Bradford allowed three hits and one walk while striking out three over three scoreless inning in Friday's spring start against the Cubs.
This was Bradford's second Cactus League start, and the left-hander upped his pitch count to 48 (34 strikes). Among those 48 pitches, 26 were the four-seam fastball, which induced eight called strikes or whiffs, per Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News. "Extension helps a lot," the 27-year-old said of his fastball. "It's got a little bit of a hop. There's some vert to it. It's pretty efficient. And, probably, I'd say, command [makes a difference]." Bradford looks primed to push for a rotation spot; he's yet to allow a run over five innings this spring, striking out five and walking one.
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Rangers' Cody Bradford: Stakes claim to rotation
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Bradford allowed one hit and struck out two over two scoreless innings in Sunday's spring game against the Cubs.
Bradford, who could land in the rotation or the bullpen, submitted evidence during his Cactus League debut of his worthiness to be a starter in the regular season. Sixteen of his 24 pitches were strikes, which impressed manager Bruce Bochy. "Outstanding, wasn't he?" Bochy told Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News reports. "Really nice job, throwing his strikes, Cody was Cody today. Good day for him." The left-hander pitched well in 2024 when healthy, posting a 3.54 ERA over 14 outings (13 starts).
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Rangers' Cody Bradford: Could be used in relief
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Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said Thursday that it's possible Bradford opens the season in the bullpen, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.
Bradford is coming to camp as a starting pitcher and would seem to have a good shot to begin the season as a member of the Rangers' rotation. However, the left-hander also has relief experience and could be used there if a pitcher like Kumar Rocker stakes claim to a rotation spot. Bradford has minor-league options remaining, but Bochy indicated the southpaw is virtually a lock to make the Opening Day roster.
Bradford did not factor into the decision in a win over Oakland on Wednesday, allowing one run on six hits and three walks over 3.2 innings. He struck out four.
Bradford struggled with his command out of the gate, allowing two hits in each of the first two innings while also allowing a runner to advance on a wild pitch in the third. The southpaw was later relieved by Matt Festa with two outs in the fourth after the former reached 90 pitches on the night. Bradford has now failed to make it through four innings in two of his last three starts after previously going five or more innings in six straight. On a positive note, he's also given up one run or fewer in three of his last four outings.
Bradford (6-3) picked up the win over the Blue Jays on Wednesday, allowing five hits and no walks over seven scoreless frames while striking out six.
Bradford had a no-hitter going through the first four innings before Alejandro Kirk tagged him for a single to lead off the fifth. The southpaw would get through the frame unscathed, however, and allowed just two batters to reach second base during his seven innings on the mound. It marked Bradford's second time this season in which he held the opposing team scoreless through six or more frames, and he's now posted quality starts in six of his last seven outings. He's 2-1 through three starts in September with a 4.86 ERA to go along with a 14:2 K:BB.
Rangers' Cody Bradford: Hit hard in Wednesday's loss
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Bradford (5-3) took the loss Wednesday, coughing up eight runs on nine hits -- including three home runs -- over 3.2 innings as the Rangers were routed 14-4 by the Diamondbacks. He struck out four without walking a batter.
The southpaw gave up six extra-base hits in total, including long balls by Randal Grichuk, Eugenio Suarez and Ketel Marte. It's the first time Bradford has served up multiple homers in an outing since Aug. 3, while it's the first time he's been tagged for more than three runs since July 30. He'll look to bounce back in his next start, which lines up to come at home next week against the Blue Jays.
