CLEVELAND — Sonny Gray delivered a dominating performance by giving up just one hit and achieving a season-best 11 strikeouts, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a 5-0 victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Friday night. It marked Gray’s first complete game since 2017, a career highlight that helped the Cardinals recover after being shut out in their last two games.
Alec Burleson and Pedro Pagés both homered, while Nolan Arenado drove in two RBIs to support the Cardinals’ offensive revival. This complete-game gem was the seventh of Gray’s 13-year career and added to the 18 complete games pitched in the majors this season. It was also his fourth career shutout, the last of which he pitched in 2015 as a member of the Athletics.
Gray was in top form, throwing 89 pitches, 66 of which were strikes, registering double-digit strikeouts for the third time this season and the 20th time in his career. Pagés and Burleson seized opportunities against Cleveland starter Luis Ortiz (4-9) during the third inning. Pagés broke the Cardinals’ 24-inning scoreless drought by sending an elevated sinker over the left-field wall. Burleson followed with a two-run homer.
The Guardians struggled offensively, facing back-to-back shutouts, as Toronto’s Kevin Gausman had previously held them to just two hits in an eight-inning stint during the Blue Jays’ 6-0 win on Thursday. Cleveland was without third baseman José Ramírez, who was sidelined with a bruised right forearm.
A pivotal moment arrived in the fifth inning when Nolan Jones managed a single to right field for Cleveland, preventing the Guardians from suffering a no-hitter. Since 2021, this would have been the fifth such occurrence for Cleveland.
Significant was Gray’s turnaround from a disappointing June 12 game, where he surrendered six runs in just 4 1/3 innings during a 6-0 loss against Milwaukee. In contrast, Gray has conceded only one run over his last 14 innings across his subsequent outings.
Looking ahead, St. Louis will send right-hander Miles Mikolas (4-5, 4.31 ERA) to the mound against Cleveland’s right-hander Slade Cecconi (3-3, 3.38 ERA) in the next game.