Sonny Gray puts his own unique spin on the adage look good, feel good, play good, but that distinctive twist seems to work for the Cardinals ace right-hander. Though it may require some to avert their eyes.
Gray once again set the tone for the entire game with his stellar performance on the mound as the Cardinals shut out the Chicago White Sox, 3-0, to win the opening game of their three-game series in front of an announced 34,010 at Busch Stadium on Friday night.
Gray (4-1) has started both of the Cardinals shutout wins this season. He tossed seven scoreless innings and lowered his earned run average to 0.89 this season. He struck out six, allowed just three hits and one walk. Gray has not allowed a run in the first four innings of his starts this season.
“He’s a real one,†Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said of Gray. “I can’t say enough about the way he prepares and his ability to execute. He just does a phenomenal job. … He knows what he’s good at, but he also knows what the opposition is not good at and he attacks it extremely well.â€
Despite the outcome and final line, Friday night’s outing wasn’t smooth sailing for Gray. In fact he credited catcher Willson Contreras for “coaching†him through the first few innings.
Gray stranded a pair of runners on base in the third inning, and he retired 12 of 13 batters he faced after that inning.
After the “slow†start, the veteran right-hander said he went into the clubhouse between innings to “reset.†When asked what a reset looks like for Gray, who made just his fifth start as a Cardinal, he explained that it entailed more than just words.
“I just came in here after the third, took all my clothes off and got redressed with new cleats, socks, underwear, pants, belt, jersey, hat, and just kind of was like 'Alright you’re a new guy, start over here,'†Gray said. “That’s kind of how I reset it today.â€
The Cardinals (15-17) offense largely came from two hitters, star third baseman Nolan Arenado and the catcher Contreras. Arenado went 2 for 4 with two doubles and drove in all three Cardinals runs, while Contreras went 3 for 3 with a double, a walk and two runs scored.
Arenado’s first-inning, two-run double scored Contreras and Paul Goldschmidt (0 for 3, walk) and gave Gray a two-run lead to protect through the first four innings. Arenado lined a first-pitch slider into the left-center field gap. The 105.4-mph exit velocity made it the hardest ball hit by Arenado so far this season.
Gray allowed just one baserunner in the first two innings. He allowed a one-out double to Andrew Vaughn. Andrew Benintendi, who entered the day batting .423 in 26 career at-bats against Gray, hit a deep fly ball to the right field that Lars Nootbaar caught while up against the wall.
Then in the third inning, the White Sox (6-26) appeared poised to make noise with two outs.
Gray gave up a two-out single to Nicky Lopez followed by a walk by former Cardinal Tommy Pham. While Pham was at the plate, Lopez advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Lopez then stole third on ball four to Pham.
Gray then got an inning-ending lineout from White Sox slugger Eloy Jimenez to Arenado at third base.
“Thankfully Eloy hit that ball at Nolan at third,†Gray said. “He hit a billion miles an hour, so that’s not a guarantee. That was huge because that was the one. I just knew once I got out of that — and I felt like I got away with one to be honest with you — to come out unscathed, then I felt like it’s time for you to make an adjustment and figure it out.â€
Gray allowed just one hit, a Martin Maldonado single, in his final four innings.
Gray has pitched six innings or more in four consecutive starts. He surpassed 1,600 career innings with the second out of the sixth inning on Friday night. He is the first Cardinals pitcher to record an ERA below 1.00 in the first five starts with the franchise since 1910.
Asked what has made Gray so consistent, his catcher Contreras replied bluntly, saying, “Attack the zone. That's the best way to put it. He's not (messing) around."
Left-handed reliever JoJo Romero (one inning) and Ryan Helsley (one inning) didn’t allow anyone to reach base in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, and Helsley logged his 11th save of the season.
Arenado drove in the third run with an RBI double in the fifth after Contreras drew a one-out walk. The Cardinals registered six hits in the game, three from Contreras.Â
“Every win is important,†Contreras said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s April or May. We’re already in May, but we know that as an offense we’re not there yet. I hate to say it, but it’s the truth. If you watch the game, you look at the scoreboard, we have some guys that are not feeling well at the plate.
“But that only thing that comes to my mind — and I’ve already shared it with the group of guys — is battle. I think if you battle that takes some pressure off your shoulders. Try to just win it for the guy behind you and do that until you feel good and feel like yourself at the plate.â€
The Cardinals and White Sox entered the night ranked 27th and 30th out of 30 MLB teams in runs scored per game. The Cardinals average 3.52 runs per game, while the White Sox scored an average of 2.87 runs per game. The White Sox's 22 home runs this season ranked 29th, while the Cardinals ranked last with 21 home runs.
“Offensively, we haven’t felt right,†Arenado said. “And it’s rare to see kind of a whole lineup not feel right, besides maybe Willson. Usually, there’s always somebody picking up the load for the other guys until some other people clean it up, but this is where we’re at. I believe better times are coming. There’s no way that all of us are this bad. It’s just a bad feeling right now.
“Today, I was able to help out. Hopefully, tomorrow the rest of the team will just continue to try pick each other up.â€
However, the White Sox entered the day with the worst record in the majors. The Cardinals now sit two games below .500 with perennial All-Star Arenado sporting an OPS of .707, leadoff hitter Brendan Donovan has an OPS of .655, former MVP Goldschmidt’s OPS is .620 and last year’s team home run leader Nolan Gorman is batting under .200 with an OPS of .591.
“You’ve got to give credit to all our pitchers,†Arenado said. “All our starters, our bullpen, they’re doing great. They’re keeping us in ballgames. We’ve had a chance to win a lot of series this year. There’s a few that we haven’t, but you’ve got to give credit to out pitchers. They’ve done a great job. Hopefully, they can continue to do what we’re doing and we can turn this offense around.â€
Losing a home series to a White Sox team that had just one road win (and just one series win) is not just another loss for the Cardinals
Cardinals third base Nolan Arenado hits a double to drive in two runs in the first inning against the Chicago White Sox at Busch Stadium on Friday, May 3, 2024.Â
Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar crashes into the wall after making a catch in the second inning against the Chicago White Sox at Busch Stadium on Friday, May 3, 2024.Â