ANAHEIM -- Cody Bradford appears to be back.
Making only his second start since September 2024, Bradford was superb Tuesday night at Angel Stadium, tossing seven innings in the Rangers’ 3-2 loss to the Halos.
Manager Skip Schumaker said before the game that Bradford -- whom he called “a large part of our future” -- would be operating on a loose pitch count as he continues to build up after missing all of 2025.
As it turns out, 75 pitches was plenty for the 28-year-old southpaw to work deep into the game. He became the third Rangers pitcher in the pitch-tracking era (since 1988) to complete seven-plus innings on 75 or fewer pitches, joining Andrew Heaney (2024) and Mike Jeffcoat (1989).
“He was fantastic,” Schumaker said. “I thought the changeup played really well off the fastball, landed some curveballs when he needed to. Fastball up and in when he needed to. He was a pitch-maker. You could see him taking notes in between innings and trying to make sure that he’s not repeating the same sequences, and just really, really smart, great gameplanning with [Elias] Díaz and [Austin] Wynns.”
Bradford endured one tough inning that ultimately made all the difference. The Angels tallied three of their hits and all three of their runs in the bottom of the third. After that frame, Bradford faced the minimum through his final four innings, erasing his only other hit with a key double play in the sixth.
Bradford employed a heavy fastball-changeup combo -- 33 fastballs and 27 changeups -- averaging 81.1 mph on his offspeed. He’s not a high-velocity pitcher (89.8 mph max velo), but rather relies on that one-two punch, coupled with elite extension, to keep hitters off-balance.
“I think the way he utilizes his changeup is just super effective,” Schumaker said. “Throws it to lefties and righties, throws it back to back to back. He’ll throw it three, four times in a row. The fastball plays up because the changeup is 80 mph and the separation is real. ... The depth of the changeup, just the tunneling, is really hard to gameplan against.”
After a 679-day break between outings as he recovered from internal brace surgery last June, Bradford returning to the form he teased in 2024 -- posting a 3.54 ERA in 14 games (13 starts) -- is crucial for a Rangers team that just lost Nathan Eovaldi to the injured list.
“Really cool for him,” said Corey Seager. “It’s really cool to do that any time, but when you’re coming off something that long and that strenuous to get back, it’s really exciting to see him succeed.”
Bradford said he felt great physically, but was battling himself on his mechanics as he continues to regain his footing. Still, giving the Rangers seven innings amidst a stretch of 10 games in 10 days should not be overlooked.
“You can take positives. Yeah, I was able to cover some innings and help the guys in the ‘pen after a long game last night,” Bradford said. “Felt like Joc [Pederson] set the momentum in the first inning, and then the third inning just sucked it out.”
Pederson did indeed start the Rangers off with a burst, crushing a home run on the third pitch of the game. It was Pederson’s seventh leadoff homer of the season, third most in the Majors behind only Shohei Ohtani and James Wood.
But aside from Pederson -- who also walked three times -- the rest of the Rangers’ offense struggled against an Angels club that ranks 24th in team ERA (4.49).
The Rangers went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position, scoring their only other run on a pinch-hit single from recently recalled Jarred Kelenic. Otherwise, Texas squandered numerous opportunities with runners on -- including a first-and-third situation with one out for Wyatt Langford and Seager in the fifth.
“I think we’re maybe over-anxious,” said Schumaker. “We had guys multiple times on the ropes either via the walk or big hit, and then they kind of rushed through the at-bat, first couple pitches, for whatever reason. Sometimes we just get off our gameplan a little bit. During the game, we get traffic and then just can’t hit them in.
“I think definitely a frustrating night with Cody giving us exactly what we needed after a long day yesterday with the multiple guys used in the bullpen, and I was hoping that the offense was going to pick us up.”