Bradley has seen his ERA inflate from 2.87 to 3.56 since returning from the IL on May 23.
Minnesota Twins starter Taj Bradley had himself a strong start to the year. But ever since he returned from a right pectoralis injury on May 23, he has yet to translate that prior success.
In position to complete a sweep on Wednesday afternoon, Bradley took the mound against the Chicago White Sox, his third start since being reinstated from the injured list. He was looking to bounce back from a start in which he went just four innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates and allowed four runs.
But before Minnesota could take an at-bat, the White Sox tagged Bradley for a four-run first inning, putting things out of reach for the Twins from an early standpoint. Chicago loaded the bases before Bradley could record an out, piling their runs by way of situational hitting and productive at-bats.
Bradley would settle in for the remainder of his outing, but never found run support to put the game back in reach. He was unable to complete five innings for a second consecutive start, allowing four runs, seven hits and throwing 104 pitches over 4 ⅔ innings of work.
After briefly struggling to start the year, Bradley recovered to post a 2.87 ERA before initially being placed on the injured list on May 9. In his three starts since his return from the injured list, Bradley has seen his ERA inflate to 3.56, allowing nine runs in 13 ⅔ innings pitched.
The Twins’ bats did not put up an effort to provide Bradley with any offense. Starter Erick Fedde, who hadn’t won a game yet this season and came into the game with an ERA over five, tossed five scoreless innings en route to the win. He limited the Twins to two base hits, allowing just three baserunners.
Now having allowed four runs in back-to-back starts, Bradley has also seen his command become shaky in the process. He did not have a strong feel for the strike zone at all on Wednesday, walking a career-high five batters.
Despite many negatives from the outing, one positive that emerged was Bradley’s efficiency with his pitching stuff. His fastball averaged 97.3 MPH, an encouraging sign for a starter coming off a stint on the injured list.
All in all, the 25-year-old still has room to improve and rediscover the form he had before suffering his injury. With his peripherals promising and in looking efficient after his four-run first inning, the Twins hope he can build off of the positives into his next outing, presumably against the Detroit Tigers early next week.
