NEW YORK -- Sonny Gray loved the efficiency of his seven-pitch second inning and his nine-pitch third inning. The Cardinals’ ace particularly liked how he rebounded mentally after a weird fifth inning that included a wild pitch, a fielding error and a home run on a fastball that was several inches off the plate. And he thought the sinker that got Jeff McNeill to pop out to end the sixth inning was his most important pitch of the afternoon.

However, what Gray disliked -- or more accurately, hated with every fiber of his being -- were the three walks that he issued to Mets hitters during a 7-4 win at Citi Field on Saturday that ensured St. Louis another series victory.

Gray, the pitcher to whom the Cardinals awarded a three-year, $75 million free-agent deal in November to be their ace, came into Saturday having walked just one batter with 23 strikeouts over his first three starts of 2024. Even though he struck out another nine Mets on Saturday and pitched well enough to earn his third victory as a Cardinal in four starts, Gray’s push for perfection was ruined -- in his mind, at least -- by the three free passes he surrendered.

Gray, who allowed four runs (one earned) on just four hits over six innings, was so irked by the walks that he said he planned to use the next couple of days to reevaluate what went wrong. In some ways, Gray’s uneasiness over the walks felt like the equivalent of pointing out a tiny blemish on a work of art, noticing a pimple on a supermodel or complaining that a sumptuous five-star pasta dish was made with fettucine instead of linguine.

“I just hate walking dudes, so that will be a focus for me throughout the week -- getting back in the [strike] zone early and often,” said Gray, who is usually harder on himself than any pitching coach or manager ever could be. “Strikeouts will come. Sometimes you chase them and sometimes you don’t, but more than striking people out, not giving up free passes is more important to me. So, I just don’t like walking dudes.”

If they didn’t already know it, the Cardinals are learning that Gray is wired a bit differently in terms of holding himself to high standards and having impeccable expectations. Manager Oliver Marmol has marveled at the intention attached to Gray’s every action -- be it in a side session in Spring Training or in another dominant outing on Saturday.

“From the moment he wakes up, he has a purpose for everything that he does,” Marmol said. “And when I say everything, I mean everything. When it’s his day to pitch, there’s purpose behind every single pitch. It’s impressive.”

Gray was impressed with how the Cardinals got him four early runs and how the bullpen trio of JoJo Romero, Andrew Kittredge and Ryan Helsley closed out another victory. The Cardinals came into Saturday having scored just nine first-inning runs in their first 26 games, but they reached Mets starter Adrian Houser for four runs and five hits in the opening frame. Brendan Donovan and Paul Goldschmidt had doubles in the first inning and Willson Contreras, Nolan Arenado and Masyn Winn added early singles.

After Gray exited the game, Romero, Kittredge and Helsley delivered scoreless stints in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings. Romero and Kittredge lead MLB with 10 holds apiece, while Helsley is tied with Clay Holmes and Robert Suarez for the MLB lead in saves with nine. Helsley has pitched in 15 games -- 13 of them Cardinals wins.

“They’re great -- they’ve been great, and it’s no secret for us,” Gray said of the bullpen. “They continue to come in and go after guys. They have electric stuff. As starters, we have the utmost confidence in those guys. They’ve been incredible, and [they’ve been] the strength of this team so far.”

At 3-1 with a 1.16 ERA and a 32-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio, Gray is undoubtedly also a strength for the Cardinals. To this point, he’s lived up to what the Cardinals were seeking when they signed him to be their ace. That’s also the view of Mets slugger Pete Alonso, who hit the ball off the plate for the 200th home run of his career, but otherwise had no success against Gray.

“He had all his pitches working, and I just got lucky enough where I was able to get a pitch out over the plate,” Alonso said. “He executed super, super well the whole game. He’s one of those guys that is always a tough at-bat because he can throw multiple pitches for strikes and balls on purpose to make you want to chase. He was really good today.”