Athletics infielder Zack Gelof pushed his hitting streak to 21 games with a solo homer on Wednesday against the Pirates. Injuries and poor performance have limited his time in the majors recently, but Gelof is back to being a fixture in the A’s lineup.
1. Bradish punches out a dozen
Orioles right-hander Kyle Bradish was knocked around for five earned runs over four innings against the Mariners last week. He got his revenge in a rematch on Wednesday, striking out a career-high 12 over 7 2/3 innings in a win over Seattle. Bradish has flashed strong swing-and-miss skills the past two seasons. He posted a 32.5% strikeout rate over eight starts in 2024 before needing UCL surgery. The righty came back for six outings last year and punched out opponents at a 37.3% clip. The strikeouts have been down in 2026, as Bradish came into Wednesday’s start with a 22.6% strikeout rate. More concerning might be the 12.1% walk rate, which went up after two free passes against the Mariners.
2. Espino makes his debut
Former top pitching prospect Daniel Espino finally got into a game on Wednesday after being called up last week. The right-hander fired a perfect sixth inning, striking out two. Espino only tossed 12 pitches in his clean frame, but they were impressive. He sat at 99.8 mph with the four-seamer. The Brewers swung at it four times, and all were whiffs. Espino’s three sliders averaged 91.6 mph. This appearance was clearly a low-leverage spot, with Cleveland trailing by three runs in the middle innings, but Espino might have the stuff to push for late-inning opportunities.
3. Rodriguez reaches career milestone
Diamondbacks left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez tossed seven innings of one-run ball in a win over the Angels last night. The veteran earned the 100th victory of his career. Rodriguez is having a resurgent season in his third year in Arizona. He’s posted a 2.45 ERA across 15 starts. The expected stats don’t buy the strong start, as Rodriguez has a 4.91 xERA and a 4.41 xFIP. His 4.78 SIERA looks a lot like the ERAs over 5.00 he’s put up the past two seasons. Rodriguez has been buoyed by a career-low .256 BABIP and a sub-10% HR/FB rate, but he’s also made a pitch tweak that could explain his improvement. The lefty has added an inch of induced vertical break and a bit more arm-side run to his four-seamer. The fastball has a +6 Run Value and has paired well with his changeup (+3 Run Value).
Photo courtesy of Steven Bisig, Imagn Images
