Taj Bradley struggles in debut as Twins are shut out by Chicago White Sox 8-0

The Twins hoped this weekend would provide a glimpse of their future after they promoted pitchers Mick Abel and Taj Bradley.

Unsurprisingly, there will be growing pains.

Bradley, a 24-year-old righthander, gave up seven runs in his first two innings during the Twins’ 8-0 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Sunday at Rate Field. Bradley, who owns a 4.95 ERA across 22 major league starts this season, has given up 33 earned runs over his past 45⅔ innings.

The Twins have lost 10 of their past 13 games. It was the first time the Twins dropped a series, or consecutive games, to the White Sox since May 2023, breaking an eight-series winning streak.

One day after Abel surrendered six runs in three innings, it was Bradley who turned in a disappointing Twins debut.

Bradley, acquired from Tampa Bay in a trade for reliever Griffin Jax, didn’t record an out until his fifth batter. Mike Tauchman and Miguel Vargas opened with back-to-back singles before Kyle Teel ended a seven-pitch at-bat with an RBI single through the right side of the infield.

After an infield single loaded the bases, Edgar Quero lined a two-run single up the middle.

Teel dropped an RBI single down the left-field line on a 96-mph fastball that sat over the middle of the plate. Another run scored when second baseman Luke Keaschall airmailed a throw to first base, attempting to complete an inning-ending double play. Colson Montgomery, the next batter, crushed a 423-foot, two-run homer that sailed to the last row of seats in right field.

Montgomery homered in all three games of the series.

“The first couple of innings, he obviously leaned heavy on his fastball,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, speaking to reporters in Chicago, said about Bradley. “I think he was trying to find his feel for the split, the curveball, his off-speed pitches.”

BOXSCORE: Chicago White Sox 8, Twins 0

MLB standings

Bradley completed five innings Sunday, retiring his final eight batters, but he yielded nine hits and one walk while striking out one of his 24 batters. He struck out more than a batter per inning during his first two big-league seasons, but he has totaled 96 strikeouts in 116⅓ innings this year.

Starting pitchers shouldn’t be judged off one outing, but the reason the Twins traded Jax for Bradley in a one-for-one deal is their internal belief in Bradley’s upside. His fastball reaches 97 mph and regularly draws whiffs. He had an impressive two-month stretch last summer, posting a 0.82 ERA over nine starts in June and July, but he has lacked consistency since that point.

Chicago added a run in the seventh inning after a two-out fielding error from Keaschall extended the inning. Three pitches after the error, Quero lofted an RBI single to center off reliever Pierson Ohl, who allowed three hits in three innings.

White Sox starter Yoendrys Gómez pitched 4⅔ shutout innings, giving up two hits and three walks, but center fielder Luis Robert Jr. was just as responsible for keeping the scoreless start. Robert saved a likely run in the third inning with a diving catch on a shallow fly ball from Trevor Larnach.

In the fifth inning, Robert robbed Austin Martin of an extra-base hit in the left-center gap with another diving catch. After both catches, Gómez raised his right arm in a nod of appreciation.