ARLINGTON, Texas — Even after walking off the mound of Globe Life Field on Saturday and realizing he had struck out the Rangers side in order in the third inning, Cardinals starter Sonny Gray said he didn’t begin to “start chasing” strikeouts.
Gray pitched scoreless innings in the fourth and fifth frames without getting a single strikeout as he mixed in cutters and sinkers while keeping his swing-and-miss sweeper present. The right-hander’s approach continued to quiet the Rangers and was followed by four strikeouts across his final two innings. The effort led Gray to notch his 19th double-digit strikeout game of his career as he kept the Rangers to four hits, no runs, and struck out 10 over seven innings in the Cardinals’ 2-0 win.
“I don’t think it’s something that you can start chasing,” Gray said of the strikeouts. “I think I probably did a good job of that maybe through the fourth, fifth (innings) of I went a couple with not striking anybody out. Where it’s not something that you start chasing. I do think we did a really good job of flipping what we were doing maybe after the fourth or so. We kind of flipped some things around, which maybe got them (to where they weren’t) able to keyhole into one thing.”
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Looking to help his team to a “bounce-back” effort following an 11-1 loss on Friday, Gray matched a season-high in strikeouts and innings to even the Cardinals’ weekend series vs. the Rangers.
An outing that began with two strikeouts in an 18-pitch first inning ended with Gray tallying another two strikeouts in the seventh to reach 1,800 for his career, making him the 10th active player to eclipse the 1,800-strikeout mark.
“You look at yesterday’s game, you try to put it behind you as quickly as possible,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “But responding the way we did today, and Sonny being able to go out there, especially after we gave up so many runs yesterday, and continue to throw up zeros. The sweeper was a big part of it. He used the cutter appropriately. The sinker was good pitch for him. To give us seven with 10 punch outs: solid.”
An RBI on a sacrifice fly from Nolan Arenado and an RBI double from Willson Contreras produced the only runs the Cardinals needed for a win. A hold from Phil Maton and a save from closer Ryan Helsley secured a seventh shutout victory of the season for the Cardinals (33-25), and got them back to a season-high eight games above .500.
“We needed a good bounce-back today after last night, and we all kind of came out and did that,” Gray said.
Of the 10 strikeouts he recorded on 91 pitches, Gray got eight with his sweeper, which he threw 20 times. The sweeper had a 75% whiff rate. Gray’s cutter was also used 20 times and got five swings-and-misses to help him scatter four hits to the Rangers.
The only inning in which Gray worked with multiple runners on base came in the fifth when a line drive from Marcus Semien dropped into left field and advanced Sam Haggerty to second base with two outs. After Haggerty stole third base, Gray induced an inning-ending flyout against Kyle Higashioka on a 3-2 sinker that capped a seven-pitch sequence.
Gray fell into a 2-1 count on Higashioka when he couldn’t get the Rangers catcher to chase on back-to-back sweepers. Gray got a called strike on a sinker to even the count and then offered a slider that Higashioka fouled off. When a 2-2 sinker was called for a ball, Gray offered a third sinker that Higashioka skied to center field for a routine out.
“We just have to show him a different hand,” catcher Pedro Pages said of the reliance on the sinker. “At the end of the day, people know what he (Gray) likes to throw. Obviously, he’s done it for a while, and there are a lot of numbers around that, but giving him a different look of something that’s just moving completely different compared to his four-seam (fastball) or his cutter — it was something we had to attack and stay in the zone there. He was comfortable enough to throw it and that’s what we did and we executed it.”
The scoreless outing improved Gray to 6-1 through 12 starts and lowered his ERA to 3.65 across 69 innings. He’s tallied 76 strikeouts and reached double-digit strikeouts in a game twice this season. Those efforts have come in two of Gray’s previous three outings.
Gray’s scoreless performance was his fourth this season with six or more scoreless innings pitched. It was his third consecutive quality start — all three of which come after he allowed a season-high seven runs in 3 2/3 innings against the Phillies on May 14.
Following his outing in Texas, Gray said he feels he’s made strides in “a good direction” over his recent starts. Saturday’s performance allowed him to “take another step forward.”
“I just feel like, even after my last outing, I felt very good about how I threw the ball and how the ball is coming out of my hand,” Gray said. “… I had a really good plan going into the day. Executed it pretty well. Did some things that I hadn’t been able to do thus far this year. I know I’ve been making strides to that. Worked on it throughout the week in the bullpen and came up with a good visual for me, and executed some things a little bit differently. It was a really good team to do that against.”
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
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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
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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
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