It's not much of a nickname, but Ball-In-Play Sonny Gray has been surprisingly effective as a pitching strategy.
But there are risks, too. As the Twins' 4-2 loss to the Guardians demonstrated so vividly on Saturday night.
In an era when pitchers pile up record numbers of strikeouts, Gray has recently emphasized pitch economy and quick outs, aiming for weak contact and low pitch counts rather than tempting batters to chase pitches out of the strike zone.
On Saturday, it worked brilliantly for six innings and an efficient 69 pitches, with Gray limiting the Guardians to one run while striking out only Mike Zunino, twice.
Then came the seventh. With the Twins holding a 2-1 lead against the team with far and away the fewest home runs in the major leagues, Gabriel Arias' leadoff single was no cause for alarm — until Gray's first-pitch curveball to Will Brennan didn't break enough. Brennan caught the hanger with the barrel of his bat, and his 406-foot blast cleared all the seats and landed on the right-field plaza.
Gray hadn't given up a home run in any of his first 11 starts this season, and hadn't surrendered a lead on a homer since Luis Robert's grand slam last July. So it hardly seemed fair that his first one of 2023 would be so damaging.
Perhaps it was inevitable, though. Gray entered his 250th career start with the lowest ERA in the American League this season, yet has not been credited with a win since April. The Twins' oft-absent offense is largely to blame; the Twins have scored more than four runs behind Gray only three times in his dozen starts.
This time, lefthander Logan Allen was responsible for quieting the Twins, at least once Jorge Polanco said hello in the usual way. Polanco, leading off the bottom of the first, turned on a two-strike, down-the-middle fastball from Allen and drove it into the Guardians' bullpen — incredibly, his third home run and fifth extra-base hit in seven career at-bats against Allen.
But Polanco grounded out each of his next two times up, and the Twins never advanced another baserunner as far as second base until the sixth inning, when Christian Vázquez and Donovan Solano each doubled, giving the Twins a 2-1 lead.
With Gray cruising, that appeared to be insurmountable, but Brennan's homer proved that untrue, and back-to-back singles by Steven Kwan and Tyler Freeman ended Gray's day earlier than he'd hoped.
Jovani Moran ended that threat by striking out José Ramirez, and when Moran put two runners on base in the eighth with two outs, Jorge López did the same for him, whiffing Zunino for a third time in the game.
López, however, surrendered a one-out home run to Steven Kwan in the ninth, making the Twins' challenge even bigger. That's because Emmanuel Clase was ready in the Guardians' bullpen, where he annually torments the Twins lineup.
Clase, whose 42 saves led the majors last year yet has somehow blown five of his 23 save chances this season, this time was perfect yet again, getting Max Kepler to ground out to end the game. Clase has faced the Twins 20 times since joining Cleveland, and has yet to give up an earned run to them.
Meanwhile, López gave up his fifth home run over his past five outings. He couldn't make it through the ninth, as Emilio Pagán recorded the final out after the Guardians loaded the bases.
Kwan has two home runs this season, and both have been against the Twins. His other came off Jorge Alcalá to send Cleveland to a 4-3 victory on May 6.
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June 04, 2023 at 09:02AM
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Twins lose to Guardians as Sonny Gray's effectiveness wears off - Star Tribune
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