Cincinnati Reds' Andrew Abbott pitches during the second inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Cincinnati, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Tanner Pearson)
Pittsburgh Pirates' Henry Davis scores after a bases loaded walk is drawn by Bryan Reynolds during the third inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds in Cincinnati, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Tanner Pearson)
The game was delayed one hour and 46 minutes by rain during the sixth inning.
Abbott threw 43 pitches in the third. Following his walk to Reynolds, Abbott had the grounds crew apply drying compound to the mound. His foot slipped on two of his deliveries to Valdez.
Abbott (5-7) allowed three earned runs on three hits with five walks and one strikeout on 98 pitches.
Ashcraft (11-4) retired the first eight batters and didn't allow a hit until Nathaniel Lowe's single with one out in the fourth.
Reds catcher Jose Trevino hit his fourth home run of the season to make the score 3-1 in the fifth. That was the only run allowed by Ashcraft, who had a walk and five strikeouts.
Marcell Ozuna doubled and scored on Henry Davis' single to extend the Pirates' lead to 4-1 in the sixth shortly before the game was delayed.
Carmen Mlodzinski replaced Ashcraft following the rain delay and pitched three scoreless innings, allowing one hit with a walk and four strikeouts.
Gregory Soto pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to earn his 14th save.
Pirates RHP Mitch Keller (6-7, 4.83 ERA) opposes Reds RHP Chase Burns (12-1, 2.40) in Sunday's series finale.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Cincinnati Reds' Jose Trevino rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Cincinnati, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Tanner Pearson)
Cincinnati Reds center fielder TJ Friedl fields a fly ball by Pittsburgh Pirates' Bryan Reynolds during the first inning of a baseball game in Cincinnati, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Tanner Pearson)
Pittsburgh Pirates' Braxton Ashcraft pitches during the second inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds in Cincinnati, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Tanner Pearson)
Cincinnati Reds' Andrew Abbott pitches during the second inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Cincinnati, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Tanner Pearson)
Pittsburgh Pirates' Henry Davis scores after a bases loaded walk is drawn by Bryan Reynolds during the third inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds in Cincinnati, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Tanner Pearson)
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers have acquired the biggest prize on the trade deadline market, getting two-time reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal from the Detroit Tigers on Saturday night.
Skubal got the news during the Tigers' 8-6 win over the Athletics and was emotional after the game as he prepared to leave the team that drafted him in 2018 and developed him into a star to join the two-time defending World Series champions.
“I’m excited to be a Dodger," he said. "I’m excited to get down there and meet all those guys and chase three championships in a row. That’s hard to do, so I’m so excited to a part of that. But it’s a lot of different emotions. Definitely kind of a roller coaster a little bit.”
Skubal is the latest star to join the high-priced roster for the Dodgers that already has big-name players like Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Mookie Betts. If everyone is healthy, he could be part of a rotation with Ohtani, reigning World Series MVP Yamamoto, fellow two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow. The Dodgers lead the majors with a 3.36 ERA from their starting pitchers and now add Skubal to the mix.
The Dodgers are in first place in the NL West and were already the favorites to become the first team to three-peat since the New York Yankees from 1998-2000 before adding Skubal. They began the season with a $323.3 million opening-day payroll for their 40-man roster and a $163.7 million tax for a $487.1 million total. They will pay Skubal about $9.5 million for the remainder of the season.
ESPN first reported the deal and said the Tigers would receive three minor league prospects in right-handers River Ryan and Brady Smith and outfielder Zyhir Hope.
Skubal is eligible for free agency after the World Series. He has a $32 million salary, a record total in arbitration, after the team offered $19 million, and is expected to sign a massive contract in the offseason.
The 29-year-old lefty said in July that it was his preference to finish the season with the Tigers and to compete for a World Series championship, which has eluded the franchise since 1984. Skubal took the loss in the decisive Game 5 of the division series against Cleveland in 2024 and then got a no-decision in a 15-inning loss to Seattle in Game 5 of the division series last year.
He said it was “very tough” to leave the Tigers having fallen short of the goal of winning a title.
“Ever since that ’24 Game 5, the failure that I experienced on the mound, I’ve used that as fuel to try and bring a World Series to the city of Detroit. I truly did,” he said. “That whole offseason I’ve never been more motivated and then go in and we lose Game 5 again. That failure kind of sparks some more motivation, just to dig deeper and see how good you can truly be. The goal was always to win a World Series for the city, for the organization that took a chance on me. It’s tough. I love all those guys in there. They’re some of my best friends.”
Detroit planned to contend again this season, bolstering the Skubal-led rotation by giving two-time All-Star pitcher Framber Valdez a $115 million, three-year contract in free agency and retaining three-time All-Star infielder Gleyber Torres with a $22 million deal.
The Tigers, though, got off to a rough start and are currently 2 1/2 games out of the last wild-card spot in the American League.
“It’s crazy. Going into the season, this isn’t what I planned on doing,” Skubal said. “But circumstances change, situations change, and I’m very appreciative of everything the Tigers have done for me.”
They bounced back in June and most of July to get into playoff contention with Skubal leading a rotation and three All-Stars in the lineup: rookie infielder Kevin McGonigle, catcher Dillon Dingler and outfielder Riley Greene.
With a chance to possibly persuade management to keep Skubal by improving its playoff positioning, Detroit lost ground by dropping four of its last five games at home, including Skubal’s last start that was made even more memorable by a late-inning collapse.
The Tigers led Baltimore 7-0 after six innings Wednesday and lost 10-9 in 12 innings. Skubal started the game, recorded his 1,000th career strikeout and was cheered at every opportunity by a crowd of 34,406.
“I’ve watched this guy rise to the top of the sport,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “He’s carried us a lot. I’ll forever be grateful that our paths crossed and the things that he did for this organization and for a couple of playoff teams. His presence, his work ethic, his example, his dominance. There’s so much to go through, it’s hard to capture in one quote or kind of one setting. But I’m very grateful that I was able to manage him for the time that I did.”
Skubal is 7-5 this season with a 2.79 ERA and 116 strikeouts in 96 2/3 innings. He is 61-42 with a 3.04 ERA over seven seasons, all in Detroit. In two postseasons, Skubal is 2-1 with a 2.04 ERA in six starts.
Skubal had a minimally invasive surgery on May 6 to remove a loose body from his pitching elbow and returned to pitch on June 13.
“The way the surgery went is exactly how it was supposed to go,” he said in July.
AP Sports Writer Larry Lage in Detroit contributed to this report
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal walks to the dugout during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles Wednesday, July 29, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal throws during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles Wednesday, July 29, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
