Archie Bradley Returns From Injury
Archie Bradley made his first start on Saturday since coming off of the DL after being struck in the face by a Carlos Gonzalez line drive on April 28th.
Bradley has been stellar all season long, but his first start back was one to forget.
Bradley’s final line was 2.0 innings pitched, three walks, five hits, four runs with all four earned. He threw 59 pitches and only 33 for strikes. He was also handed his first loss of the season.
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The first inning went well for him. He recorded a ground out, fly out and a strike out. He did issue a walk, but it was no problem for him as he escaped the inning and stranded the runner.
Bradley appeared to be cruising through the second inning as well, but ran into trouble with two outs. Jeff Francoeur belted a solo shot to left field to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead. That was the first home run Bradley had given up all year.
Two more would reach after the home run, Carlos Ruiz with a single and pitcher Jerome Williams on a rare fielding error by Nick Ahmed. Bradley was able to escape the inning down 1-0 limiting the damage.
Unfortunately for Bradley, the third inning is where everything really fell apart.
He faced 5 batters and couldn’t register a single out in the inning. Bradley gave up two walks, two singles and a double. He left the game down 3-0 with the bases loaded.
It was definitely a forgettable outing to say the least, but there shouldn’t be any concern. He is after all, coming back from being hit in the face by a 115 mph line drive. He also threw only one simulated game while he was out on the DL.
He was in a zone pitching well before the injury, so, to miss some time with just one simulated game in between, it should only be natural to come back a bit rusty. Given the type of injury, he didn’t appear to be fazed or nervous on the mound, which is a good sign. He just struggled with his command.
If the schedule stays on track and the rotation continues without interruption, Bradley’s next start should come against the Miami Marlins on Thursday where he will no doubt look to regain his stellar pre-injury form.