Orioles Should Consider Shutting Down Kyle Bradish After Latest Lopsided Loss

The Orioles had plenty of reasonable options available handling vital starting pitcher Kyle Bradish, a former Cy Young candidate, coming off consecutive truncated seasons due to Tommy John surgery.

They, of course, being run by baseball failure Mike Elias, chose none of them – despite giving Bradish a $100M contract extension amid another lost season – and they treated this like any other season for him. Overmatched rookie skipper Craig Albernaz repeatedly poo-pooed any talk of innings limits. Or the need for a six-man rotation (despite it seeming obvious to plenty of others), or skipping him for a start or two, despite Bradish not registering even 40 innings pitched in 2024 or 2025.

And it’s playing out in predictable fashion, with Bradish lacking command all season –but especially in the second half – and falling behind batters and walking them en masse as Toronto pounded him in a 7-3 victory at Rogers Centre Saturday. Bradish surrendered lead-off walks in the first and second – with a two-run homer along the way – and then a leadoff homer in the third, yet Albernaz kept him out there laboring.

Bradish ended up surrendering eight hits and two walks and two homers in just three innings of work, needing 56 pitches to pick up nine outs. Bradish picked up his 14th loss, and in his last nine starts (dating to late July) he has allowed 57 hits in 41 2/3 IP, with eight homers and a ghastly rate of 32 strikeouts to 19 walks. That’s a 5.84 ERA and a WHIP of 1.85 and this seems like a good time to call those 155 innings pitched this season a success and find somebody else to help you close out another insipid season in which the Birds are nearly 20 games off the pace in the AL East.

“We talk through everything, and everything is on the table,” Albernaz said of easing off Bradish. “But with KB, he’s such a competitor and he’s been our guy all year, so we feel comfortable giving him the ball every time he pitches.”

A smart organization would call it a season for him. This is anything but a smart organization

What About The Bats?

The Orioles desperately need Pete Alonso to get hot again, but we might already be beyond that from a standing's perspective. He did get on base twice early with walks but they couldn’t turn that into runs and Alonso homered in the seventh to pull them within three runs. Missed chances early left a mark.

The Jays went with an opener and rolled through this lineup until late. The Orioles scored their first run on an error and could have made a game of it in the sixth. It was not to be, story of their season.

They had two on and two outs when Albernaz pinch hit for Colton Cowser with AAA journeyman Rece Hinds getting the at bat instead. Lefty/right or not, tells you what they think of Cowser, and rightfully so, part of the reason Elias fired former farm director and draft supervisor Matt Blood this week, with fifth-overall picks failing and second-overall picks failing. (Really it’s just Elias trying to save himself).

Hinds lined out, the Jays added a run in the bottom of the inning and the Orioles (72-77) will have to try to win this series Sunday or risk falling four behind Toronto for the final Wild Card, and even further potentially behind others. They face the streaking Mets next, in what will be an emotional homecoming for Alonso and perhaps the end of the road for this season.

“Tough day for the offense,” Albernaz conceded. “Have to turn the page quickly for tomorrow.”

Jays starter Dylan Cease awaits Sunday, amid a Cy Young campaign.

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