Ashcraft was tasked with holding a two-run lead in the ninth, and the 27-year-old wasn’t up to said task. He allowed a sac fly and then an RBI single to blow his chance for his first save of 2025. The Reds will likely turn back to Emilio Pagan in the next chance, as Pagan was unavailable after working the last two contests.

This came about because a rain delay limited Andrew Abbott to four innings. Ashcraft entered with a 4-1 lead in the fifth and cruised for three innings, throwing 26 strikes among his 31 pitches. His ERA now stands at 0.57, though he has been charged with five unearned runs in addition to the one earned. There might be a window for him to get saves for the Reds at some point, but Emilio Pagán would have to falter first.

The Reds named Carson Spiers as Andrew Abbott’s rotation replacement today, so it’s the bullpen or bust for Ashcraft. The Reds will probably carry him as a middle reliever, but they really ought to look at him as a short reliever, given that their current late-game options appear dreadful.

He fell to 0-3 with a 6.75 ERA. Thoughts of maybe trying Ashcraft as a short reliever this spring were dashed by the setbacks suffered by Andrew Abbott and Rhett Lowder, sapping the Reds’ rotation depth. Ashcraft still seems destined for the pen anyway, but it’ll probably be as more of a middle reliever initially.