After delivering his best outing in 10 years, St. Louis Cardinals ace Sonny Gray will aim to continue his strong performance when he takes the mound against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday afternoon.
He’ll be matched up against Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller, who will try to lead Pittsburgh to its sixth straight win — their longest winning streak of the season.
Gray (8-2, 3.36 ERA) was dominant in his last start, tossing a one-hit shutout in a 5-0 road victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Friday. The 35-year-old righty threw just 89 pitches, struck out 11 batters, and allowed only a single hit in the fifth inning after starting with 4 2/3 perfect frames. It marked his first complete game since August 7, 2015, and his first shutout since July 28, 2015.
“I knew I had something going, especially after the perfect start through nearly five innings,” Gray said. “Even when I lost track of where I was in the game, I just kept going. When I came out for the ninth, it felt like any other inning, which was a good feeling.”
Gray has been especially effective against the Pirates this season, posting a 2-0 record with a 0.75 ERA across two starts. In those outings, he gave up just one run in 12 total innings, striking out 12 and walking one. In an April 8 game in Pittsburgh, he allowed only a solo home run to Bryan Reynolds over five innings.
In his career, Gray has a 7-4 record with a 3.66 ERA in 13 starts and one relief appearance versus Pittsburgh.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals’ offense has gone cold, failing to score in the first two games of this series and getting shut out in four of their last seven contests.
On the other side, Keller (2-10, 3.90 ERA), who has been involved in trade rumors lately, will look to capitalize on St. Louis’ struggles. He broke a 15-start winless streak on Friday, earning his first win since March 28 by giving up just one run in 5 1/3 innings during a 9-1 rout of the New York Mets.
The 29-year-old allowed five hits, walked one, and struck out four. That victory kicked off a four-game stretch in which Pittsburgh scored nine or more runs and won each game by at least seven.
Keller has pitched well against the Cardinals this year, holding a 0-1 record with a 2.03 ERA in two outings. On April 9, he blanked St. Louis over 7 1/3 innings, striking out six and walking one.
Despite being limited to one hit over seven innings Tuesday by Andre Pallante, the Pirates scratched across the only run they needed in the eighth, when Henry Davis’ sacrifice fly secured a 1-0 win over the Cardinals.
