The St. Louis Cardinals are in the thick of the National League playoff race. The Cardinals made it clear they were all in on this season when the team upgraded at the trade deadline. Although St. Louis improved the starting rotation and the bullpen, they’ve gone just 10-13 since returning from the All-Star break.
The Cardinals failed to gain ground in the Wild Card standings today as starter Sonny Gray got hit hard by the Cincinnati Reds. Gray gave up five hits and six earned runs in five innings. The Reds hit three home runs off of Gray including back-to-back shots in the third inning. “I just got to find a way to keep the ball in the ballpark. Everything else is fine. I'm just giving up the big homer, it feels like, on a semi-consistent basis,” Gray acknowledged per Bally Sports Midwest on X.
Second baseman Spencer Steer and shortstop Elly De La Cruz homered on consecutive pitches from Gray in the third. While the three-time All-Star didn’t like the result, he didn’t mind the pitch selection. “To be honest with you that was exactly what I was trying to do on both those pitches … I don’t know if it’s something else that I need to look at but …I was fine with both of those pitches,” Gray said via Bally Sports Midwest.
In the fifth inning, Steer got Gray again, sending a three-run bomb to left center and making it a 6-1 game. “The one in the fifth was more of just a challenge type situation I guess. Maybe the wrong pitch to double up there but it is what it is,” Gray said.
The Cardinals’ Sonny Gray is giving up the long ball this season
Steer went 2-3 on the day with the two homers and five RBI. He’s now up to 18 long balls on the year and 74 runs batted in. De La Cruz went 2-4 with a home run and a double. The 22-year-old All-Star has already set franchise records for extra-base hit games and steals before the All-Star break. He’s up to 27 doubles, 21 home runs and 51 RBI in his electric sophomore season.
Gray started the year on the IL with a hamstring injury that delayed his season debut until April 9. Since returning to the team he’s pitched well, posting an 11-6 record with a 3.65 ERA, a 1.066 WHIP and 153 strikeouts in 125.2 innings. Gray has 1.5 WAR in 21 starts for the Cardinals so far this season.
He had nine strikeouts in five innings of work today against the Reds, thanks in part to an effective sweeper. However, the home runs have been a problem for Gray this year. He’s already given up 17 home runs this season, including nine in his last five starts. He allowed a career-high 19 homers in 27 starts in 2017 and again in 2021 over 26 starts.
With the loss today, the Cardinals are 60-59. They’re 7.5 games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central and two games back in the National League Wild Card race.
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