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ARLINGTON — Cody Bradford shook his head almost immediately. There wasn’t a whole lot of recollecting to do.
How much experience have you had as a late-inning, high-leverage relief pitcher?
“None.” he said.
Well, until this past weekend, at least.
Bradford hasn’t allowed an earned run in two innings for the Rangers since he was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock on Friday; both have been in the ninth or later. He didn’t allow a baserunner in the 10th inning of Saturday’s 9-7 loss to the Minnesota Twins, then pitched a perfect ninth inning — and earned his third win of the season — in Sunday’s 6-5 walk-off win vs. the Twins.
“I wouldn’t lie, I’ll say I was kind of surprised when my name got called,” Bradford said. “But it’s been a blast.”
A blast, too, for a Rangers manager in search of quality relief innings.
“With Cody, he showed pretty early that he doesn’t need to be nurtured,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “This kid has a lot of confidence, a lot of belief in himself. That’s why he was pitching that ninth inning, he’s earned that.”
If anything, Bradford’s been nurtured by fire. He made his major league debut on May 15 in a spot start vs. the first-place Atlanta Braves, then returned to Triple-A Round Rock the next day. He rejoined the Rangers on May 27, made his second-ever MLB start vs. the first-place Baltimore Orioles the next day, then shuffled back to Triple-A a day later. He spent most of June and all of July with the Rangers, made four starts and six relief appearances, then it was back to the minor leagues after the trade deadline.
Before he pitched two-thirds of a scoreless inning against the Detroit Tigers in June, Bradford hadn’t entered a game out of the bullpen since he did so once in his freshman season at Baylor in 2017. But the Rangers — in desperate need of answers and stability in their bullpen — have now turned to the Aledo native for meaningful and decisive innings in the midst of a pennant race.
In 14 and 1/3 relief innings this season, the left-handed pitcher has a 3.52 ERA and a 14-to-0 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
So far, so good.
Even if it’s all surprised him a bit.
“There’s some trust being passed down,” Bradford said. “I take that with the responsibility that I need to go out and do my job. It’s definitely given me confidence to go and do that.”
On Twitter: @McFarland_Shawn
Find more Rangers coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
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