Gray hits 96 mph, bears down vs. Cleveland

Rockies right-hander Jon Gray arguably had his best outing of the spring on Friday afternoon, going five innings, allowing three runs and striking out six batters in a 9-4 victory over the Indians at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. It was Gray’s longest outing of the spring.

The first two innings were a breeze as Gray retired the first six hitters he faced. In the next two frames, however, Gray allowed three runs, with Indians catcher Roberto Pérez highlighting the scoring with a fourth-inning solo home run.

But Gray settled down after and retired the Indians in order in the fifth inning. What was impressive was that Gray’s fastball was clocked as high as 96 mph, showing that his right shoulder inflammation is a thing of the past. He was also able to throw 71 pitches and his arm didn’t feel tired after he left the game.

“I thought it was OK. I thought we mixed really well and we didn’t walk anybody. That was the big upside from last week,” Gray said. “Then again, I felt there were some counts where I got out of whack. I don't know. I mean, it was tough. But yeah, there was definitely a moment in the game where I had to slow things down and get back in the zone.”

Although it was just a 60-game season last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Gray ended up having a year to forget. He had a 6.69 ERA over eight starts and his season ended in September due to right shoulder problems.

Other than staying healthy, Gray wants to be consistent with the delivery.

“The delivery has changed a lot, but I would like to have that same pitch every time, not having it eating at your mind if you are going to have it or not,” Gray said. “I’m not having those episodes right now. Even if I don’t have my pitch, I’m going to be doing really well. I think I can figure things out right now. If I can do that, it’s great.”