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ST. LOUIS — Midway through the bottom of the third inning, St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray realized he was in a slight predicament.
“There is one out, and I don’t have any clothes on,” he said.
Fresh off a 25-pitch top of the third, Gray strode off the mound, descended the staircase leading into the Cardinals clubhouse and promptly stripped off all of his clothes. From his socks to his belt to his underwear, Gray underwent a complete uniform swap. It’s an idiosyncrasy that dates back several years of his 12-year MLB career. And after a start to his outing Friday night that Gray felt was “slow, maybe a little sluggish,” he felt it was time to change it up — literally.
“Got redressed with new socks, underwear, pants, belt, jersey, hat,” Gray recounted. “Kind of like, ‘You’re a new guy, start over here.’”
The result?
“I came out a different person,” Gray said, beaming.
The Cardinals’ marquee offseason addition shined once again Friday night, twirling seven scoreless innings against the visiting Chicago White Sox en route to a 3-0 victory. He limited opposing hitters to three hits and a walk while striking out six on 94 pitches, and he lowered his ERA to a sparkling 0.89 — the second-lowest starting ERA in baseball. In his five starts for St. Louis this season, Gray has been everything the Cardinals could have asked for.
To put it simply, he’s been their ace.
Sonny Gray’s 2024 ERA: 0.89 ☀️ pic.twitter.com/mLr9FwJti5
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) May 4, 2024
“I couldn’t be more impressed with a pitcher,” said Nolan Arenado, who drilled two doubles and drove in all three of the Cardinals’ runs. “You just feel like he’s going to get out of everything.”
“He’s the real deal,” manager Oli Marmol said. “I can’t say enough about the way he prepares and his ability to execute. Just does a phenomenal job.”
“He’s not f—ing around,” Willson Contreras said with a shrug.
Less than three months into his Cardinals tenure, Gray has set the expectation for what his start days should look like. Three of his five starts have been scoreless outings, and the most earned runs he’s allowed in a start is two. He’s racked up 38 strikeouts over 30 1/3 innings and has walked just five batters while surrendering only one home run. He’s held opponents scoreless in the first four innings of all five of his starts. His six-pitch arsenal — highlighted by arguably the best version of his breaking ball of his career — is one of baseball’s most lethal.
It’s been years since St. Louis boasted a true ace atop its pitching staff. It appears that drought has come to an end.
“I just want to come out being aggressive and let the cards fall as they may,” Gray said. “I just try to come out and fill up the strike zone, set the tone for myself. I’m saying, ‘I’m going to come at you, and we’ll see what happens.”
That mentality is exactly what makes Gray so effective, according to his catcher.
“He’s not afraid to give up contact,” Contreras said. “He’s in the zone from pitch one, and that’s what makes him successful. He’s not afraid of contact, he’s not afraid of giving up home runs or a hard hit. He knows what he’s doing.”
Sonny Gray, Pretty 92mph Front Door Two Seamer. 😍 pic.twitter.com/vyHflyMcld
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 4, 2024
Gray’s remarkable first month has been contagious, not just to the rotation but throughout the clubhouse, as well. Part of that, of course, is based on his lights-out performance. But as he recounted the way his team won Friday night, it’s easy to see why his teammates respond so well to him. Gray was quick to point out the teamwide effort around the diamond before crediting his teammates for his success.
“(Contreras) was doing an incredible job of trying to keep me in rhythm,” Gray said. “I felt like I was getting a little open, and he kept giving me the cues that I needed and was working hard to make an adjustment. After the third inning, I felt significantly better.
“Scoring early is huge,” he added, referring to Arenado’s one-out, two-run double in the bottom of the first. “I thought our defense was incredible tonight, especially our infield defense. … Those things don’t go overshadowed in my eyes.”
Nolan knocks home two!! #STLCards jump ahead early.
Watch on Bally Sports, https://t.co/qndToVtUKF and the Bally Sports app. pic.twitter.com/vKJMzZEfOg
— Bally Sports Midwest (@BallySportsMW) May 4, 2024
One thing is for sure: Gray’s performance surely hasn’t been overshadowed in St. Louis.
After a disappointing first month of the season, in which they finished 14-17, the Cardinals are confident that May will spark a turnaround. Having their top pitcher boast a sub-1.00 ERA entering a new month surely is a step in the right direction.
(Photo: Jeff Curry / USA Today)
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