Taj Bradley’s Struggles and Triumphs on the Mound

TAMPA — In many ways, it all comes down to perception.

Taj Bradley’s outing during Tuesday’s 3-1 loss to the Royals can be seen through two lenses. You might praise his performance, recognizing the seven innings he pitched, giving up only two runs while allowing eight baserunners (five hits and three walks).

Alternatively, you could scrutinize the details. Bradley allowed a run in the first inning for the fifth consecutive start and another in the second, ultimately putting the Rays in a challenging 2-0 position they could not recover from.

Additionally, he didn’t register a strikeout until the sixth inning, which matched the lowest number for any of his 52 career starts.

“I don’t know if there’s a difference between seven innings and two runs, whether it’s the first two innings or the last two,” said manager Kevin Cash. “But I was very pleased with his performance. He deserves recognition for what he did for us. If you consider he gave up those early runs but then showed resilience to shut them down for five innings, we’re optimistic moving forward.”

Bradley echoed a broader perspective. “At first, it’s frustrating,” he noted. “I’ve had runs come in the first inning in several recent starts. But looking back, pitching seven innings and giving up two runs is what matters, regardless of how they happened.”

The issue of conceding runs early has become a trend for Bradley, who currently has a 2-2 record and a 4.58 ERA. In his six starts, he has pitched 35⅓ innings and allowed 18 runs, with eight occurring in the first inning alone—yielding a 12.00 ERA. The other ten came in the following 29⅓ innings, showing a more solid 3.07 ERA.

While Bradley didn’t dive deep into the first-inning struggles, he was forthcoming about what led to his ability to stifle the Royals afterward.

For Bradley, much of it lay in his mindset. A conversation with assistant pitching coach Rick Knapp earlier in the week reminded him to keep things straightforward.

“I found more peace of mind, focusing on simplicity,” Bradley said. “Once those two runs were in, that’s all I did.”

Bradley also benefitted from a mound visit from pitching coach Kyle Snyder after he walked a hitter in the third. Snyder encouraged him to trust his abilities. “You’re too skilled to be in this situation; you just need to relax,” he advised.

From that point, Bradley made a conscious effort to throw strikes without overthinking, focusing on performance over perfection.

While Cash recognized Bradley’s slow starts before the game and expressed a desire to see him find a rhythm immediately, he was not overly worried about it becoming a long-term problem.

“I don’t think he should be concerned because of how he rallied during the game,” Cash said. “All our starters aim to set the rhythm and execute right from the beginning. Sometimes, it just doesn’t pan out. There isn’t a clear explanation for that.”

Similarly, there was little worry about Bradley only striking out two batters. Cash noted this often depends on hitters’ approaches rather than solely the pitcher’s skills.

In his first three outings, Bradley struck out 21 over 17 innings. In his last three, he recorded just eight over 18⅓ innings.

“Not at all,” Bradley replied when asked if he was worried about strikeouts. “I’m going deep into games—six, seven innings. Strikeouts aren’t everything. If they’re putting the ball in play, that can be an advantage for me.”

The Rays’ defeat on Tuesday had other contributing factors.

Aside from standout Junior Caminero—who made a minor adjustment and achieved three hits, including his sixth homer at 116 mph—the team’s offense struggled. They went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position, leaving nine men on base.

So, was Bradley’s performance a problem or a positive indicator?

“Assessing his overall efforts,” Cash concluded, “it was another impressive outing.”

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