Sonny Gray threw a one-hitter and struck out a season-high 11 and Alec Burleson and Nolan Arenado drove in two runs apiece as the visiting St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cleveland Guardians 5-0 on Friday night.
Gray (8-2) only permitted a single to Nolan Jones in the fifth inning and did not issue a walk in his 89-pitch masterpiece. The Guardians failed to get the ball out of the infield until the fourth inning and did not advance a runner to second base.
The right-hander tossed his first shutout since July 28, 2015 and his first nine-inning complete game since Aug. 7, 2015 — both with the Oakland Athletics. It was also Gray’s first complete game since 2017, when he was a member of the New York Yankees.
The Cardinals took a 3-0 lead in the third when Burleson belted a two-run homer and Pedro Pages had a solo shot against Guardians starter Luis Ortiz (4-9), who also committed his second error of the evening in the inning.
In the sixth, Burleson doubled and came home on Nolan Arenado’s two-bagger off the wall. Arenado tacked on an RBI single in the eighth off Jakob Junis to complete the scoring.
St. Louis played its 10th game in a nine-day span, going 7-3 against the Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs and Cleveland. If they win the next two contests, the Cardinals will sweep the Guardians for the initial time.
Ortiz worked seven innings, giving up four runs on six hits, with five strikeouts and one walk. The right-hander is 0-3 with an 8.53 ERA in six games against the Cardinals.
The Guardians are 15-23 since May 13, when they were a season-high eight games over .500. Cleveland was shutout for the second straight game and has lost three of four on its homestand.
Guardians All-Star third baseman Jose Ramirez did not play, one day after being hit by a pitch from Toronto’s Kevin Gausman on his right arm.
–Field Level Media
