Tampa Bay Rays Starting Pitcher Taj Bradley had another great outing last night at home against the Cleveland Guardians. He tossed seven scoreless innings while punching out eight as the Tampa Bay Rays won 2-0. Bradley has only allowed five earned runs over his last 42 innings pitched. Bradley’s hot streak began on June 8 against the Baltimore Orioles. This streak has included games against the Chicago Cubs, Minnesota Twins, Seattle Mariners, and Texas Rangers. Tampa Bay is 5-2 over Bradley’s last seven starts.
Bradley is 4-4 this season with an ERA of 2.90. Bradley failed to qualify in the league leaders in ERA due to the fact that he missed the first month of the 2024 regular season with a pectoral strain. He made his season debut on May 10 against the New York Yankees. He surrendered one earned run over six innings of work in the game.
Bradley is 4-4 this season with an ERA of 2.90. Will Bradley be able to keep up his streak in the second half of the regular season?
Taj Bradley Career Summary
Taj Bradley has allowed only 5 earned runs over his last 42 innings pitched (1.07 ERA) 👏 pic.twitter.com/4prRFC2aWx
— MLB (@MLB) July 13, 2024
Bradley made his MLB debut in 2023 with the Tampa Bay Rays. He was drafted in the fifth round of the 2018 MLB Draft by Tampa Bay. Bradley struggled last season with an ERA of 5.59. He would have had the second-worst ERA in the league last season but did not qualify due to starting only 21 games.
He has a career record of 9-12 with a 4.53 ERA.
Tampa Bay Rays Career Summary
The Tampa Bay Rays(47-47) are fourth in the American League East and 4.5 games back of the third and final American League Wild Card spot. The Rays are playing better as of late winning three of their last four games after losing four of five games last week.
The team’s offense has not been good this season. They are 20th in batting average, 26th in home runs, and 27th in runs scored. Their offense is paced by First Baseman Yandy Diaz and Third Baseman Isaac Parades. Diaz is leading the team with a .276 batting average and Parades leads the ballclub with 15 home runs and 50 RBI.
Tampa Bay Ray’s pitching staff has also struggled as well this season. They are 22nd in ERA, have surrendered the second-most home runs, and are 20th in batting average. Their staff is led by Starting Pitcher Zach Eflin. He leads the team in wins with five and ERA with a 3.99. The team is 23rd in bullpen ERA at 4.35.
When Will Bradley Take The Mound Next?
The first half of Bradley’s season is in the books with the all-star break a few days away. Tampa Bay begins the second half of their season with a four-game set on the road against the New York Yankees. Bradley should toe the slab in that series. The Tampa Bay Rays close out the first half of the 2024 regular season with two afternoon games against the Cleveland Guardians today and tomorrow.
Tampa Bay will have their work cut out for them if they are to make the MLB Playoffs for the sixth straight season. Bradley will need to continue anchoring a pitching staff that has struggled in the first half of the season. The offense of the Tampa Bay Rays must also hold up their end of the bargain for the team to have a more successful second half of the season.
