Kyle Bradish exits loss vs. Phillies with elbow discomfort, complicating Orioles’ rotation picture

Kyle Bradish went to Brandon Hyde after the fifth inning Friday and said his elbow was bothering him, the Orioles manager said.

An already perforated Orioles pitching rotation might have taken another hit.

Kyle Bradish went to manager Brandon Hyde after the fifth inning of Friday’s night 5-3 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies and said his elbow was bothering him, the Orioles manager said. The 27-year-old right-hander, who was not available to speak postgame, is being evaluated.

“It’s really tough,” outfielder Austin Hays said. “I’m going to say a lot of prayers tonight. Just get it looked at and kind of go from there. Anytime you know a guy’s battled back from an injury when they have to come out of the game, it’s really tough.”

Bradish missed the first five weeks of the season after suffering a sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow and receiving platelet-rich plasma injections in January. He exited Friday after surrendering two runs on three hits with one walk and four strikeouts. Two of the three hits were solo home runs, the first he’s allowed all season.

“He had his fastball. He was throwing 98-99 [mph] there in the first inning,” Hyde said. “I thought he had great stuff. Unfortunate he had to come out after five.”

Bradish’s 74 pitches Friday tied his season-low, coming May 21 in the Orioles’ loss against the St. Louis Cardinals. Credit that lighter appearance to a rainout. In a 76-pitch outing June 1 against the Tampa Bay Rays, he was yanked after a dreadful 2 2/3 innings.

Friday’s start ended under different circumstances. Bradish showed evident discomfort, at one point shaking his arm after a strikeout. It comes on the heels of the pitcher saying after his most recent start at Tropicana Field that he felt as if he was progressing comfortably with each outing.

When Bradish gave up his first hit of the night, the air occupied by the Orioles faithful twinged. Phillies leadoff hitter Kyle Schwarber turned around a hanging curveball, sending it over the right-center field wall. The out-of-town fans, for a moment, appeared to overtake the ballpark with the Orioles falling into a 1-0 deficit.

Later in the first inning, Bradish struck out Bryce Harper, the 2021 National League Most Valuable Player, on five pitches, all 97.9 mph or faster. The punchout came on a 98.6 mph sinker, the fastest pitch of his major league career.

But Bradish’s fastball velocity dipped 3.1 mph between the first and fifth innings, from an average of 97.7 to 94.6, according to Statcast.

Kyle Bradish, 99mph Two Seamer. pic.twitter.com/OIkdlwaORz

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 14, 2024

He gave up only two other hits. One, a single by Alec Bohm. The other? A second moonshot, this time from No. 9 hitter Rafael Marchán in the fifth inning to the same section that stirred the infiltrating fanbase in the first.

Bradish has been masterful for the Orioles this season, posting a 2.75 ERA in eight starts, and his loss would be another devastating blow to a team with deep playoff aspirations. Baltimore lost a pair of starters (John Means and Tyler Wells) to season-ending elbow injuries earlier this month, while Dean Kremer (triceps) and Danny Coulombe (elbow inflammation) have yet to return from respective injured list stints.

Bradish’s ace-level 2023 campaign finished 12-7 with a 2.83 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP in 30 starts, 18 of which were quality. In 168 2/3 innings, he recorded 168 strikeouts (25% rate). This season, he’s struck out 49 in 34 1/3 innings (34%).

“We’ve been together for a while now,” Hays said. “These are our brothers in here. When you see your brother get hurt, it’s tough. I’ve gone through a lot of injuries in my career. I’ve gone through surgeries, I know everything that comes with that. You just always pray for the best that it’s not going to come down to that.”