Braxton Ashcraft News: Set for first career start Monday

Achcraft will start Monday's series opener against the Brewers in Milwaukee, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

After making his first seven appearances out of the Pittsburgh bullpen following his May 26 call-up from Triple-A Indianapolis, Ashcraft will make his first career major-league start against a red-hot Brewers lineup that has averaged 10.8 runs per contest during its active four-game winning streak. The right-hander has fared well thus far while working in relief, producing a 1.54 ERA and 1.29 WHIP with 10 strikeouts over 11.2 innings. He's maxed out at 40 pitches in those relief outings, but the Pirates could be comfortable with him covering somewhere around 60-to-80 pitches Monday after he had previously built up to six innings during his time in the minors. Even so, the fact that Ashcraft likely won't handle a traditional starter's workload in addition to the tough matchup limits his appeal as a streaming option.