CHICAGO — Taj Bradley spent the first couple innings of his Twins’ debut trying to find the strike zone, going fastball-heavy as he worked to establish command of all of his pitches. By the time he was doing so consistently, the game was well out of hand.
Seven runs scored in the first two innings of Bradley’s Twins debut, something which was insurmountable on a day in which the Twins’ offense could not push any runs across. The Twins fell 8-0 to the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field, dropping the series to the only team in the American League with a record worse than their own.
“I had a lot of nerves in the first inning, but it was also a little frustration with the weak contact, the singles and then not being able to find the zone early on,” Bradley said. “I think the later I got into the game, I just felt more comfortable and I was able to find the zone.”
The White Sox (47-83) began the game with four straight singles, part of a five-hit inning that ended with them scoring three runs. His second inning wasn’t much better, surrendering four runs, including two on a blast to shortstop Colson Montgomery, who hit a grand slam a day earlier.
But he settled in nicely after that, sending the final 10 batters he faced down in order in what turned into a five-inning start.
“If you’re going to start out not throwing the way you want but then you find it, it gives you something to look towards and to be somewhat pleased about,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “Overall, obviously the beginning of the outing, they plated some runs. … It clearly wasn’t all ideal but it was actually encouraging by the end of the outing.”
The Twins (59-71) acquired Bradley at the trade deadline in a deal for reliever Griffin Jax and while he’s had plenty of major league experience over the past three seasons, the Twins sent him to Triple-A to settle into his new organization before calling him up.
His debut comes a day after that of Mick Abel, another trade deadline and while the results for either might not have gone to plan, the Twins got a good look at two starters whom they expect to be important for them moving forward.
“Both of them settled down really well and ended up throwing pretty good,” catcher Ryan Jeffer said. “They both have electric stuff.”
While the Twins did see some things to like from Bradley, he received no offensive backing behind him. Though the Twins only went down 1-2-3 twice in the game and had runners on base nearly all day, they couldn’t convert on their opportunities. They left nine runners on base and finished the day 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position as they dropped the series finale in Chicago.
“I don’t think it’s possible to go that long with that many base runners in scoring position and out there and not bring any home,” Baldelli said. “We had guys on second base, guys on third base and couldn’t find a way to shoot one through and find some grass and get rolling.”
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