Taj Bradley keeps delivering for the Twins.
The right-hander turned in another excellent showing, striking out eight against two walks over six innings, as Minnesota beat the Nationals, 11-3, at Nationals Park on Tuesday night. Bradley got off to a bit of an uneven start, but he settled in to deliver his fifth quality start in his last seven outings.
He was supported by production up and down Minnesota's lineup, highlighted by Byron Buxton’s sixth homer in eight games. Every Twins starter had at least one run scored or RBI, and Twins hitters struck out a total of four times on the night.
Buxton, the reigning American League Player of the Week, hit a three-run shot for insurance in the eighth. Remarkably, it was his first hit with a runner in scoring position this year.
Brooks Lee and Trevor Larnach also had big hits for the visitors. Lee doubled in two runs in the second to put the Twins ahead for good, while Larnach capped a four-run fourth inning with a two-run double. Larnach has reached base in a career-high 19 straight games.
That was more than enough for Bradley, who has allowed two or fewer runs in every start but one this season. Coming off a start in which he threw a career-high 114 pitches, Bradley looked none the worse for wear. He averaged 97.0 miles per hour on his four-seam fastball and got 16 swinging strikes out of 44 total swings.