Saturday’s Game Report: Cardinals 2, Rangers 0
By Rob Rains
Sonny Gray watched on Friday night as the Rangers piled up 11 runs on 15 hits against the Cardinals, knowing it would be his job to try to shut down that attack on Saturday.
He did exactly that.
Gray allowed just four hits, walked one and struck out 10 and protected an early lead with seven shutout innings as the Cardinals bounced back from an 11-1 loss to get the win in Texas.
Gray improved his record for the season to 6-1. The Cardinals have won each of Gray’s last five starts and six of the last seven. They are 10-2 when Gray starts this season.
Here is how Saturday’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals gave Gray a 1-0 lead in the second inning when they scored without a hit. Willson Contreras drew a lead-off walk, went to second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a groundout and scored on a sacrifice fly from Nolan Arenado … Their second run came in the fourth when Masyn Winn led off the inning with a double and scored on a one-out double by Contreras … They had only three singles the rest of the game, two of which did not get out of the infield, and only had two runners reach second base … The Cardinals were just 1-of-8 with a runner in scoring position.
On the mound: Gray recorded his second game this season with 10 strikeouts, also fanning 10 in six innings on May 19 against Detroit. It was the fourth time in his 12 starts that he has worked at least six innings and did not allow a run. The only jam he faced came in the fifth when the Rangers put runners on first and third with two outs before he got a fly ball to get out of the inning. That was the only Texas runner to get past first base … Phil Maton used a double play to offset a leadoff walk in the eighth and Ryan Helsley worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning with two strikeouts to earn his 13th save.
Key stat: The Cardinals finished May with an 19-8 record, their best May since they were 20-7 in 2013.
Worth noting: The Cardinals made a series of roster moves before the game. Outfielder Jordan Walker was placed on the 10-day injured list because of inflammation in his left wrist and reliever Gordon Graceffo, who allowed four runs on Friday night in a 40-pitch inning, was optioned to Memphis. Reliever Roddery Munoz was recalled to replace Graceffo while outfielder Ryan Vilade was selected from Memphis to replace Walker. Vilade was signed as a minor-league free agent in the off-season and has 20 games of major-league experience with Colorado and Detroit. He was hitting .280 at Memphis with five homers and 31 RBIs in 48 games … Top pitching prospect Quinn Mathews was activated from the injured list and was scheduled to start for Memphis on Saturday night.
Up next: The Cardinals will conclude the series and road trip with an early game on Sunday. Erick Fedde is the scheduled starter for the game, which is set to begin at 12:05 p.m. and be televised by Roku TV.
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