Confident Jon Gray Settling In With Rockies
It looked like more of the same Thursday when Gray started at Fenway Park and gave up a two-run homer in the first to Boston's designated hitter David Ortiz.
The Red Sox had roughed up the Rockies 8-3 and 10-3 in the first two games of the series and had the scent of a sweep when Ortiz connected on a first-pitch fastball gave Boston an early lead. But at that point, Gray altered his approach.
He had planned to throw fastballs early in the count and paid for it right away in the first. Gray then started firing sliders, changeups and curveballs at the Red Sox early in the count and succeeded in tinkering with the timing of the Boston hitters.
"What makes me feel the best about it is being able to make an adjustment on the fly early. That's something I used to not be able to do," Gray said.
He pitched a career-high 7 1/3 innings, gave up five hits and just those two runs on Ortiz's homer and came away with a big win as the Rockies averted a sweep, beat the Red Sox 8-2 and felt better about finishing a tough trip that included stops in St. Louis and Pittsburgh before Boston with a 3-6 record as opposed to 2-7.
Manager Walt Weiss said, "That's big stuff right there. And we needed it. We needed a performance like that. He derailed a runaway train in Boston. That team offensively especially is playing really well.
To reel it back in after giving up the home run early and get us deep into the game as he did, that was good stuff."
Gray will try to help the Rockies finish a seven-game omestand on a positive note. They lost the rubber game of a series with the San Francisco Giants 8-3 on Sunday and now have four games with the lowly Reds, whom Gray will face for the first time in his career.
He's 2-2 this season with a 5.95 ERA in seven starts but has pitched seven or more innings three times and six or more innings in four outings. Gray's numbers were skewed May 19 at St. Louis when he gave up eight hits and nine runs in 3 1/3 innings and took the loss as the Cardinals romped 13-7. But Gray's next start came at Boston where he quickly regrouped after Ortiz's homer and shut down the high-octane Red Sox. The Rockies needed a big game from Gray, and he delivered.
"We've seen a lot of growth from a year ago," Weiss said. "It's never going to be perfect. It's never going to be smooth sailing at all times in this league. He had the hiccup in St. Louis. The thing that I pay attention to is how do you respond to that, and he responded about as well as he could."
Gray can reach 98 mph with his fastball and sit in the 94-96 mph range. He has a wipe-out slider, an effective changeup and a curveball that he just started throwing in spring training and has become a good pitch. In spring training, Gray also worked hard on a streamlined delivery that has far fewere moving parts and that Gray has found very repeatable.
In other words, the 24-year-old Gray, who was the third overall pick in the 2013 draft, has both the stuff and the mechanics to make his mark in the majors.
"The kid's growing up quick right before our eyes," Weiss said. "What a transformation from a year ago in a lot of ways, but probably the biggest factor is his confidence. He's really confident. He knows he belongs (in the big leagues) now. That's always a process for a young player in this league. They got to prove to themselves that they belong. I think Jonny's cleared that hurdle. He's in a good place."
