The Aledo native and Baylor product said his ‘heart and soul’ are set in starting.
Texas Rangers pitcher Cody Bradford delivers during the third inning against the Kansas City Royals of a spring training game at Surprise Stadium on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, in Surprise, Ariz.And, frankly, it has little to do with his performance. It’s more about the means in which he’s been asked to perform since the 26-year-old left-hander debuted withtwo weeks later.
His career ERA in MLB as a starter is 6.95. As a reliever? 2.82. That doesn’t include the 7 2/3 innings of one-run ball he pitched out of the bullpen in the playoffs. “Yes, I feel comfortable out of the bullpen,” Bradford said in late February when his exact role appeared a bit cloudier. “But my heart and soul is in starting. It’s just something I’ve loved my entire career, the responsibility that comes with it. I just love the dynamic of trying to play chess with guys three times through the lineup. As a cerebral pitcher, I’d love to be a starter.”He’ll be one Saturday in front of what will surely be a sold-out Globe Life Field crowd.
There’s some strategy here, too. Had the Rangers opted to pitch Dunning, a right-hander, on Saturday, it’d leave two lefties — Bradford and Andrew Heaney — to throw against the Tampa Bay Rays starting Monday. The Rays, whom the Rangers swept in last season’s AL Wild Card series, yielded the third-highest OPS vs. left-handed pitching in the AL last season behind only the Rangers and Houston Astros.
, SportsDay HS reporter. Shawn covers preps for SportsDay HS. He joined The Dallas Morning News after covering UConn basketball, football and high school sports for The Hartford Courant. A Boston area native, Shawn graduated from Springfield College in 2018 and previously worked for The Boston Globe and Baseball America.
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