Archie Bradley has not been the same pitcher since being struck by a line drive in the face exactly four weeks ago, and he struggled again Tuesday in his third start since returning from the disabled list.
With just-recalled Vidal Nuno pitching well in relief in a 6-4 loss at St. Louis on Tuesday at Busch Stadium, the D-backs might have some choices to make for the next turn through the rotation.
Bradley pitched so well in spring training and in his first three major league starts that he seemed locked in for the long haul. Out-pitching Clayton Kershaw, Madison Bumgarner and Yovani Gallardo can do that for a guy. But he gave up six runs in 3 2/3 innings to the Cardinals, and he has allowed 19 hits, 14 earned runs and eight walks in 10 2/3 innings in his three starts since, all on the road. He has struggled with fastball command and with his secondary pitches.
"He was relying on the fastball early again and was not throwing enough strikes," D-backs manager Chip Hale told FOX Sports Arizona's Todd Walsh afterward. "The good hitters, like they are, ambushed him at times. He just has to get control of those other pitches. You just can't be a thrower in this league. You have to be a pitcher."
Yasmany Tomas gave the D-backs an early 2-0 lead with a two-run double in the first inning while extending his hitting streak to 10 games with the first of his two RBI doubles.
But Bradley gave the lead right back, walking the first two hitters he faced on 3-1 counts before hits by Matt Holliday and Jhonny Peralta gave the Cardinals their first three runs in a four-run first inning, a lead they never lost.
Randal Grichuk homered in the second inning, and Bradley left after giving up a run, with two runners on, in the fourth inning. That run might have been prevented had the D-backs turned a double play on a grounder to second baseman Aaron Hill instead of settling for a force out at second when Hill mishandled the ball.
"It's pretty embarrassing, to be honest," Bradley told Walsh. "Just have to regroup and come to the yard tomorrow and get back to work. Threw some curveballs for strikes, threw some changeups for strikes and got some ground balls with it, but overall I just have to be better. It's very poor right now. I have to figure out what it is and get better."
Bradley suffered a fractured sinus when he was struck in the face by a Carlos Gonzalez line drive in the second inning of an April 28 start against Colorado, but he missed only 17 days before returning to the mound against Philadelphia on May 16, when he gave up four runs and eight base runners while facing 15 batters.
He gave up three runs in the second inning of his next start in Miami on April 21 but settled down after that to keep the D-backs in a game they won, 7-6.
"The injury is past. It's just bad baseball," Bradley told Walsh. "Bad pitching. Bad pitches. Bad sequences. Everything is not good right now, and I know that. I don't feel sorry for myself, and I don't think anyone else should. I just have to get it fixed, and get it fixed quick."
Nuno, who flew in from Des Moines where Triple-A Reno was playing, gave up one hit in 2 1/3 innings while pitching on two days' rest. Nuno went 5 2/3 innings in a start for Reno on May 23, when he gave up five runs and threw 82 pitches. He struck out Matt Carpenter with two on to end the fourth inning Tuesday, and he struck out four more in his last two innings while giving up one hit.
Nuno had a similarly effective outing the last time he was summoned to add a fresh arm to the bullpen on May 11, when he gave up two runs and struck out a career-high eight in 6 2/3 innings of relief against Washington.
"He did a great job again," Hale said.
Nuno was moved out of the competition for a spot in the starting rotation about midway through the exhibition season, but his work in Reno and in two appearances in the majors might cause the D-backs to reconsider.
Nuno was 3-3 with a 3.38 ERA in eight starts at Reno. The D-backs have an off day Thursday, and will need a fifth starter again Monday or Tuesday, depending on how they want to use Wednesday starter Josh Collmenter.
Catcher Tuffy Gosewisch has caught six of Bradley's seven starts this season.
"Just command," Arizona catcher Tuffy Gosewisch told Walsh about Bradley's issue.
"After the first inning, I thought he threw the ball pretty well. Tried to mix in the curve ball was much as we could to get them off the fastball. After the first inning, started throwing more changeups just to give them a different look. We were trying to mix it up and get them off the fastball. Curve ball wasn't for a strike, so we couldn't use that a whole lot."
DID YOU NOTICE?
On his way to the second base side of the field as part of the big shift the D-backs play on left-handed hitting Matt Adams, third baseman Yasmany Tomas got pitcher Archie Bradley's attention and pointed to third base, reminding him to cover the area near third. Adams bunted for a single toward third Monday.
STAT OF THE GAME
10 -- Hitting streak, in games, by Yasmany Tomas, who had two doubles and three RBI on Tuesday. He has eight multiple-hit games during the streak, when he is 20-for-46.
TAKEAWAYS
*Enrique Burgos was placed on the disabled list with right shoulder tendinitis before the game, opening a roster spot for Vidal Nuno. Burgos was removed from Monday's game after facing two batters, when it was apparent to the D-backs that he was not himself. Burgos, promoted from Double-A Mobile on April 29, has made 13 appearances with the D-backs, seven in the last 11 days. He is 0-2 with a 4.61 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 13 2/3 innings, an average of 16.5 strikeouts per nine innings.
*David Hernandez is scheduled to pitch for Double-A Mobile at Knoxville on Wednesday after his scheduled rehab appearance Monday was rained out and the BayBears had an off day Tuesday. Hernandez has not given up a run in three rehab outings, and the D-backs have said they will evaluate his situation after another outing. Hernandez could join the D-backs in Milwaukee, it appears, necessitating another pitching move.
*The D-backs have 11 outfield assists, tied for the most in the NL, after left fielder Ender Inciarte and shortstop Nick Ahmed combined to throw out Matt Holliday attempting to stretch a double to the wall in the seventh inning.
*A.J. Pollock and Nick Ahmed had two hits apiece to continue their hot streaks. Pollock is 14-for-29 since his pinch-hit home run in Miami last Wednesday. Ahmed had a double and a homer and has hit safely in 10 of his last 11 games.
LAST CALL
Jarrod Saltalamacchia is hitting .179 with one homer and five RBI in seven games for Triple-A Reno since signing a minor league contract with the D-backs on May 7. He was 4 for 16 with a homer and five RBI in a four-game series at Omaha that ended Sunday. The homer is his only extra-base hit. Saltalamacchia has caught four games and been used as a DH three times. The Aces are playing a four-game series at Iowa, where the DH is not used in games matching affiliates of NL teams. Reno uses the DH at home against American League affiliates.
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