The St. Louis Cardinals will look for veteran right-hander Sonny Gray to continue his hot start when they open a four-game road series against the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday.
Gray (4-1, 0.89 ERA) will be opposed by rookie right-hander Tobias Myers (0-2, 6.23 ERA) as Milwaukee returns home for a seven-game homestand. Gray’s ERA through his first five starts with the club is the lowest by a Cardinal pitcher since 1910.
Gray’s only loss this season, however, came against the Brewers on April 21. He allowed two runs on five hits in 6 1/3 innings despite striking out 12 and walking one.
Gray originally was slated to start Wednesday, but the Cardinals were rained out at home in what would have been the series finale against the New York Mets. St. Louis lost to the Mets 7-5 on Tuesday when New York scored six runs in the fifth inning.
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said, according to MLB.com, regarding his upcoming rotation plans, “I’m going to sit down and figure out how we want to look at the next four days and then even beyond the four days from a player standpoint.”
St. Louis has lost four straight, and the Tuesday defeat was especially costly when catcher Willson Contreras sustained a fractured left forearm fracture after being hit on swing by J.D. Martinez. Contreras was placed on the 10-day injured list Wednesday, with catcher Pedro Pages recalled from Triple-A Memphis. Contreras was hitting .280 with a team-high six homers.
The Brewers lost at Kansas City 6-4 on Wednesday, their fourth defeat in their past five games. Milwaukee managed just one run through 5 1/3 innings against Royals starter Brady Singer.
Milwaukee received a boost before the game when outfielder Christian Yelich was activated from the injured list. Yelich, who missed the 23 previous games with a back ailment, was hitting .333 with five homers before his injury. He was hitless in five at-bats as the designated hitter in his return.
Gray tossed seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits, in his latest start, a 3-0 win over the Chicago White Sox on Friday. He has yet to allow a run in the first four innings of any start this season.
“The ERA is one of the reasons, but what he does in wanting everybody to be good is bring those guys alongside of him, he’s really good at all of that,” Marmol said after Gray’s last start.
Gray is 4-4 with a 2.82 ERA in 14 career starts vs. Milwaukee.
Myers lasted just three innings in his most recent start, allowing four runs, three hits, two homers and four walks in a 6-5 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Saturday.
“Command wasn’t that good,” Myers said, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, after that outing. “Nothing really felt great coming out. Adjusted a couple things in my delivery. Definitely something we can work on moving forward.”
Myers, who made his major league debut on April 23 against the Pittsburgh Pirates after eight seasons in the minors, has given up five home runs in 13 innings.
Myers, 25, allowed a leadoff homer in two of his three starts. He will be facing the Cardinals for the first time.
–Field Level Media