Athletics striker Zack Gelof he reached his 21-game hitting streak Wednesday against the Pirates. Injuries and poor performance have cut short his time in the majors recently, but Gelof is back in the A’s lineup.
1. Bradish rolls a dozen
Orioles right hand Kyle Bradish He allowed five earned runs in four innings against the Mariners last week. He got his revenge in Wednesday’s rematch, striking out a career-high 12 over 7 2/3 innings in a win over Seattle. Bradish has flashed strong swing and miss skills over the past two seasons. He posted a 32.5% strikeout rate over eight starts in 2024 before requiring UCL surgery. The righty returned for six games last year and struck out opponents at a 37.3% clip. Strikeouts are down in 2026, as Bradish started Wednesday with a 22.6% strikeout rate. More to do with it may be the 12.1% walk rate, which increased after two free passes against the Mariners.
2. Espino makes his debut
Previous high hopes Daniel Espino finally entered the game on Wednesday after being called up last week. The right-hander pitched a perfect sixth inning, striking out two. Espino turned in only 12 pitches in his clean frame, but they were impressive. He sat at 99.8 mph with a 4-seamer. The Brewers threw it four times, and they were all rumors. Espino’s three sliders averaged 91.6 mph. This look was clearly a low-scoring one, with Cleveland trailing by three runs in the middle innings, but Espino may have the stuff to push the odds late.
3. Rodriguez is reaching a career milestone
Diamondbacks left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez he threw seven innings of one-run ball in a win over the Angels last night. The veteran has earned 100 victories in his career. Rodriguez is having a breakout season in his third year in Arizona. He posted a 2.45 ERA in all 15 starts. The expected stats don’t buy a solid start, as Rodriguez has a 4.91 xERA and 4.41 xFIP. His 4.78 SIERA looks very similar to the 5.00-plus ERAs he posted the past two seasons. Rodriguez was motivated by a career-low .256 BABIP and sub-10% HR/FB rate, but he also made a pitch tweak that could explain his improvement. The lefty added an inch of straight break allowed and more arm-side runs to his four-seamer. The fastball has a +6 run value and pairs well with his changeup (+3 Run Value).
Photo courtesy of Steven Bisig, Imagn Images
