Rays’ Taj Bradley sets sights on Mariners — and nothing else

ST. PETERSBURG — Being 22, pitching in the big leagues for the first time and starting key September games for a contending team is “exciting.”

That much Taj Bradley allowed.

Otherwise, the right-hander, summoned last week to rejoin the Rays’ rotation, said he is trying to treat Friday’s start against Seattle and his future assignments as regular duty.

“I mean, it kind of hasn’t hit me yet,” Bradley said. “I’m just up here trying to hit on everything I learned in Triple-A. And just take it one day at a time. I haven’t really looked too far ahead into September, October, anything like that.”

Bradley was sent to Triple-A on July 31 to work on his changeup — which he said had been “great” and didn’t need much help — and where he threw it, and to get a mental break after six straight tough starts.

He returned Sunday in Cleveland, allowing two runs (one earned) over five innings and getting the finicky Guardians to strike out seven times. But he also walked a pro career-high five batters, which is obviously a target for improvement.

Manager Kevin Cash said there were good signs.

“Just find that consistency,” Cash said. “He had some three-batter stints where it looked really, really in sync. And then he had a couple batters where it got a little out of whack. Something that maybe you would expect from a young guy.

“But it’s all in there. I mean, for him to get the strikeouts that he did against a lineup that does not strike out (much), that speaks to how good stuff is.”

Walls back in Rays’ lineup

Shortstop Taylor Walls returned to the lineup, saying he was “fully recovered” from the groin soreness that kept him out of the Red Sox series. He struck out three times and walked once. “I needed those three days,” Walls said before the 1-0 loss. “Hopefully we can manage it and stay ahead of stuff like that a lot better in the foreseeable future, and stay on the field.”

Walls was sidelined after playing just two games following his return from a month-plus absence due to an oblique strain. He said the key now will be to manage his workload, based on communicating openly how he feels each day and finding a balance in his pregame work to “just try to do the best I can to prepare for the game, but to do as minimal as possible, as far as overdoing it.”

Friday includes Vanilla Ice, other events

Stay updated on Tampa Bay’s sports scene

Subscribe to our free Sports Today newsletter

We’ll send you news and analysis on the Bucs, Lightning, Rays and Florida’s college football teams every day.

Loading...

You’re all signed up!

Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started.

Explore all your options

Friday will feature a free “I Love the 90′s Tour” postgame concert featuring Vanilla Ice, Rob Base, Montell Jordan and Tone Loc. … Outfielder Randy Arozarena will receive his team Heart & Hustle award from the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association prior to the game. … The first pitch will be thrown by Dev Shah, the Largo resident who won the 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee as an eighth-grader. … Austin Majors, a 19-year-old born with a congenital heart defect, will fulfill his dream of meeting Cash and join him for a clubhouse tour and batting practice, then deliver the lineup card to the umpires. Majors, also diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, autism, scoliosis and epilepsy, and blind in one eye, will sign a one-day symbolic contract with the team, all coordinated by the Children’s Dream Fund.

Miscellany

Brandon Lowe extended his career-best on-base streak to 17 games with a first-inning double. ... Josh Lowe was caught stealing in the inning, ending his streak of successful thefts at 22. ... Zack Littell joined James Shields as the only Rays to take a loss when allowing one run over eight or more innings. ... Littell was credited with a strikeout to end the seventh when Mike Ford, in a 3-2 count, was called for a second timeout during his at-bat, which is a pitch clock-related violation. .. Double-A Montgomery third baseman Junior Caminero was named Southern League player of the month, High-A Bowling Green outfielder Shane Sasaki won the South Atlantic League honor.

• • •

Sign up for the Sports Today newsletter to get daily updates on the Bucs, Rays, Lightning and college football across Florida.

Never miss out on the latest with your favorite Tampa Bay sports teams. Follow our coverage on Twitter and Facebook.