In his previous home start against an eager opponent, Cardinals starter Sonny Gray appreciated — in the way a poker player appreciates a good bluff — why the Pittsburgh Pirates would try that approach on him, even as he turned it against them.
They bit on his early pitches, and he used that aggressiveness to spin seven innings and allow one earned run to the Bucs.
“Guys are not up there looking to walk,” Gray said later. “They’re looking to swing and looking to swing early because I think for them … (they) don’t want to get to two strikes. So go ahead and swing. Which is fair. Makes sense. I get it.”
He got even more of it Monday.
The major league club that’s most eager to ambush early pitches did so often Labor Day afternoon at Busch Stadium against the Cardinals right-hander. The Athletics’ three home runs off Gray came on the first or second pitch of an at-bat as they trounced the Cardinals 11-3.
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Comedian Nikki Glaser throws out the first pitch before the start of a baseball game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Athletics Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson – AP
On Nikki Glaser Day at the ballpark, the Athletics did the roasting. The Cardinals celebrated the comedian and St. Louis native, who hosted the Golden Globe Awards and stole the show at Comedy Central’s televised roast of Tom Brady, with a bobblehead and a first pitch. The Cardinals then put together a performance easy to skewer.
The defense committed three errors. The lineup struck out a dozen times for the second time in 28 hours. And seven of the 10 hits Gray allowed came on the first or second pitch of an at-bat.
Athletics outfielder JJ Bleday hit two home runs off fellow Vanderbilt alumnus Gray.
Both came on the first pitch.
The Athletics’ JJ Bleday scores past Cardinals catcher Pedro Pages during the eighth inning of a game Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, at Busch Stadium.
Jeff Roberson, Associated Press
“Not just Sonny, but our staff in general — we don’t have a ton of swing-and-miss in the zone, and you’re facing a team that is probably — no, not probably — the most aggressive team as far as swing rate,” manager Oli Marmol said. “A lot of contact happened within the first two pitches of the at-bat. He left pitches over the plate, and they hit them a long way.”
Ivan Herrera planted a solo homer in Big Mac Land to momentarily make a game of it in the fourth inning, but the A’s, currently subleasing in Sacramento, scored eight runs in the final four innings. They pulled away to win the last holiday game at Busch Stadium until at least 2027. No home games are scheduled on holidays in 2026.
The absences of everyday batters Alec Burleson, Brendan Donovan and Nolan Arenado have caught up with the Cardinals, especially when it comes to inconsistent fronts of offense and a consistent breeze of strikeouts. The Cardinals struck out 15 times in their loss Sunday at Cincinnati, and through his first four innings Monday, A’s starter Luis Morales had struck six of the first 14 Cardinals he faced. Morales (3-0) finished with eight in 5 2/3 innings.
The Cardinals struck out in order in the eighth inning and finished Monday with 27 strikeouts in the past two games. Put another way: That’s a full nine innings worth of strikeouts in 18 innings of baseball.
“We’ve got young dudes, man,” Marmol said Sunday.
He elaborated Monday: “You look at the punch-outs over the past two days and they’re through the roof. When you remove Donovan, who doesn’t punch out; Burleson, who doesn’t punch out; and Nado doesn’t punch out, and you replace (them) with guys who do, then you have exactly what happened yesterday. You have what happened today. You have a bunch of guys proving if they belong in the big leagues.
“So you continue to give them opportunity and allow them to do exactly that.”
No team in the majors has ended more at-bats on the first pitch than the Athletics and their city-to-be-named-later. Entering Monday’s game, the Athletics had 735 at-bats end on one pitch, 18 more than the next-closest American League and 81 more than any National League team. On the first pitch of an at-bat, the A’s were batting .363 with a 1.027 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS). Their 267 hits when pouncing on the first pitch are the most in baseball by 22 — and that was before they added seven more Monday.
If they can, teams try that approach against Gray to avoid getting into a two-strike count, where he’s one of the best in the majors — with one of the top finishing pitches in the game. Gray got a first-pitch strike on 29 of the 30 Athletics he faced.
“Usually, that’s a good thing,” Marmol said. “A team like this — they do a nice job of making you pay for it.”
Gray (12-8) gave a succinct explanation for why he was able to exploit the Pirates’ eagerness a week ago and could not do the same against the Athletics.
“You stay out of the middle of the plate,” he said.
A diving catch by rookie Nathan Church in center field kept the A’s from turning two walks from Gray in the first inning into a run. The aggressiveness unfolded from there. Bleday jumped a first-pitch curveball for a two-run homer in the fourth inning. Two pitches later, Zack Gelof followed with a solo homer to push the A’s out to a 3-0 lead. Gelof started the game with a .128 batting average raised it to .173 with three hits, including two for extra bases.
In the sixth, Bleday hit a first-pitch fastball from Gray for a solo homer that traveled an estimated 428 feet. His first homer began and his second homer continued a streak of six consecutive hits against Gray on the first, second or third pitch of an at-bat.
“Stay out of the middle of the plate, and I definitely didn’t do that,” Gray said. “Early in the count, I stayed across the middle of the plate, and then they didn’t miss. Stay out of the middle of the plate. Maybe just too many strikes in the middle of the plate.”
Bleday also reached base in the eighth on a fielding error by Saggese. It was the only error of the Cardinals’ three that contributed directly to a run.
Saggese’s error in the fifth got a runner on base who was left there, and Gray’s errant pickoff throw in the fourth inning proved less of an issue when Bleday hit the home run that would have scored a teammate from any base. Saggese moved to shortstop for the ninth inning and handled a sharp-hop grounder for an out.
In his post-game news conference, Marmol spoke a few times about how a young roster — one currently younger than they planned as a result of multiple injuries — needs a coaching staff that “continues to give opportunity” to grow, to learn, to improve, to ultimately show who to count on in the coming years.
“This is a guy who is going to have to continue to play good defense and take gritty at-bats and be a well-rounded player,” Marmol said. “We need to keep working. That’s all we can do. We need to do everything we can to continue to make progress there.”
He was talking specifically about Saggese.
But the same could apply to most of the current roster.
“We need to get better,” the manager said. “Bottom line.”
Photos: Cardinals drop series opener on Labor Day vs. Athletics
Athletics’ JJ Bleday, right, and Zack Gelof (20) celebrate a victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in a baseball game Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson – AP
Athletics center fielder Lawrence Butler catches a fly ball by St. Louis Cardinals’ Jordan Walker during the ninth inning of a baseball game Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson – AP
Athletics’ Jacob Wilson, left, and Lawrence Butler celebrate after scoring on a two-run double by Tyler Soderstrom during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson – AP
Athletics’ Tyler Soderstrom follows through on a two-run double during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson – AP
The Athletics’ JJ Bleday scores past Cardinals catcher Pedro Pages during the eighth inning of a game Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, at Busch Stadium.
Jeff Roberson, Associated Press
Athletics’ Lawrence Butler stands on first after hitting an RBI single during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson – AP
Athletics’ Tyler Soderstrom watches his RBI single during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson – AP
Athletics’ Brent Rooker follows through on a ground-rule double to score Lawrence Butler during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson – AP
Athletics starting pitcher Luis Morales tosses a ball before as he waits on the mound to be removed during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson – AP
Athletics starting pitcher Luis Morales reacts after giving up an RBI single to St. Louis Cardinals’ Masyn Winn during the sixth inning of a baseball game Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson – AP
Athletics’ Zack Gelof, left, is tagged out by St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn (0) while trying to steal second during the sixth inning of a baseball game Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson – AP
Athletics’ JJ Bleday watches his solo home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson – AP
Athletics’ Darell Hernaiz (2) scores past St. Louis Cardinals catcher Pedro Pages during the sixth inning of a baseball game Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson – AP
Athletics’ JJ Bleday, right, rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run off St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray during the sixth inning of a baseball game Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson – AP
St. Louis Cardinals’ Jordan Walker takes off this helmet after flying out during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Athletics Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson – AP
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray pauses on the mound after giving up a two-run home run to Athletics’ JJ Bleday during the fourth inning of a baseball game Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson – AP
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray tosses a ball in the air during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Athletics Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson – AP
Athletics’ Zack Gelof arrives home after hitting a solo home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson – AP
St. Louis Cardinals’ Ivan Herrera celebrates after hitting a solo home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Athletics Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson – AP
St. Louis Cardinals’ Ivan Herrera, right, rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run off Athletics starting pitcher Luis Morales, left, during the fourth inning of a baseball game Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson – AP
Athletics’ JJ Bleday (33) is congratulated by teammate Darell Hernaiz after hitting a two-run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson – AP
Athletics’ JJ Bleday follows through on a two-run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson – AP
Athletics’ JJ Bleday watches his two-run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson – AP
Athletics starting pitcher Luis Morales throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson – AP
Athletics second baseman Zack Gelof, right, catches a fly ball by St. Louis Cardinals’ Willson Contreras as Athletics first baseman Tyler Soderstrom moves out of the way during the first inning of a baseball game Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson – AP
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Athletics Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson – AP
St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Nathan Church dives and catches a fly ball by Athletics’ Brent Rooker for an out during the first inning of a baseball game Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson – AP
St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Nathan Church dives and catches a fly ball by Athletics’ Brent Rooker for an out during the first inning of a baseball game Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson – AP
Comedian Nikki Glaser prepares to throw out the first pitch before the start of a baseball game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Athletics Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson – AP
Comedian Nikki Glaser throws out the first pitch before the start of a baseball game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Athletics Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson – AP
Comedian Nikki Glaser prepares to throw out the first pitch before the start of a baseball game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Athletics Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson – AP
Comedian Nikki Glaser walks out with St. Louis Cardinals mascot Fredbird to throw out the first pitch before the start of a baseball game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Athletics Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson – AP
Comedian Nikki Glaser reacts after throwing out the first pitch before the start of a baseball game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Athletics Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson – AP
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