Twins ride Gray (6 IP) to shutout victory vs. Phillies

PHILADELPHIA -- Sonny Gray lounged in front of his locker before the series finale, casually tossing a baseball in the air and catching it, like a kid killing time in his backyard.

Gray made it look almost that easy once the game started, allowing just two hits while striking out seven across six scoreless innings, and the bullpen held on, as the Twins defeated the Phillies, 3-0, on Sunday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park.

Gray was nearly flawless, aside from the second inning, when he loaded the bases before striking out reigning NL home run champ Kyle Schwarber. After Gray left the game, Griffin Jax loaded the bases for the same guy.

OK, so maybe this one wasn’t as easy as playing catch.

Gray was at 80 pitches and had just worked a perfect sixth inning, so it was a bit of a surprise to see Jax enter following the seventh-inning stretch.

The right-hander allowed a pair of one-out singles and then hit rookie Johan Rojas. That loaded the bases for Schwarber, who has hit 76 home runs over the past two seasons.

While the trainers checked on Rojas, manager Rocco Baldelli summoned lefty Caleb Thielbar. Thielbar retired Schwarber with an infield popup. He ended the threat by striking out Alec Bohm looking on a full count, with an inside fastball that Bohm thought was ball four. The third baseman slammed his bat and was ejected from the game.

“[Thielbar's] a fearless guy,” Baldelli said. “He goes at people, just like Sonny did. That’s big-time stuff. Going in [that situation], the crowd’s into the game against really good players and he just beat them. I like giving him the ball. I think everyone around here likes when we give Caleb the ball, because you know what you’re going to get.”

The situation was reminiscent of Gray’s second inning, which began with a four-pitch walk to Bryson Stott. Gray struck out Trea Turner before Jake Cave grounded a single to center field to put runners on the corners. After another strikeout, Gray hit Rojas, the Phillies' No. 9 hitter, to load the bases for Schwarber. Gray struck out Schwarber swinging on a 3-2 fastball to end the inning.

“It was me vs. you,” Gray said. “I’m going to get you or you’re going to get me. I’m going to come after you with my strengths and we’ll see what happens. That moment was just me vs. you. Right here. Let’s see who wins.”

“If you hit a grand slam, you hit you a grand slam. But I’m not going to give in. That was pretty much it.”

Gray made it sound simpler than it was. The Phillies had been averaging 5.14 runs per game since the All-Star break, and they opened the series by scoring 13 runs against the Twins. Minnesota has now won two straight after dropping four in a row.

“You’re going to have to come through when there’s some people on base,” Baldelli said. “You look at their lineup, there’s a lot of good hitters. There’s generally going to be a productive hitter at the plate. You’re going to have to make some pitches to be able to hold them down.”

The Phils did not record another hit until Gray left the game. Baldelli said Gray could have gone another inning, but with a fresh bullpen and an off-day Monday, the decision was made to pull him after six.

After three consecutive starts without a walk, Gray issued three walks against the Phillies, but he was able to avoid any damage. He recorded his fifth consecutive quality start and his first scoreless appearance since July 2.

The Twins improved to 62-58 to maintain a 4 1/2-game lead over the second-place Guardians (57-62), who also won on Sunday. The Phillies, who hold the National League's first Wild Card spot, fell to 65-54.

After the game, Gray fielded questions in the hallway outside the visitors' clubhouse. He wore a Vanderbilt Commodores cap and was hurrying to catch a flight to Tennessee. With Minnesota off on Monday, Gray was heading home to attend his sons’ baseball practice.

It seemed as if Gray’s Sunday really could end with some kids playing catch.