Bradley strikes out 10, but can’t get support in D-backs loss

A day after Zack Greinke struck out 11 and shut out the Houston Astros, Archie Bradley fanned 10 and put up another outstanding start for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

But no one else was able to give Bradley any support in the D-backs 6-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs Friday.

Bradley pitched six innings and gave up one run on four hits, taking the loss in his best start of the season.

“(It’s) definitely something to build on,” Bradley said after the game. “I mean, it’s a team game. We didn’t get the win and that’s really what matters; another loss. But personally I’m making improvements. Getting stronger as the game goes on. [Welington Castillo] called a great game today. Just a tough luck loss.”

Part of that tough luck was on the first run of the day, which Bradley called his “one mistake.” Bradley hung a curve ball over the plate in the sixth frame, which Anthony Rizzo belted to deep center. Chris Owings was on its track, but then stumbled, allowing the ball to fall and Jason Heyward to score.

That was just the first of many defensive miscues in the game, which manager Chip Hale said shouldn’t be happening to this team.

“We shouldn’t be throwing the ball over the field like that, and missing fly balls,” Hale said. “That’s pretty embarrassing. We work so hard on our defense and we pay attention to it and detail it. It’s just not the way it should be played.”

Although the poor defense ultimately led to a loss, it wasn’t enough to overshadow the promising outing by Bradley

His 10-strikeout performance combined with Greinke’s 11 K night marked the first string of double-digit strikeout games by Diamondbacks since Randy Johnson, Brandon Webb and Curt Schilling did so on Aug. 30-Sep. 1, 2003.

“His velocity was good,” Hale said after the game. “He was moving the ball in and out. His breaking ball was very, very good; kept them off balance. He got in on some lefties and moved the ball around. Like I said, this was a team that’s been really swinging the bat. So, I’m really impressed and this was a big step for him.”

Bradley took his first loss of the season, and now sits at 2-1. But only giving up one run against the third highest scoring team in the MLB, and a team that sits now at 38-15, dropped his ERA from 6.11 to 4.94.

“Archie was fantastic, just a great game,” Hale said. “Got that last out to keep it 1-0. Just can’t say enough great things about a great hitting team, obviously. This team’s been rolling and he was able to shut them down, so that was very impressive.”