ST. LOUIS — After retiring the first 17 hitters he faced on Sunday, Sonny Gray had to pause for a moment.
The Cardinals’ ace had a 3-1 count on Austin Slater, only the second three-ball count Gray had faced since the first batter of the game.
Gray, like everyone at Busch Stadium, knew what was going on.
“I guess the first time I probably felt it was on the 3-1 count,” Gray said. “I remember just stepping back and continuing the mindset of ‘all right, challenge him. Throw it right down the middle and see what happens.’”
He threw a called strike. Then Slater swung and missed a sweeper for strike three.
Gray was nine outs away from history, nine outs away from something no Cardinals’ pitchers has ever done, throw a perfect game. It’s been 41 years since the last no-hitter in St. Louis, the second of Bob Forsch’s career.
Gray retired the first two batters in the seventh. History was down to seven outs away when Patrick Bailey stepped up and drilled an 0-1 pitch over the wall in right field to end the bid for perfection.
“The thing I’m probably the most proud of in the outing was two outs in the seventh, knowing where you are at, and you give up a homer on an executed pitch, a quality pitch, and then the next batter come back with a first pitch fastball strike,” Gray said. “Staying on the attack, not letting what just happened escalate.”
That batter, Jorge Soler, struck out and after 80 pitches, Gray’s day was done.
“You can’t attack a lineup much more than he did today,” said manager Oli Marmol. “He gave everything he had for seven innings and did his job. It was up to the bullpen from there.”
The bullpen cracked, allowing two runs in the eighth, before the Cardinals finished off the series sweep that moved them to two games above .500, their best record since the end of the 2022 season.
Here is how Sunday’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals gave Gray a lead just three pitches into the bottom of the first on a double by Masyn Winn and single by Alec Burleson, who later scored on a two-out single by Brendan Donovan … Donovan has now driven in a run in six consecutive games … They increased the lead to 4-0 in the second. Pedro Pages had the first of his two singles, and later scored on another single by Burleson … With two outs in the eighth, back-to-back doubles from Dylan Carlson and Brandon Crawford gave the Cardinals a two-run lead going to the ninth … Winn, Paul Goldschmidt and Donovan all struck out three times in the game.
On the mound: Gray struck out Brett Wisely on a 3-2 pitch to begin the game, then had just one more three ball count until the Slater at-bat in the sixth. Gray finished with eight strikeouts, won his ninth game and lowered his ERA to 2.81 … JoJo Romero walked two of the three hitters he faced in the eighth, and both scored after Andrew Kittredge relieved and allowed a double on his first pitch and then gave up a sacrifice fly … Ryan Helsley turned in his first 1-2-3 ninth inning in his last six appearances, striking out two, to earn his 26th save.
Key stat: Gray has not had a complete game since 2017, when he was with the Yankees. This was the third time in his career he has pitched seven or more innings and allowed only one hit, doing that in 2021 with the Reds (seven innings) and in 2015 (eight innings) with Oakland.
Worth noting: The Cardinals tied their season high with four stolen bases – two by Burleson and one each by Pages and Nolan Gorman … Nolan Arenado was not available after irritating a nerve in his left arm on a checked swing on Saturday. Marmol said Arenado received an injection and would be re-evaluated on Monday … Willson Contreras was 1-of-5 while serving as the DH at Memphis on Sunday, the sixth game of his rehab assignment in which he was 3-of-21. He could be activated from the injured list as soon as Monday … After having to be scratched just minutes before his last scheduled start, Kyle Gibson is listed as the Cardinals’ starter for Tuesday.
Looking ahead: Lance Lynn will get the start on Monday night in the opener of a three-game series against the Braves.