Texas pitcher Jon Gray found his rhythm after giving up an early run. He kept throwing strikes and retiring batters smoothly.
Gray pitched into the eighth inning and retired the last 15 batters he faced as the Rangers defeated the Chicago White Sox 3-2 on Tuesday night.
“It’s been a while since I felt that,” Gray said. “I’ve been looking for that for some time. It feels really good, and I think it will only improve from here. I really believe that.”
Gray, who now holds a 5-4 record, struck out five batters and didn’t issue any walks. He threw 63 of his 80 pitches for strikes in his 7 2/3 innings. This outing marked his longest since April 30, coming just four days after he pitched a scoreless inning in relief against Baltimore. He had struggled in two starts in the latter half of June, where he gave up at least eight runs.
“Sometimes a player needs to reset… and maybe just needs a rest,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “It worked out well for him, a bit of a break, just to freshen up the arm a bit. He went out there with a determination that you like to see.”
After Andrew Vaughn’s RBI single with two outs in the third inning, the White Sox did not manage to get another batter on base against Gray.
The last batter he faced was pinch-hitter Tommy Pham, who struck out for the second out of the eighth inning. Shortstop Jonathan Ornelas made a remarkable throw while falling away from first base after a backhanded stop.
“That was amazing. It really surprised me. I thought there was no chance on that one,” Gray said. “It really pumped me up.”
The White Sox (27-76) have now lost nine consecutive games and 15 of their last 18. They are only the 12th team in MLB history to have 76 losses in their first 103 games, and the first since the 1979 Oakland Athletics.
All-Star closer Kirby Yates, who gave up a ninth-inning homer in a non-save situation in the series opener on Monday night, got the final two outs for his 18th save in as many chances. Andrew Benintendi started the ninth with a homer off Josh Sborz.
