Bradley's brilliant 11-K performance delivers series win for Rays

ST. PETERSBURG -- On June 1, Taj Bradley gave up nine runs and recorded only 10 outs against the Orioles’ powerful lineup at Camden Yards. The results kept him up at night -- literally. He stayed up until 2 a.m. thinking about it.

Through conversations with teammates and staff, family and friends, Bradley put that start behind him. Way behind him, as it turned out.

“Just talking to friends and family, they're not thinking about this game five hours after it's over, but I was, you know? So I was like, 'Get over it,’” Bradley said. “This isn't gonna be the last time you throw a baseball. This isn't gonna be the last time you have a game like this. Get over it and move on to the next.”

What came next has been a spectacular run that Bradley continued Sunday afternoon at Tropicana Field. The 23-year-old right-hander allowed only three hits and two walks while tying his career high with 11 strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings in the Rays’ 5-0 win over the Nationals.

Since his clunker of a start in Baltimore on June 1, Bradley has been practically untouchable. He has recorded a 1.24 ERA and 40 strikeouts while permitting only 18 hits and 11 walks in 29 innings over his last five starts, and Tampa Bay has won each of his last four outings.

“That start in Baltimore, I feel like, would have gotten to a lot of people,” Bradley said. “But I had a lot of good people within the clubhouse, family and stuff like that just pushed me through it, and success comes along with it.”

Leaning on his devastating fastball and a mix of splitters and cutters, the 23-year-old right-hander induced 20 swinging strikes, two shy of his career-high mark, and struck out every member of the Nats lineup at least once.

“He’s a swing-and-miss pitcher. He pitched unreal today,” Nats left fielder Jesse Winker said. “When he's doing that, there's not much you can do to combat it.”

Bradley finished four strikeouts with his splitter, four with his fastball and three with his cutter, another display of what a well-rounded pitcher he has become after 31 starts and a little more than a year in the Majors.

“He's doing some special things for us,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “This is what the best pitchers in the game do, is they find a way to stay consistent at an elite level. I think Taj is pushing the envelope really well towards that.”

Bradley had plenty of run support on Sunday, thanks in part to a big day by Isaac Paredes. In the final game of a relatively cool month -- at least by the standard he’s set -- Paredes finished a single shy of the third cycle in Rays history.

Paredes launched his team-leading 13th home run to left-center field in the second inning off lefty starter Patrick Corbin. Paredes pulling a homer is hardly anything new, but what came next was.

Paredes led off the fourth by smashing a triple off the top of the left-field wall and eventually scored on a Jose Siri sacrifice fly. It was Paredes’ second career triple and his first since June 9, 2021, when he was with the Tigers.

Paredes predicts a triple every time he hits a ball down the line in batting practice, usually prompting good-natured eye rolls from Cash. Now, they might believe him.

“I always tell him and the coaches, 'Hey, that's gonna be a triple. That's gonna be a triple,’” Paredes said through interpreter Manny Navarro. “They never believe me, because it never happened, so that's why I was reacting like I did.”

Paredes doubled to left in the sixth but couldn’t complete the reverse cycle in his final at-bat, instead flying out to center field against Tanner Rainey in the eighth.

“The adrenaline definitely kicked in. I had the fans screaming, and they knew I had one more hit,” he said. “I think I just put a little bit of pressure on myself there, too.”

Led by Bradley’s dominance, the Rays struck out a season-high 16 batters and matched their season-low mark with three hits allowed. Sunday was their third shutout of the year and their first since April 29.

The Rays claimed their fourth straight series win, their longest streak since winning six in a row last August, and secured a second consecutive winning month at 14-12 as they returned to .500 (42-42) for the 17th time this year.

“I think we're playing very well, and I think we need to continue on with that,” said Randy Arozarena, who homered in the seventh, through Navarro. “As long as we stay together and work as a team, I think we'll be OK.”