SEATTLE — Cody Bradford will start Wednesday afternoon against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. He has not won a major league game since Sept. 18, 2024.
That night at Globe Life Field, Bradford held the Toronto Blue Jays scoreless over seven innings on 5 hits with no walks and 6 strikeouts. The Texas Rangers won 2-0 and Bradford improved to 6-3. It was his sixth win of 2024 and the last of his career to date.
Bradford is 0-4 with a 4.45 ERA through six starts this season. Over 30 1/3 innings he has allowed 41 hits and 15 earned runs with 7 walks and 16 strikeouts. Opponents are batting .331 against him.
Fastball command has come up after each of the roughest starts. Bradford’s second outing of the season ended after four innings against the Athletics on Aug. 16 in West Sacramento, with 2 runs on 8 hits.
“Not having great fastball command makes any game a grind,” Bradford said. “I made too many mistakes over the middle of the plate when I really needed to locate something on the outer half or the inner half, and I wasn’t able to make that happen today.”
Cody Bradford’s Return From Internal Brace Surgery
Texas reinstated Bradford from the 60-day injured list on Aug. 5 and started him that day against the San Francisco Giants at Globe Life Field. The outing came 679 days after his previous major league appearance, on Sept. 25, 2024.
He had an internal brace procedure on his left elbow in June 2025 and missed the entire season. Four rehab starts with Triple-A Round Rock and Double-A Frisco preceded the activation, and he allowed 1 run over those 10 innings with 16 strikeouts and 2 walks.
In 2024, Bradford worked 76 1/3 innings across 13 starts and finished with a 3.54 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. He struck out 70 and walked 13.
His most recent start came on Sept. 2 against the Athletics at Globe Life Field. Bradford gave up 3 home runs in four innings, matching the career high he set at the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sept. 11, 2024. The 5 runs were a season high, and the Athletics won 9-2.
“I think fastball command and changeup command were kind of hit and miss today at times,” Bradford explained. “I think the inconsistency, falling behind in counts, putting them in hitters’ counts … they made some good damage swings.”
Cody Bradford Starts Wednesday Between Cal Quantrill And Jacob deGrom
Wednesday’s game begins at 3:10 p.m. CT on Rangers Sports Network. Cal Quantrill starts the series opener Tuesday night at 8:40 p.m. CT, and Jacob deGrom draws Thursday’s finale at 3:10 p.m. CT.
Nathan Eovaldi went back on the 15-day injured list this month with right posterior elbow inflammation. Jack Leiter remains on the 60-day injured list with a right ankle posterior impingement.
Texas opened the road trip at 71-73 with 18 games left, two games behind the Houston Astros in the American League West. The Rangers are 31-41 away from Globe Life Field and 6-17 against AL West opponents on the road.
Texas has won the season series against Seattle 7-3, and six of those wins came at home. The Rangers open a three-game series at the Diamondbacks on Friday.
