BALTIMORE — Sonny Gray made a modest statement on the mound Saturday night and a loud statement in the clubhouse.
“If I can throw the ball like that, I think I can get anybody out. I know I can get anybody out,” the Yankees’ pitcher said, after leading the Yankees to a 5-1 victory over the Orioles and completing a Camden Yards doubleheader sweep. “I’m one of the best starting pitchers in this league, and I truly believe that. I think it’s that belief that will continue to keep me moving forward and hopefully continue to have success form here on out.”
In his first start since Aug. 1, a 7-5 loss to these same Orioles, the right-hander — earning a temporary promotion out of the bullpen due to this day-night twin-bill — registered 6 ¹/₃ shutout innings, allowing just three hits while walking one and striking out seven. He needed just 79 pitches to record the 19 outs, and the very Yankees-heavy crowd here rewarded him with a nice ovation as he left the mound.
“It felt like a home crowd, for sure,” Gray said. “That was nice. That was really nice.”
The irony is Gray has struggled greatly at home this year, including that previous start against the awful Orioles that prompted the Yankees to demote him. He now has a 7.32 ERA in 14 games (11 starts and three relief appearances) at Yankee Stadium, totaling 55 ¹/₃ innings, and a 3.09 ERA in 12 games (11 starts and one relief appearance) totaling 64 innings on the road.
“I think there have been some ups and downs for him that may have coincided with being at home,” Aaron Boone said of Gray. “I know that’s become a big story. But the bottom line is when he goes out there on the attack, he’s capable of nights like tonight.”
No one has disputed that. It’s why the Yankees surrendered three prospects to the A’s to acquire him at the 2017 non-waivers trade deadline. What the Yankees haven’t seen at all from Gray this year are consistency and reliability. One start against baseball’s worst team, even if that club knocked Gray around a few weeks ago, won’t change that. It won’t change his role, either.
“He’ll probably go back into the bullpen,” Boone said, “but obviously you see him being capable of something like that. There [are] a lot of different roles. And that’s one of the things we talked to him about when we first put him in the pen. There’s a lot of different situations you could find yourself in. We saw him in a high-leverage part in extra innings [Aug. 7 at the White Sox]. I’m sure it’s a role that maybe continues to evolve.”
Gray added, “I’m going to do whatever they ask. I’ll go back to the bullpen and do whatever I can down there. I’ll start and do whatever I can in the rotation. I’m just ready for anything.”
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