'Tonight wasn't my night': Gray allows career-high four homers

PHILADELPHIA -- Josiah Gray reiterated the words “uncompetitive” and “frustrating” following his July 31 loss to the Cardinals, in which he allowed four runs and racked up 95 pitches in five innings.

His next turn in the rotation on Friday drew a similar self-assessment for the disappointed 24-year-old right-hander.

“Not a lot went my way,” Gray said. “Tonight wasn’t my night. Couldn’t really get in the flow, and it’s just definitely frustrating.”

Gray surrendered six runs off five hits -- including a career-high four home runs -- and three walks on 79 pitches in just four innings. He also recorded four strikeouts in the Nationals’ 7-2 loss to the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

“Obviously not something I want to highlight,” Gray said of the career mark. “Any big league hitter’s going to hit a ball middle-middle, especially in a ballpark where it’s flying, the thicker air. It sucks to give up four home runs.”

Gray, who leads all of baseball in home runs allowed (28), ran into long ball problems from the seventh pitch of the game. After fanning leadoff hitter Kyle Schwarber (who entered the game with two homers off him this season), Gray delivered a 93.6 mph fastball to Rhys Hoskins in an 0-1 count that Hoskins belted a Statcast-projected 385 feet into left-center field at 98.9 mph.

With two outs and J.T. Realmuto on third in the first inning, Gray was hit hard by Nick Castellanos in a 2-0 count -- a two-run, 391-foot shot to left field at 108.6 mph on a 92.9 mph fastball. Only one batter later, Darick Hall worked a 2-2 count to go 365 feet deep into right at 107.9 mph on an 82.9 mph curveball.

“He was up in the zone,” manager Dave Martinez said. “Every ball that got hit hard was up, and his misses were almost right down the middle. I talked to him a little bit when he came out of the game about just working down in the zone. If he’s going to miss, he can’t miss right over the plate.”

The opening frame marked the first time in Gray’s career he has allowed three home runs in a single inning, and the 24th time this season a pitcher has given up three-plus homers in a frame.

“I felt like after the first inning, I could somewhat give the team some length, trying to think about just taking it just one pitch at a time,” Gray said. “Unfortunately, Realmuto got me there in the third and sort of baked the cake, I guess you can say.”

After tossing a scoreless second inning, Gray gave up the fourth home run of the game to Realmuto -- a 362-foot blast to left field at 107.3 mph on a 93.3 mph fastball on a 2-2 count.

"He didn't have his best stuff tonight,” said Realmuto. “After Rhys' first at-bat, he came straight to me and said the life wasn't the same tonight on [Gray’s] fastball. The first couple sliders I saw were looser than they had been the previous couple times we faced him. He just didn't quite have his best stuff tonight, and we were able to take advantage of it."

Gray is in a new phase of his young career, one in which he is experiencing the ups and downs of his first full-length season. He debuted on July 20, 2021, and he threw a total of 70 2/3 innings in 14 games (13 starts) for the Dodgers and Nationals combined that season. This season, he is already up to 106 frames in 20 starts.

“Sometimes it’s not going to go my way,” Gray said. “But in terms of physically and everything like that, I feel like I’m prepared for every start that I’m lined up for.”

Martinez described Gray as a “workhorse” between starts. There is a possibility the Nationals could go with a bullpen day to give Gray a start off, but there is no guarantee that will be an option his next turn in the rotation, given how taxed the relievers have been amid short starts.

“We’re keeping a close eye on him,” Martinez said. “He’s worked really hard to keep himself going. Hopefully, we won’t have to shut him down because I know he does not want that. He wants to continue to go. But we’ll monitor him.”