Hopefully some home cooking cures what ails the Rangers: NYY @ TEX 4/27-30

[DT LUNA]

Oh me! deGrom is out with injury

 

[True Rangers Fan]

Why...

 

[Duane1952]

Looks like his side or hip.

 

[saddles]

 

[DT LUNA]

Makes one wonder what can happen next

 

[saddles]

Get Cody Bradford ready.

 

[saddles]

Acuna is 3 for 3 tonight and has his average up to .337.

 

[saddles]

Crim with a double so he remains hot.

 

[Duane1952]

Get Cody Bradford ready.

Is he more ready than white.

 

[saddles]

Is he more ready than white.

Yes, he is. He is a level higher and has looked great this year.

 

[Duane1952]

Yes, he is. He is a level higher and has looked great this year.

They’ll probably put Dunning in the starting lineup and bring up a reliever.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

Oh me! deGrom is out with injury

This is why Dunning and Ragans were sitting. I am sure Bochy was being sure that he was covered when deGrom's turn came.

 

[saddles]

From Jeff Wilson's column this morning:

None of them, though, has been better this season than Bradford. Really, no one has been better than Bradford since last summer.

"There's been some really good defense played behind me," said Bradford, who went to Aledo High School west of Fort Worth.

No one has been more humble, either.

Bradford improved to 5-0 on Wednesday after tossing five scoreless innings on three hits for Triple A Round Rock. His ERA after five starts is now 0.64.

Anyone who asked around about Rangers pitching prospects during spring training heard Bradford's name frequently, both during his first appearance in big-league camp and after he was reassigned to the minor-league side.

Though he wasn't protected from the Rule 5 draft, the Rangers are confident they have a major-league pitcher on their hands. At this rate, that could be happening sooner than later.

"He can execute a game plan, he can really pitch and he can field his position," Rangers vice president Ross Fenstermaker said. "He just does all the little things well that make a good big-league starter. He's got enough [stuff] and enough deception to really execute and pitch well at the next level."

Right-hander Josh Stephan, signed in 2020 as an undrafted free agent from South Grand Prairie High, has a 0.50 ERA after three starts for High A Hickory. He has covered 18 innings in his three starts and is rivaling Bradford as the system's top pitcher this season.

Bradford, though, has been coming on since the middle of last season after a ragged start to his 2022 campaign. His ERA was at 9.62 after his first seven starts at Double A Frisco, but it then steadily dropped to 5.01 by season's end.

The Rangers' sixth-round pick in 2019 from Baylor, Bradford started toying with a cut fastball. It's pitch that he had seen fellow lefty and teammate Cole Ragans successfully work into his repertoire, and Bradford had a 2.63 ERA over the final two months of the season.

The cutter is now solidly his third pitch, behind his fastball and changeup. It gives batters a different look, and if he needs a groundball, he usually gets one with the cutter.

"Something that's differentiated this year from last year that has led to success has been the addition of a cutter," Bradford said. "The Rangers pitching department helped me find the right characteristics this offseason and narrowed down what they wanted out of it and how they thought it would play the best."

Bradford pitched well in the postseason as Frisco won the Texas League championship and was invited to big-league spring training. He was able to interact with veteran starters and get feedback from pitching coach Mike Maddux and Maddux's little brother, Greg, the four-time Cy Young winner and Hall of Famer.

The Maddux Bros. keep pitching simple, and one tip from Greg stood out. Bradford was struggling with his changeup during a side session, and Maddux told him that the only thing he needed to think about was bringing his pitching hand to his opposite knee.

"Next pitch: perfect changeup down and away," Bradford said. "Greg was really active in spring training, in bullpen sessions and PFPs and really all around the field. He makes pitching sound super easy when it's just not. He's able to explain it in just layman terms."

Even though Bradford was reassigned to minor-league camp early on, the experience provided him with a boost for his first foray into Triple A ball.

"The momentum off of last year, finishing the year strong, definitely led to some confidence going into my first big-league camp," Bradford said. "Getting to be a part of big-league camp gave me confidence going into this year that made it easier for me to just go out and have fun instead of putting so much expectations and stress on every game."

With Ragans and Dane Dunning in the big-league bullpen and Glenn Otto and Spencer Howard on the 60-day injured list, Bradford has pushed his way into the mix if the Rangers need a starter or someone to work multiple innings in the bullpen. He isn't on the 40-man roster, but that won't stop the Rangers from adding him if gets the best recommendation.

Mike Maddux was impressed with what he saw in the offseason and during spring training.

"He's going to be one of those guys that like flies under the radar," he said. "He's not going to have Jacob deGrom-type stuff, but this guy is going to come up and he's going to help us out. He's going to help the Rangers in the long term."

 

[saddles]

They’ll probably put Dunning in the starting lineup and bring up a reliever.

Bradford can give you 100 pitches his first time out. I would imagine Dunning might get to 50 or 60.

 

[True Rangers Fan]

Leody just doesn't do it for me

 

[Senator_fan]

Taveras looks bad up there.

 

[DT LUNA]

Leody just doesn't do it for me

Like his glove hate his bat

 

[Duane1952]

Like his glove hate his bat

Same thing for Josh Smith.

 

[DT LUNA]

Smell a melt down.

 

[True Rangers Fan]

They just stop hitting all of a sudden