Sonny Gray strikes out 10 in the Cardinals' 2-0 victory over the the Rangers
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Sonny Gray struck out 10 while allowing only four singles over seven innings and Willson Contreras had a part in both St. Louis runs as the Cardinals beat the Texas Rangers 2-0 on Saturday.
Gray's 19th game with double-digit strikeouts made the 35-year-old right-hander in his 13th big league season the 10th active pitcher with 1,800 career strikeouts. Gray (6-1) threw 64 of 91 pitches for strikes and had only one walk.
Ryan Helsley worked the ninth for his 13th save in 15 chances to wrap up the Cardinals' seventh shutout of the season. Phil Maton pitched the eighth.
The Cardinals went ahead to stay by manufacturing a run without a hit after the second inning nearly started with a home run.
Contreras led off with a towering flyball near the left-field pole that prompted a crew chief review to determine it was foul as initially called. He then walked, advanced on a wild pitch by Patrick Corbin (3-4), got to third on a groundout and scored on Nolan Arenado's sacrifice fly.
Maysn Winn led of the Cardinals fourth with a double and went home on a ground-rule double by Contreras, a ball that hit just fair down the left-field line and bounced into the seats.
Corbin allowed two runs on three hits and two walks over 5 1/3 innings.
Texas, after an 11-1 win Friday night, was shut out for the eighth time.
Key moment
Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan's nifty play in the ninth inning to throw out speedy No. 3 hitter Wyatt Langford for the second out around two strikeouts by Helsley.
Key stat
The Cardinals finished with a 19-8 record in May, their best record in that month since 20-7 in 2013, their last World Series season.
Up next
Jacob deGrom (4-2, 2.42 ERA), who has allowed two runs over fewer in each of his last eight starts, pitches the series finale for Texas on Sunday. Eric Fedde (3-4) goes for the Cardinals.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
34 minutes ago
- CBS News
Denver police arrest suspects in stabbing, attempted robbery investigation
Denver police arrested two suspects in connection with a stabbing that left one person hospitalized. Authorities said the stabbing took place in the 800 block of S. Broadway Street Thursday night. One person was taken to the hospital for treatment, but the extent of their injuries has not been released. Police arrested the suspects, Nathaniel Mares and Daniel Martinez, who are being held for investigation. Authorities said Mares is facing a charge of aggravated robbery. Martinez is facing charges of first-degree attempted murder, aggravated robbery, first-degree assault with a deadly weapon and obstructing a peace officer.
The Verge
38 minutes ago
- The Verge
Posted Jun 5, 2025 at 12:55 PM EDT
Are we watching a public breakup? Yesterday I wrote about Elon Musk's fall from power. Today he is beefing with the president on X, instead of picking up his phone to make a call. Hm! False, this bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it! — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 5, 2025
CBS News
39 minutes ago
- CBS News
Mac Jones embraces fresh start with 49ers after getting passed over in 2021 NFL Draft
Mac Jones is happy finally to be with coach Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers even if it came four years after many expected. Jones was linked to San Francisco leading into the 2021 draft but was passed over and ended up in New England. Now after an up and down first four years in the NFL, Jones is trying to revive his career as a backup to Brock Purdy in Shanahan's offense. "Obviously the world works in mysterious ways," Jones said Wednesday. "I'm glad to be back here and learning from a great group of guys, and that's players and coaches. You go where you go in the draft, right? You don't get a lot of choice over that, but I'm definitely excited to be here now." Jones and San Francisco were closely linked leading up to the 2021 draft after the Niners traded three first-round picks to get the No. 3 overall selection. Shanahan was looking to draft a franchise quarterback and was debating between Jones and Trey Lance before San Francisco finally opted for Lance. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Mac Jones (10) throws the ball during San Francisco 49ers OTA on June 4, 2025 at SAP Performance Facility in Santa Clara. Matthew Huang/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images The move backfired as Lance struggled to stay healthy and adjust to Shanahan's system. He made only four starts in two seasons before being traded to Dallas for a fourth-round pick in August 2023, having lost the starting job to Purdy, the last pick in the 2022 draft. Jones had a fast start to his career, helping New England make the playoffs in his rookie season. But Jones regressed the next year after offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels left for Las Vegas, and he was replaced as the starter in 2023. Jones was traded to Jacksonville last March and started seven games for the Jaguars, throwing eight TD passes and eight interceptions. Jones has made 49 career starts, posting an 84.9 passer rating with 54 TD passes, 44 interceptions and averaging 6.7 yards per attempt. He said he didn't hesitate to pick San Francisco in his first shot at free agency and has hopes a stint as a backup here can spark his career in a similar fashion to what happened to Sam Darnold after he spent the 2023 season with the Niners. "I always love watching their tape," Jones said. "When you look at stats around the league, they're always in the top five, you see the little San Francisco logo. So I always love watching what Kyle did throughout the years and to finally get in and learn it, it's been a little bit challenging, but also a great challenge because it's things, some things I've done and some things I haven't done at all." Jones has had a different play caller every season in the NFL and said learning another new offense is like "drinking from a water hose." Quarterbacks coach Mick Lombardi said that experience pays dividends this spring. "He's not new to this," Lombardi said. "He's not new to kind of new terminology new footwork and how to be coached differently. The one thing I love about Mac is he's always here. He's always willing to try new try new things. He's not stuck in his ways, and he really wants to try and do it our way." Lombardi and Jones have familiarity with Lombardi serving as receivers coach in New England when Jones was a rookie in 2021. Jones and Purdy have a relationship that goes even further, with Jones hosting Purdy on a recruiting visit to Alabama in 2018 and the two have thrown together in the offseason near Jacksonville before Jones signed with San Francisco. "We talked about that and joked around with it a little bit, just him being at Alabama and really before he took off too with his career and the amazing, obviously the National Championship run he had and then getting drafted and everything," Purdy said. "It's pretty cool. We were both just young kids both heading into college and then now here we are on the same team. It's pretty cool."
