ST. LOUIS — A leadoff walk, followed by a double, was not the way Sonny Gray wanted his game to start on Wednesday night.
More important than how Gray’s game started, however, was how it finished.
With the first two Pirates perched on second and third, Gray struck out the next three batters to get out of the jam – and then went on to shut don the Pirates and lead the Cardinals to the win at Busch Stadium.
Gray pitched through the seventh inning, allowing only three more hits and no walks, recording nine strikeouts, as he raised his record for the season to 8-4 and snapped his personal two-game losing streak.
Here is how Wednesday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: A night after playing his most-complete game of the year, Nolan Arenado had three hits, including an RBI double and scored a run to lead the Cardinals offense … Ivan Herrera also enjoyed a three-hit night as the Cardinals had 11 hits, 10 of them singles … Brendan Donovan had two hits, drove in a run and also scored a run … Dylan Carlson and Masyn Winn had the other RBIs, both coming in the fourth inning, when the Cardinals had four consecutive singles … The Cardinals did strike out 13 times, including four times by Nolan Gorman.
On the mound: A leadoff double in the fifth led to the Pirates only run off Gray, scoring on a single by Michael A. Taylor … The double by Nick Gonzalez snapped a string of 12 consecutive batters retired by Gray … The other hit Gray allowed was a two-out double by ONeil Cruz in the sixth … Andrew Kittredge gave up a leadoff homer to Henry Davis in the eighth that cut the lead to 4-2, but then retired the next three batters in order … Ryan Helsley pitched around a leadoff single in the ninth to earn his league-leading 22nd save.
Key stat: This was the 47th game out of the Cardinals total of 66 games this season to be decided by three runs or less. The Cubs have had 48 games decided by three runs or less, the most in the major leagues.
Worth noting: Arenado has gone 7-of-12 in his last three games, the first time this season he has had three consecutive multi-hit games. The flurry has raised his average from .248 to .264 … The .248 mark had been the lowest average for Arenado since April 10 … Steven Matz is scheduled to make a third minor-league rehab start, with a pitch target of 50 to 55 pitches, as he works his way back toward the rotation after being out with a back injury. He threw 35 pitches on Tuesday night for Double A Springfield … Reliever Riley O’Brien, who has not pitched since opening day because of a flexor tendon injury, will start a rehab assignment this weekend with Double A Springfield.
Looking ahead: The Cardinals will close out their series with the Pirates with a 1:15 p.m. game on Thursday. Lance Lynn is the scheduled starter.
Follow Rob Rains on Twitter @RobRains
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