Bradish deals over 5 frames vs. Cardinals before rain interrupts

ST. LOUIS -- Kyle Bradish was dealing Tuesday night. For the first time in four starts since returning from a right UCL sprain, the Orioles right-hander was preparing to take the mound for the sixth inning. He had been inducing whiffs and working out of jams while navigating the Cardinals’ lineup in impressive fashion.

Then, just as Bradish ran out of the third-base dugout and skipped over the foul line for the bottom of the sixth, he was told by the umpires to stop. He was then passed by members of the Busch Stadium grounds crew, who sprinted out to cover the field with the tarp.

The storms came and never stopped, resulting in the contest being suspended. It resumed Wednesday, and Baltimore lost to St. Louis, 3-1.

It took only a few minutes for the Cards to break a 1-1 tie, as Nolan Gorman hit a go-ahead two-run homer off Keegan Akin in the bottom of the sixth inning.

“They had it also,” manager Brandon Hyde said of the difficulty of the resumption. “And we had three hits in the game. So we’ve got to start swinging the bat.”

Although the rain prevented Bradish from pitching more than five innings for the first time this season, it was still an encouraging step in the right direction for the 27-year-old righty.

Bradish didn’t allow more than two runs in any of his first three starts after coming off the injured list, but he also needed between 84 and 90 pitches in each of those outings, all between four and five innings long. He threw only 74 against St. Louis.

“I was definitely disappointed,” Bradish said Wednesday morning. “I felt really good, pitch count was in a good spot to go deep into the ballgame.”

By recording six strikeouts, Bradish pushed his career total to 302. He’s only the second pitcher in franchise history to notch 300-plus K’s over his first 57 games, joining Tom Phoebus, who had 328 after making that many appearances from 1966-68.

Bradish stranded St. Louis baserunners at second and third in both the third and fourth. He induced 11 whiffs.

Through four starts, Bradish has a 2.41 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP over 18 2/3 innings.

“I definitely felt like myself [Tuesday]. Both breaking balls were good for strikes and chase, and I was locating the fastball, working ahead in counts,” Bradish said. “I knew I’d get back to this point. Obviously, I need to keep working deeper into games and keep progressing.”

Added Hyde: “Great to see him look like himself, honestly. He’s had great stuff throughout.”

The Orioles’ offense didn’t give their pitchers much support on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Baltimore’s lone run in the contest came prior to the severe weather. It capitalized on a two-out error by Gorman in the fifth, as Kyle Stowers reached base and then scored on a double by Jorge Mateo off right-hander Lance Lynn, who allowed one unearned run in six innings.

The O’s finished with three hits for the second consecutive game, as they also had that many in Monday’s series-opening 6-3 loss.

After the matchup resumed Wednesday, eight of 10 Baltimore batters were retired by a trio of St. Louis relievers, with the only exceptions being Ryan Mountcastle’s one-out single in the seventh and Jordan Westburg’s one-out walk in the ninth.

“We’ve just had a couple poor games offensively,” Hyde said. “Hopefully, we can turn it around.”