Archie Bradley hangs tough to push D-backs past Phillies
Jun 19, 2016, 1:53 PM | Updated: 7:51 pm
Arizona Diamondbacks’ Archie Bradley throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday, June 19, 2016, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)
The Diamondbacks sure know how to get hot on the road.
The result of their third win in a row to start a 10-game road trip also might have brought relief to their youngest starting pitcher.
Archie Bradley shook off recent late-inning woes on Sunday, helping Arizona beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-1 for its sixth victory out of the last eight games.
“Today I told myself, good or bad, I’m going to get on the mound and work pitch to pitch,” he told the Associated Press. “And I did that.”
Bradley closed his six-inning performance having allowed 3 hits and 1 run (0 earned) while striking out 5 and walking 2.
Coming off three straight losses following a 2-0 start to his season, Bradley again started strongly — he threw 27 strikes out of 36 total pitches in his first three innings — but finally was able to survive late unsteadiness.
This time, it didn’t lead to much damage.
The Phillies didn’t record their second hit until the fifth frame, when Cody Asche hit a lead-off single. Following a strikeout of Maikel Franco, Bradley walked Cameron Rupp to force D-backs pitching coach Mike Butcher to visit Bradley on the mound. The pitcher responded by forcing a popout by Freddy Galvis and a groundout by Zach Eflin.
The sixth inning began similarly, but again Bradley would persevere.
A walk to the Phillies’ Andres Blanco and a single by Jimmy Paredes put two on with no outs, and an error by Arizona shortstop Nick Ahmed loaded the bases. Philadelphia’s Tommy Joseph grounded into a double-play, allowing Blanco to score before a flyout ended the frame with Arizona still leading, 2-1.
“I knew I just had to make a quality pitch. I did exactly what I wanted to do, minimize the damage,” Bradley told the AP.
Bradley’s stuff had impressed all season and despite the losses remained strong at the beginnings of his most recent starts.
He went four clean innings last Wednesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers at home but after retiring 13 of the first 14 batters, trouble found the starting right-hander in the fifth. The Dodgers put three runs on Bradley before he was pulled with two outs in the frame, and Los Angeles went on to win 7-4.
A start before that loss, Bradley allowed one run in five frames but hit a wall in the sixth. The Rays plated four runs and chased the Diamondbacks starter with two outs in the sixth.
And a game prior on June 3, Bradley got no run support in a 6-0 loss but held the Cubs scoreless before allowing one earned run in the sixth.
More than two weeks later, things finally fell into place for Bradley to earn a victory.
