Bradish tosses seven hitless innings, leads O’s to 4-1 win over White Sox, completes sweep

Adley Rutschman and Colton Cowser provided the power while Bradish and the Orioles’ pitching staff shut down the ChiSox.

Kyle Bradish threw seven no-hit innings to lead the Orioles to a 4-1 sweep-clinching win over the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on Sunday afternoon.

This was a case where the hour-and-40-minute rain delay was more than worth it. With Bradish and Garrett Crochet on the mound it promised to be a tantalizing pitching duel, but we got even more than we bargained for.

Let’s get the pleasantries out of the way. The White Sox starter, Crochet, was terrific. He had come into this game on an impressive scoreless inning streak that would be extended here. For much of the afternoon, the Orioles offense was stymied. Crochet averaged nearly 97 mph on his four-seam fastball, often blowing it past the opposing hitters. But that was nothing compared to his cutter, which got a 41% whiff rate. He just happened to run into a pitcher on the other side that was at the top of his game.

The only runs scored by the Orioles against Crochet came on one swing of Adley Rutschman’s bat in the sixth inning. The O’s catcher absolutely smoked a Crochet fastball into the left field bleachers. It was two-run shot that also scored Jordan Westburg, who had singled mere moments before. As good as Crochet had been, even he was not immune to the third time through the order penalty. The lefty finished the frame, but was lifted heading into the seventh. His 11-strikeout performance will simply be a footnote to Bradish’s brilliance.

Bradish, interestingly, did not feature his absolutely filthiest “stuff” in this game. The velocity on both his sinker and slider were slightly below his average. But the results were unimpeachable. He got plenty of swings-and-miss on each of his top two offerings. What didn’t seem to be working was his curveball. That is the one pitch that was not fooling the Chicago hitters. So, Bradish wisely abandoned it as the game went on and stuck with what was effective.

Something else that Bradish wasn’t doing was pounding the strike zone. He issued four walks, unsurprising given his subpar 61% strike rate. It was the most base on balls in a Bradish start since August 6, when he walked five Mets in a 2-0 O’s win on that day.

But to focus on that would really be picking nits. Bradish was phenomenal. He tied a career high with 11 strikeouts, tied for the longest start by an Orioles pitcher this season, and he exceeded 100 pitches for the first time this season. That probably wasn’t Brandon Hyde’s plan coming into the day, but things change when your starter is flirting with history in that way. The Orioles managed it the best they really could for a pitcher that they know has a tear in his elbow.

Bradish was rarely in trouble despite the slightly elevated number of walks. He erased a Gunnar Henderson error in the third inning by picking the runner off. Then in the fourth he nullified a lead-off walk by inducing a double play on the following at-bat. Other than that, it really was smooth sailing, understandable since he, ya know, didn’t give up any hits in his seven innings of work.

After Colton Cowser smacked an insurance solo homer to begin the eighth inning, Hyde then turned to the bullpen for the first time. It was Danny Coulombe that trotted in from the bullpen. It took him just five pitches to cough up the no-hitter and the shutout in one fell swoop. It was a fellow Danny, Danny Mendick, who ended the White Sox misery with a one-run bomb to left field. That made it a 3-1 Orioles advantage.

Coulombe rebounded to retire the next two hitters, and then Yennier Cano was brought on to wrap up the inning.

The O’s clawed that one run back in their half of the ninth inning. Anthony Santander led off the inning with a walk. Pinch runner Cedric Mullins came on, swiped second and sprinted to third on a poor throw down. After a Jorge Mateo walk (and subsequent stolen base), James McCann cashed in on Mullins’ baserunning by driving him in on a sac fly to right field.

In came Craig Kimbrel, who now seems fully entrenched in the closer’s role once again. He got the job done, tossing a perfect inning, including a strikeout, to earn his 12th save of the season.

Bradish is the story here, of course. Although it didn’t feel like the absolute best start of his career (that game against the Astros in late 2022 stands out to me), it will certainly rank up there. He may not technically be the ace of the staff, but he certainly pitches like he is.

The 16 strikeouts by the offense doesn’t feel great, but Crochet is great, and he got 11 of them. If you beat a pitcher like that you take it however you can get it.

It’s back to Baltimore for the Orioles tonight. They are scheduled to begin a series with the Red Sox on Monday at Camden Yards, but Mother Nature may have different plans. The weather looks dicey for much of Memorial Day in the area, but if there is a break the O’s will send Cole Irvin (4-2, 3.15 ERA) to the bump for a start against Cooper Crisswell (2-1, 2.86 ERA). First pitch is set for 1:05.