John Romano | Since his brilliant stretch last summer, the Tampa Bay right-hander has a 6.15 ERA in his last 15 starts.
TAMPA — Pitch by pitch, the future was coming into focus. The fastball was humming, and the splitter was tumbling.
Sixteen batters into Thursday night’s game, the Yankees had a handful of singles and a bunch of soft contact. This is what Rays manager Kevin Cash means when he talks of the magnificence of Taj Bradley’s talent.
There are few pitchers who can match Bradley’s high-90s fastball with his repertoire of breaking pitches. When he is in the groove, Bradley makes hitters ponder the fragility of their batting averages.