ST. LOUIS -- Usually a slave to his routine and someone unwilling to bend from what he’s always done throughout his career, Cardinals right-hander Sonny Gray made a rare exception on Friday when he felt a bit off kilter following a lengthy third inning.

Without telling anyone, Gray went down the tunnel leading away from the dugout, climbed 15 steps and went into the clubhouse with one thought in mind. Gray needed to change everything -- from his sweaty uniform, to his flat-brimmed hat, to his cleats and even the underwear he had on underneath.

“I’ve done this before -- I just came in here after the third and took all my clothes off and got redressed with new cleats, socks, underwear, pants, belt, jersey, and hat and said, ‘You’re a new guy, now start over,’” said Gray, who fired seven scoreless innings in the Cardinals’ 3-0 win over the White Sox. “So, that’s kind of how I reset it.

“[Reliever] JoJo [Romero] was over there [across the clubhouse], and I said to him, ‘C’mon, just give me one runner on here.’ There was one out, and I didn’t have any clothes on. I just tried to reset and I felt better after that. I came out a different person, and it worked.”

The Cardinals are likely hoping that there will be no change in how Gray has dominated thus far. After signing the 34-year-old to a three-year, $75 million deal to be the ace of their revamped pitching staff, Gray has delivered in every way. His seven scoreless innings Friday lowered his season ERA to a stunning 0.89, making him the first Cardinals player with 3-plus wins, 30 or more innings pitched, and a sub-1.00 ERA in his first five starts of the season since Al Jackson in 1966. On this night, Gray allowed just three hits and a walk while striking out six White Sox en route to improving his record to 4-1.

“The ERA is one of the reasons, but what he does in wanting everybody to be good is bring those guys alongside of him, he’s really good at all of that,” manager Oliver Marmol said.

Gray, Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson have combined for a 7-3 record and a 2.55 ERA over 99 innings pitched so far this season.

“The way [Gray] works with [catcher] Willson [Contreras], his leadership is incredible,” Marmol continued. “So, we like him out there every fifth day but we like what he does in between starts as well.”

Staked to a 2-0 lead following a two-run double by Nolan Arenado, Gray stranded a runner at third in the second and third innings. Still, he wasn’t totally comfortable with how he was pitching after allowing a deep fly ball to Andrew Benintendi that Lars Nootbaar tracked down and after the third ending with a hard line drive off the bat of Eloy Jiménez right at Arenado.

Contreras, who had three hits and was on base four times, spoke up to Gray about some of his wayward mechanics -- something that prompted the complete uniform change to try and reset.

“Sonny likes me to be mean with him,” said Contreras, who has formed a tight bond with Gray following their extensive work together in Spring Training and early this season. “Sonny is somebody that I talk to during the game. He’s somebody who when he fumbles a little bit, I can say to him, ‘Hey! Get back on track!’ That’s something that is very important with us.”

Gray said having a sub-1 ERA doesn’t matter as much to him as knowing he is attacking hitters, staying aggressive and not allowing walks. Even after a six-inning outing where he allowed four runs (one earned) in a win over the Mets last weekend, Gray steamed over the three walks he issued. On Friday, he went right at White Sox hitters. That style worked well again, as he has not allowed a run over the first four innings of any start this season.

“He mixed really well,” said former Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong, who received an ovation from fans. “A lot of strike-to-ball type pitches, where out of the hand, it looks good. He pitched different sequences at different times through the order. He’s a vet and knows how to pitch.”

As a way of making sure he stays open to new ideas, Gray has been reading “The Mental ABCs of Pitching: A Handbook for Performance Enhancement” between starts. He said the book has taught him some valuable lessons.

“I was reading this chapter in my book that talks about how you can’t fear failure, and if something bad happens, you can’t use an excuse or shy away from it,” Gray said. “But, also, it says in the chapter, you can’t fear success. You’ve got to continue to push forward with your process and put in work on a daily basis. I want to attack guys and let the cards fall as they may.”