'Frustrated' Gray eyes improvement next turn

WASHINGTON -- Josiah Gray was looking for a bounceback start on Sunday afternoon against the Mets at Nationals Park. The 23-year-old will have to wait for his next outing.

“I honestly don’t think there was anything positive today,” a candid Gray said after the Nationals’ 13-6 loss. “From pitch one to pitch [82], I was battling command, I was battling execution, a lot of hard-hit balls.”

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Gray made the shortest appearance of his rookie season when he exited after just three innings. He gave up six runs off seven hits (including two home runs), issued one walk and struck out two batters. Gray needed 38 pitches to complete a four-run first inning, and he finished the day with 82 pitches (49 strikes).

“He had no command, obviously, of his fastball,” manager Dave Martinez said. “Everything was arm-side today. His mechanics are a little off, so we’ll talk to him the next couple of days. But he’s flying open, his arm slot dropped a lot today.”

Gray allowed the first five batters of the game to get on base. After he settled in and retired three in a row to end the frame, the righty served up solo home runs to Jonathan Villar and Javier Báez in the second and third innings, respectively, extending the Mets’ lead to 6-3 before reliever Patrick Murphy got the call to start the fourth.

“We were just kind of missing early,” catcher Riley Adams said. “He was leaving a few things behind. Especially with some of the breaking stuff early, they weren’t as competitive of misses. We left some mistakes up, and they capitalized on that. I thought toward the end, he was definitely getting back on track, but obviously the pitch count was just way up and it was tough.”

This came one start after Gray also surrendered seven hits and six runs over four innings in an Aug. 30 loss to the Phillies. His last two outings have been a departure from a strong introduction to the Nationals after being acquired from the Dodgers at the Trade Deadline. Gray allowed a total of 10 runs (nine earned) and recorded 29 strikeouts over 28 innings in his first five starts with Washington.

“Obviously, I was frustrated,” Gray said. “That frustration didn’t leave me for an hour, if not more. I just had to accept the frustration, accept the struggle that today was. It’s not going to be the last time, but it definitely doesn’t feel good -- especially after the last outing. [I was] just kind of basking in that and embracing it, I guess you could say, but then after that, I have to get back on my routine and get ready for five days from now.”

Gray is very aware at this early stage in his career of how he can improve. Martinez also encourages pitchers in between their starts to point out what they did well and hone in on those aspects, rather than focus solely on their missteps.

“He wants to be better,” Martinez said. “He once used the word ‘perfect,’ and I tell him, ‘You don’t want to be perfect. Perfect is not what we want. We just want you to be consistent, that’s the word we want.’ He understands that.

“These young guys, a lot of them are going to be critical. A lot of them take accountability for what they’re doing. But they’re going to get better.”