The right-hander gutted out six scoreless innings against Cleveland despite early command issues.
Taj Bradley walked four batters Friday night, including three leadoff hitters, and somehow still managed to give the Minnesota Twins exactly what they needed from him.
That probably says as much about Bradley's development as the six scoreless innings he put together against Cleveland.
The right-hander allowed only one hit and struck out six before leaving with Minnesota ahead 1-0. The walks kept putting him in uncomfortable spots, but none of them turned into runs. Derek Shelton saw that as a sign of how much Bradley has grown during his first full season with the Twins.
“Definite sign of maturity,” Shelton told reporters postgame, via Twins TV.
That maturity showed up in the way Bradley handled innings that could have easily gotten away from him. Two of his four walks came on four pitches, and he still found a way to come back and execute when Cleveland had runners on base. Shelton said the command improved significantly during the fourth through sixth innings, allowing Bradley to finish his outing without giving the Guardians an opportunity to break through.
“It’s just the ebb and flow of baseball,” Bradley said, via John Shipley of the Pioneer Press. “That’s what the guys with 10 years (experience) tell us.
That leaves the Twins with something they need to figure out, particularly because the rest of Bradley's season has been so encouraging.
Friday marked his 29th start, a career high, while his 190 strikeouts and 165⅓ innings are also personal bests. He has a 3.81 ERA, his best mark in a season, and has pitched at least five innings in 24 of those 29 starts.
Even on a night when the command wasn't there, his stuff was good enough to keep Cleveland from taking advantage.
That is part of why Bradley doesn't sound particularly concerned about the bigger picture.
“We’ll just try to nip it in the bud as soon as possible,” Bradley said, via Shipley. “Find it this late in the season, and hone it, then come in next season, no flaws.”
There is also a certain irony in trying to fix something this late in the year. The Twins have only 15 games remaining and are now 5.5 games behind Cleveland for the final American League Wild Card spot after Friday's 5-2 loss. Their postseason chances are fading, but Bradley has already given Minnesota a reason to view him as part of whatever comes next.
Even A.J. Minter, who saw the outing from the bullpen, focused on the same thing Shelton did.
“This dude has unbelievable stuff,” Minter said, via Shipley. “For him, he’s still young, and hopefully [has] a great career ahead of him.”
The bullpen eventually let Bradley's work go to waste, with Minter allowing a two-run homer in the seventh and Yoendrys Gómez surrendering three runs in the ninth. That made Bradley's six innings feel even more significant.
Minnesota didn't lose Friday because its starter couldn't keep the game under control. Bradley put enough traffic on the bases to make things difficult, then repeatedly found a way out of it.
Now the Twins have to figure out why he needed to do that so often, and Bradley has 15 games left to help them find the answer.
