ARLINGTON, Texas — Behind the 19th double-digit strikeout game of starter Sonny Gray’s career and his second such performance this season, the two runs the Cardinals produced were enough to come away with a win vs. the Rangers on Saturday at Globe Life Field.
Limited to one run on Friday, the Cardinals took their first lead off the weekend series in the second inning on a sacrifice fly from Nolan Arenado that plated Willson Contreras. They added to that lead in the fourth inning with a double from Contreras that scored Masyn Winn, who led off the inning with a double of his own vs. Rangers starter Patrick Corbin.
The two runs the Cardinals (33-25) scratched across in a 2-0 win backed what was arguably Gray’s strongest outing of the year.
Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray delivers to the plate against the Texas Rangers on Saturday, May 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.
Ronaldo Bolaños, Associated Press
Gray totaled 10 strikeouts and kept the Rangers to four hits and no runs across seven innings. Gray matched his season highs in strikeouts and innings pitched in the process while walking one batter.
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The right-hander began his afternoon by collecting two strikeouts in his first inning of work. He rattled of four consecutive strikeouts that spanned the second and third innings and collected another two in the seventh to help him reach 1,800 strikeouts for his career.
The seven scoreless innings lowered Gray’s ERA to 3.65 and marked his fourth scoreless outing of six or more innings this season. Entering Saturday, Gray was tied with Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Dodgers, Kansas City’s Kris Bubic, and Detroit’s Tarik Skubal for the third-most most starts of six or more innings and no runs allowed.
A hold from Phil Maton in the eighth inning that was aided by a double play initiated on a ground ball fielded by Arenado and a save from Ryan Helsley completed the Cardinals’ seventh shutout win of the season and first since May 17 in Kansas City. The save was Helsley’s 13th save of the year.
Silencing the Rangers
After Gray needed 18 pitches to get through a scoreless first inning, the right-hander’s ability to land strikes and get swings and misses helped him keep the Rangers offense grounded with efficiency for the rest of the afternoon.
The only batter to reach base against Gray between Corey Seager’s one-out single in the first inning and Jake Burger’s single in the fifth was Alejandro Osuna, who walked on four pitches in the second frame but was thrown out trying to steal second base by catcher Pedro Pages.
Gray ended his second inning with a strikeout of Sam Haggerty and followed that by striking out the three batters he faced in the third inning on 12 pitches. Two of Gray’s three strikeouts in the third inning ended with whiffs on his sweeper.
Gray needed 11 pitches to get through the fourth frame during which he induced two groundouts and ended the frame with a flyout of Josh Jung.
Getting out of the fifth
When he had runners reach first and third base with two outs in the fifth inning as the control on his sweeper momentarily slipped away, Gray’s use of his sinker helped him keep Texas searching for a run.
In a 2-1 count to Kyle Higashioka, Gray got a sinker to land for a called strike and had another sinker fouled off by Higashioka. After a third sinker missed away to the right-handed hitting catcher, Gray offered a 93.1 mph sinker over the middle of the plate that Higashioka skied to center field for a routine fly out hauled in by Victor Scott II.
Gray retired six of the last seven batters he faced before Maton entered from the bullpen.
The sharp afternoon from the 35-year-old righty was bookended by a strikeout of Burger, who whiffed on a sweeper, a groundout against Haggerty that kept Osuna stranded on first base following his one-out single.
Contreras’s contributions
As the first Cardinal to reach base on Saturday, Contreras represented his team’s first run and drove in their second.
Contreras began his afternoon with a walk to leadoff the second inning in a seven-pitch sequence vs. Corbin. During his at-bat against Corbin, Contreras hooked the fifth pitch he saw, a 2-2 sinker, down the left field line and into the seats located to the left of the foul pole. Although Contreras went into a home run trot, the ball was ruled foul. A replay review upheld it.
Once on first base, Contreras advanced to second base on a wild pitch during Ivan Herrera’s at-bat. When Herrera’s ground ball to shortstop Josh Smith pulled third baseman Jung away from the third base bag, Contreras’ jump on contact allowed him to advance 90 feet for Arenado, who swatted the second pitch he saw from Corbin for a fly ball deep enough to score Contreras.
When he stepped to the plate with Winn standing on third base following his double and Brendan Donovan’s ground out to first base, Contreras pulled a 1-0 slider down to the left field corner for a ground-rule double.
Contreras’s double was his first extra-base hit since May 16, when he went 2 for 5 with two doubles against the Royals. Contreras went 5 or 35 in nine games since his two-double performance in Kansas City.
Photos: Cardinals hold off Rangers in second game of series
Cardinals Rangers Baseball
Texas Rangers’ Corey Seager swings at a pitch during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Saturday, May 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.
Ronaldo Bolaños – FR172218 AP
Cardinals Rangers Baseball
St. Louis Cardinals’ Masyn Winn is greeted in the dugout after scoring during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Saturday, May 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.
Ronaldo Bolaños – FR172218 AP
Cardinals Rangers Baseball
St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn throws toward first base during the first inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Saturday, May 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.
Ronaldo Bolaños – FR172218 AP
Cardinals Rangers Baseball
St. Louis Cardinals’ Nolan Arenado takes off his batting gloves during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Saturday, May 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.
Ronaldo Bolaños – FR172218 AP
Cardinals Rangers Baseball
Texas Rangers starting pitcher Patrick Corbin throws during the third inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Saturday, May 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.
Ronaldo Bolaños – FR172218 AP
Cardinals Rangers Baseball
Texas Rangers starting pitcher Patrick Corbin throws during the third inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Saturday, May 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.
Ronaldo Bolaños – FR172218 AP
Cardinals Rangers Baseball
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Saturday, May 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.
Ronaldo Bolaños – FR172218 AP
Cardinals Rangers Baseball
St. Louis Cardinals’ Brendan Donovan swings at a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Saturday, May 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.
Ronaldo Bolaños – FR172218 AP
Cardinals Rangers Baseball
Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray delivers to the plate against the Texas Rangers on Saturday, May 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.
Ronaldo Bolaños, Associated Press
Cardinals Rangers Baseball
Texas Rangers second basemen Marcus Semien jogs back to the dugout during the eight inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Saturday, May 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.
Ronaldo Bolaños – FR172218 AP
Cardinals Rangers Baseball
St. Louis Cardinals first base Willson Contreras looks towards the stands during the eigth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers Saturday, May 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.
Ronaldo Bolaños – FR172218 AP
Cardinals Rangers Baseball
St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Ryan Helsley and catcher Pedro Pagés celebrate after a baseball game against the Texas Rangers Saturday, May 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.
Ronaldo Bolaños – FR172218 AP
Cardinals Rangers Baseball
Texas Rangers’ Alejandro Osuna runs to first base after hitting a single during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Saturday, May 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.
Ronaldo Bolaños – FR172218 AP
Cardinals Rangers Baseball
St. Louis Cardinals’ Masyn Winn runs to first base during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Saturday, May 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.
Ronaldo Bolaños – FR172218 AP
Cardinals Rangers Baseball
Texas Rangers’ Alejandro Osuna lungs back to first base during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Saturday, May 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.
Ronaldo Bolaños – FR172218 AP
Cardinals Rangers Baseball
Texas Rangers’ Josh Jung looks up at a video display as making his way back to the dugout during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Saturday, May 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.
Ronaldo Bolaños – FR172218 AP
Cardinals Rangers Baseball
Texas Rangers pitcher Cole Winn throws a pitch during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Saturday, May 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.
Ronaldo Bolaños – FR172218 AP
Cardinals Rangers Baseball
Texas Rangers starting pitcher Patrick Corbin, right, walks back to the dugout after being taken out during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Saturday, May 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.
Ronaldo Bolaños – FR172218 AP
Cardinals Rangers Baseball
Texas Rangers pitcher Jacob Webb throws during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Saturday, May 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.
Ronaldo Bolaños – FR172218 AP
Cardinals Rangers Baseball
Texas Rangers pitcher Jacob Webb throws during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Saturday, May 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.
Ronaldo Bolaños – FR172218 AP
Cardinals Rangers Baseball
St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Ryan Helsley throws during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Saturday, May 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.
Ronaldo Bolaños – FR172218 AP
Cardinals Rangers Baseball
St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Victor Scott II jogs back to the dug out during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers Saturday, May 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.
Ronaldo Bolaños – FR172218 AP
Cardinals Rangers Baseball
St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Ryan Helsley throws during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Saturday, May 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.
Ronaldo Bolaños – FR172218 AP
St. Louis AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
Nootbaar lf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .248
M.Winn ss 4 1 2 0 0 0 .276
Donovan 2b 3 0 0 0 1 0 .329
Contreras 1b 3 1 1 1 1 0 .241
Herrera dh 3 0 0 0 1 1 .333
Arenado 3b 3 0 0 1 0 0 .233
Burleson rf 4 0 1 0 0 1 .278
Barrero pr-rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167
Pagés c 3 0 1 0 1 1 .213
Scott cf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .259
Texas AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
Smith ss 4 0 0 0 0 2 .259
Seager dh 4 0 1 0 0 1 .286
Langford cf 4 0 0 0 0 2 .235
Osuna lf 2 0 1 0 1 0 .333
Burger 1b 3 0 1 0 0 1 .210
Haggerty rf 3 0 0 0 0 1 .241
Semien 2b 2 0 1 0 1 1 .193
Higashioka c 3 0 0 0 0 1 .233
St. Louis 010 100 000 — 2 5 0
Texas 000 000 000 — 0 4 0
LOB: St. Louis 7, Texas 4. 2B: M.Winn (9), Contreras (10). RBIs: Arenado (27), Contreras (30). SB: Haggerty (4). CS: Osuna (2). SF: Arenado. DP: St. Louis 1.
St. Louis IP H R ER BB SO ERA
Gray, W, 6-1 7 4 0 0 1 10 3.65
Helsley, S, 13-15 1 0 0 0 0 2 3.00
Texas IP H R ER BB SO ERA
Corbin, L, 3-4 51/3 3 2 2 2 3 3.71
C.Winn 12/3 0 0 0 1 2 0.00
Inherited runners-scored: C.Winn 1-0. WP: Corbin. T: 2:26. Att.: 29,062.
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