La Russa supports Hale’s decision to leave Bradley in Tuesday
Jun 15, 2016, 1:47 PM | Updated: Jun 22, 2016, 6:45 pm
Arizona Diamondbacks' Archie Bradley throws a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday, June 14, 2016, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
In a 7-4 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers Tuesday night, Archie Bradley gave up five runs on four hits in 5.2 innings, however he didn’t give up a hit through four innings until he ran into trouble in the 5th and 6th innings.
Bradley struck out six with only one walk in his four scoreless innings before the Dodgers opened up the flood-gates with three runs in the 5th, followed by two solo home runs in the 6th.
“His stuff was better than those numbers,” D-backs manager Chip Hale said after the game. “It was a really tough one to watch because he had no-hit stuff, he really did tonight.”
Some people have questioned Hale’s decision to leave Bradley in, but D-backs’ chief baseball officer Tony La Russa supported the manager’s pitching decision.
“What Archie is showing us is so much that I absolutely think that Chip did the right thing by sending him out there,” La Russa said on the Doug and Wolf show on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.
Bradley, who is now 2-3 this season with a 5.66 ERA, entered the 5th inning with a lot of confidence, he said.
“I was making the pitches I wanted to,” Bradley said following the game. “It’s just frustrating, you know we get on a roll, win three in a row, you know have really good stuff until the 5th and then just kind of hit a wall.”
La Russa sensed that as well.
“He was a little different in the 5th,” La Russa said. “Bottom line is this guy was a force and he had a bad inning.”
When asked if he would have made a change earlier in the game, La Russa said he would have done the same thing his manager did for Bradley’s long term growth on the team.
“By the time you get to September, by the way, and there’s a one-game difference, the fact that he pitched in June may be the reason that he’s successful in September,” La Russa said. “You’re always looking in the first half of the year to build for the second half.”
Giving up on a guy is something La Russa doesn’t want to do. The CBO cited first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who struggled earlier in the season but has since turned his game around.
“You have to be patient with good sense,” he said.
