Boston Red Sox pitcher Sonny Gray had an epic quote for manager Alex Cora in between innings of Wednesday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers. MassLive’s Chris Smith reported this on Wednesday afternoon.
Gray had a great start against the Brewers, pitching 6.1 innings, and giving up three hits, no earned runs, walking two batters, and striking out two batters. He did it on 90 pitches, 53 of which were strikes.
With his performance, he was able to pick up his second win of the season. He was in control for most of the game, retiring 10 consecutive batters at one point. He showed tremendous command of the strike zone before being relieved in the seventh inning to a standing ovation.
Upon being relieved, he made it clear that he had more left in the tank.
“I just said that I have another zero in me if you need it,” Gray recalled. “I didn’t know where our bullpen really stood or where we were at. I just said, ‘I have another zero if you need it.’ And he said, ‘Are you sure?’ And I said, ‘Yes.’”
This was a big victory for the Red Sox. It marked their second win in a row, and their first series win of the season. He also lowered his ERA in the process to 2.76.
Gray Has Been Key Piece For Red Sox
Gray has been a bright spot in what has been a difficult season for the Red Sox so far. He did struggle at the beginning of the year. He allowed three earned runs and six hits over four innings against the Cincinnati Reds. He threw several pitches in the first inning, but settled down after three frames.
His next start against the San Diego Padres went much better. He pitched six innings, allowing only two runs and four hits with no walks. The veteran was able to stop the bleeding in the process, as the Red Sox were 1-5 by that point.
There is a certain trend here that is happening as well, and it’s a positive one. He threw 35 pitches in the first inning in his season debut. Since then, he has thrown under 90 pitches in each of his wins. He has shown an ability to eat innings. This is important for a bullpen that has been heavily utilized over the last couple of games.
Wednesday’s win also continued another solid trend for him. He improved to 50-35 with a 3.26 ERA in 148 career day games. This also equates to 124 starts. In addition, his pitch mix was impressive as well. As Smith noted, he recorded seven swings and misses, including two with his cutter, curveball, and sweeper. He was also able to utilize his four-seam fastball.
Gray Has Been Steadfast For Red Sox
Gray has been able to fully embrace his role as a veteran pitcher. He has also become more than just a solid veteran pitcher, but also a dependable No. 2 starter. His emergence early has at least given some stability to the Red Sox pitching rotation. The veteran has been able to get things back on track and has served as a stopgap to ending the team’s struggles at certain stretches.
It will be interesting to see if he can keep this up throughout the rest of the season. However, he has shown an ability to be an effective pitcher and a player that the Red Sox can count on to this point.
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