Same as it ever was: Bradish's '24 debut evokes '23 dominance

BALTIMORE -- After nearly three months of rehab, Kyle Bradish was nervous when he arrived at Camden Yards on Thursday morning. However, the Orioles’ right-hander always feels butterflies on start days, so that was normal.

“That’s just anticipation, being a starter,” Bradish said.

In fact, everything about Bradish on this day was normal -- his stoic pre-start demeanor in the clubhouse, his bulldog attitude, his run onto the field that always features a hop and a skip over the first-base line and a smack of his fist into his glove.

Most encouraging of all, Bradish’s stuff looked normal (which, for him, means exceptional) in his first outing back from a right UCL sprain, a showing reminiscent of his 2023 campaign, when he emerged as one of the best starters in MLB.

In his 2024 debut, Bradish tossed 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball during an 84-pitch start in Baltimore’s 7-2 victory over American League East rival New York. He racked up five strikeouts, inducing six of his nine whiffs with his wipeout slider. The average velocity on his sinker was 95 mph (same as last year), and it maxed out at 97.

The first-place O’s (20-11) took control of the division by winning three of four from the Yankees (20-13). But the highlight of the finale was easily Bradish’s return to the hill.

“That’s the best part about today, was getting him back out there and seeing him look normal,” catcher James McCann said. “Seeing that he wasn’t any different than who he was last year, that’s great to see.”

“It’s like he hasn’t lost a beat,” manager Brandon Hyde said of the 27-year-old righty.

It would have been understandable to doubt whether Bradish would show the form that led to him finishing fourth in AL Cy Young Award voting last season -- when he recorded a 2.83 ERA and 168 strikeouts in 168 2/3 innings over 30 starts -- at any point this year.

As soon as Orioles general manager Mike Elias uttered the phrase “sprain of [Bradish's] ulnar collateral ligament” on the first day of Spring Training workouts on Feb. 15, some people may have feared the worst. For many pitchers, UCL injuries lead to Tommy John surgery and its recovery timeline of 12-plus months.

But Baltimore remained optimistic. After sustaining the injury in January, Bradish received a platelet-rich plasma injection and began a potential path to recovery. On Feb. 16, he started a throwing program. The work was underway.

“Ever since we found out what was going on, it was full focus on getting back here and pitching here at a high level,” Bradish said. “That’s what I tried to do today -- go out there and compete.”

He was successful on Wednesday in a return that followed only three Minor League rehab starts. This past weekend, Hyde announced that Bradish wouldn’t need any additional outings -- a slight surprise at the time -- as the club believed he was ready.

Against the Yankees, Bradish gave up only four hits, including a two-out RBI single to Anthony Rizzo in the third. Bradish struck out both Trent Grisham and Anthony Volpe to open the fifth, then yielded a triple to Juan Soto and a walk to Aaron Judge.

At that point, Hyde turned to his bullpen. Bradish received a nice ovation from the crowd, then his one-run line was preserved by left-hander Keegan Akin, who stranded runners on the corners by getting Rizzo to pop out.

Bradish will work deeper into games as he continues to get built up. The primary takeaway from his first start was the quality of his stuff, as he consistently lit up the radar gun and showed increased spin on both his slider and curveball.

“Not surprised. I knew I put a lot of hard work into it, into the rehab. But I’m glad that those numbers are still there,” Bradish said. “My pitches are pretty good, so I was just fine-tuning them.”

The Orioles are glad to have Bradish back, as well as left-hander John Means, who will make his season debut Saturday at Cincinnati after opening the year on the injured list with a left forearm strain. Their rotation needed the boosts with Grayson Rodriguez (right shoulder inflammation) and Tyler Wells (right elbow inflammation) on the IL.

Baltimore will finally have its new 1-2 punch atop the staff, with ace Corbin Burnes joined by Bradish.

“It’s good to see him healthy and be who he is, just confident and making his pitches, keeping them off-balance and just being ready to attack hitters,” said Ryan McKenna, who hit one of three O’s homers in the finale win.

With one start in the books, Bradish is eager to push forward. The Orioles will continue to monitor his right elbow and keep tabs on how he recovers from each outing. As long as he continues to feel well, he’ll get to pitch every fifth game.

For Bradish, that sense of routine -- which he missed early this year -- feels normal.

“Very relieved, very hard mentally, just knowing it was going to be a long road, I was going to miss probably the first month of the season,” Bradish said. “It sucks. But we’re back now.”