DIAMONDBACKS

Archie Bradley returns to D-Backs rotation on Reno roll

Paul Coro
The Republic | azcentral.com
Apr 18, 2016: Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Archie Bradley (25) throws to the San Francisco Giants in the second inning of the MLB baseball game at AT&T Park.

Archie Bradley's first major-league season with the Diamondbacks ended as June started last year.

Bradley should be around the team for all of June this year and can earn a chance at more, starting with Sunday afternoon's return to Chase Field and the Diamondbacks' rotation.

Bradley, 23, has been called up twice this season for spot starts twice – one bad, one decent – but he will get a series of starts this time with starter Rubby De La Rosa out for at least another month for a sprain in his throwing elbow.

“He’s taken a definite step from last year to this year,” Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale said. “Now he’s going to be in there every fifth day for a while.”

Bradley is coming off his best stretch at Triple-A Reno, posting five consecutive quality starts with a 1.58 ERA since a first-inning ejection on April 12. In his last start May 21, Bradley had a career-high eight shutout innings with nine strikeouts and three hits allowed.

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“Yeah, I was (ticked) off I didn't make the team,” Bradley said of starting the season in Reno as he talked after his last win to MiLB.com. “I think anyone in that situation would tell you that. But as mad as I was, I knew it was on me and it was no one else's fault. I needed to go to Triple-A to work on things, and I've done that and will continue to do that. Whether it's here or in A-ball, it doesn't matter to me. I'm just focused on being the best player I can be.”

Bradley regularly has credited former Diamondbacks catcher Tuffy Gosewisch’s plan and direction this season for his success.

Bradley also had success early last season with the Diamondbacks before taking a line drive to the face. Once he returned from the disabled list, he struggled in ensuing starts. He failed to get past the fifth inning in four consecutive outings before he was shut down for the season due to right-shoulder tendinitis.

Bradley, the No. 7 overall pick in 2011, closed last season in the instructional league, working on a simplified windup to improve his command. He also has incorporated a change-up to complement his hard fastball. Opponents have hit .191 against him in Reno this season, where he has gone 5-1.

“He’s continued to do that in Reno, using all of his pitches, and we’re excited to see him (Sunday),” Hale said.

Dominic Leone was sent to Reno to make room for Bradley.

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Myers in the majors

Corey Myers might have seemed like the better bet for a major-league career when the Diamondbacks drafted him fourth overall in the 1999 amateur draft, but it is his older brother, Casey, who got the call-up this year and could be seen in the Chase Field visitor dugout this weekend.

Casey, the former Casa Grande High star and Arizona State standout catcher, was hired as the San Diego Padres’ major-league staff coordinator in January. He left his post as volunteer hitting coach for Auburn softball, where his father, Clint, is head coach and Corey is the pitching coach. Auburn currently is in a NCAA super regionals against Arizona.

Myers played in the minors up to Double-A and had three stints on Single-A coaching staffs before joining his father and brother when Clint left Arizona State for Auburn in 2013.

RELATED: D-Backs make moves: Miller, De La Rosa to DL

Short hops

  • The Padres and Diamondbacks ranked first and second, respectively, in the major leagues for most pitches thrown this season entering Saturday’s game.
  • The Diamondbacks’ next three games have daytime starts – 1:10 p.m. on Sunday and Monday and 12:40 p.m. on Tuesday. They are 5-8 this season in day games.
  • J.J. Putz, a Diamondbacks special assistant to the president and CEO Derrick Hall, played in the Hall of Fame Classic in Cooperstown, N.Y., on Saturday. Putz, who last played for Arizona in 2014, pitched one shutout inning in a game that includes one former player from each major-league team.

Reach Paul Coro atpaul.coro@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-2470. Follow him atwww.twitter.com/paulcoro.