Baltimore Orioles Star Delivered In Series Finale Despite Being Nervous

Despite there being some nerves present, the Baltimore Orioles got an important performance from their young star in his season debut against the New York Yankees.

May 2, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Kyle Bradish (38) / James A. Pittman-USA TODAY Sports

Almost right away, it looked like the AL East division was going to be a battle between the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees.

As defending winners, the Orioles' front office was not content with standing pat this winter. They added a premier arm in Corbin Burnes to give themselves the best chance at repeating and going deeper into the playoffs.

The Yankees were coming off an uncharacteristic season where they finished fourth place and just above .500. Like most big market teams do when that happens, they revamped their roster and imported tons of talent.

It was a collision course between the two current titans of the division when they began a four-game slate on April 29.

Early results went the way of Baltimore as they took the first two games.

With their new ace Burnes taking the mound for Game 3, they had an opportunity to make a statement and win the first series between the two teams.

However, New York grinded out a 2-0 victory where the lone runs came on a two-run homer from Oswaldo Cabrera in the fifth inning against Burnes.

That set up a showdown on Thursday where the Orioles would either come away with a series win, or split the first matchup between the two.

They turned to their returning star pitcher Kyle Bradish making his debut to get the job done, and the 27-year-old stepped up, despite nerves, to deliver an important outing.

He threw 4 2/3 innings, only allowing one run on four hits while striking out five batters.

"It's like he hasn't lost a beat," manager Brandon Hyde said after their 7-2 victory according to Jake Rill of MLB.com.

Being nervous was to be expected as he was making his first appearance of the year in an important game against their division rivals to ensure they would have some separation at the top of the AL East standings.

"That's just anticipation, being a starter," Bradish said about his feelings before taking the mound.

Everyday catcher Adley Rutschman wasn't behind the plate on Thursday as he was slotted into the designated hitter role, so backup James McCann was tasked with catching their 2023 ace.

Count him as another person in addition to their manager who was impressed with what he saw.

"That's the best part about today, was getting him back out there and seeing him look normal. Seeing that he wasn't any different than who he was last year, that's great to see," he said.

Everyone was anticipating the return of the starter who finished fourth in AL Cy Young voting last season, knowing that having him back in the rotation would be a major boost for this team going forward.

Bradish delivered, and hopefully, his elbow concerns that delayed his start are now behind him for the rest of the year.