Kyle Bradish eases Orioles fans' concerns with utterly dominant start

Baltimore Orioles fans held their collective breath when one of the team's best pitchers, Kyle Bradish, had his most recent start pushed back. Bradish was scheduled to start Thursday's series finale against the Toronto Blue Jays but rookie Cade Povich took the ball instead.

Not only was Bradish's start skipped on Thursday, but he didn't pitch in Friday's series opener against the Tampa Bay Rays either. The reason that Brandon Hyde gave for Bradish's start being pushed back was that the Orioles wanted to rest him, which is fair, but fans weren't going to feel perfectly comfortable with Bradish's health until he took the mound again.

The right-hander missed the beginning of this season due to a UCL sprain. He made his season debut in early May and had only made six starts before having his start pushed back.

Well, Bradish wound up taking the ball on Saturday and it's safe to say he eased the concerns of every Orioles fan in the process.

Kyle Bradish eases concerns with dominant performance for Orioles

Yandy Diaz wound up leading off the game with an infield single. That was the only base runner Bradish would allow all day. He was absolutely dominant, which is really nothing new at this point for Bradish who has become one of the best pitchers in the American League.

Overall, the 27-year-old went six innings, allowing just the one infield single. He did not walk a batter while he struck out nine. He threw 88 pitches, 58 of which were for strikes.

Not only did Bradish look healthy, the number of pitches he threw backed that up, Bradish was able to bounce back from a rough start his last time out to turn in one of the most dominant outings of his career.

The Orioles were wise in giving Bradish, a pitcher still recovering from an injury, a bit of a break in the midst of a long season. Baltimore is a team that has the goal of winning a World Series this season. Making sure Bradish is both healthy and fresh for their October run is the most important thing right now. He proved that thanks to the rest, he is both healthy and fresh right now.