Sonny Skies Ahead for Oakland

Sonny Skies Ahead for Oakland

 

 

Last night the Oakland Athletics and the Texas Rangers met in game one of a three game set with first place on the line. Both teams had their aces on the mound and were coming into the series with something to prove. Yu Darvish has always had trouble with Oakland, a trend that would continue on this night as Darvish pitched the shortest outing of his career. In the Oakland dugout was the opposing pitcher who has had very little trouble with figuring this league out. That pitcher was Sonny Gray.

Sonny Gray is an unlikely ace. Looking at him you would easily figure out he is not the tallest, not the most intimidating, or most overpowering pitcher in the league. Nothing about him screams dominance. Then he steps on the mound. Gray throws primarily a fastball and a curveball with a not so occasional changeup thrown in for good measure. The fastball is not overpowering but when you combine it with the second best curveball in all of baseball, (nobody can touch Adam Wainwright’s) the deception and headaches it causes batters is otherworldly. 

Since his debut last season Sonny Gray has the lowest ERA in all of the American League. Last night was the best I had seen him throw his curve for a strike. There’s having great stuff and being “on” and then there is Sonny Gray last night. He had the Rangers completely fooled and frustrated to the tune of three hits and one walk with six strikeouts. 

The reason Gray’s curveball is so dominant is again, his ability to throw it for a strike. Most pitchers when they throw the curve get the 12 to 6 action where the 12 is the middle of the plate and the 6 is the hard drop into the dirt. This isn’t the case for Gray his 12 to 6 action is completely different. The ball starts almost at the throat of the batter and drops down hard to the middle of the plate. Most pitchers get the strikeout with the curve by getting batters to chase, Gray gets it by getting batters to realize too late the pitch is hittable.

Many people thought the Athletics were in trouble when it was announced A.J. Griffin would miss significant time to begin the season and Jarrod Parker would require a second Tommy John procedure. However, Gray, along with the rest of the staff has shut down opposing offenses, leading the league with an impressive 2.85 ERA. Jesse Chavez and Scott Kazmir are as responsible for this as Gray is but neither of those guys has or had the potential of Gray. Even when Parker comes back and is healthy his place as the number 1 starter will be gone. The A’s will go as far as Sonny Gray takes them and if what we’ve seen thus far is any indication; that will be very far.

 

Other Game Notes

-There may not be a pitcher in the Majors with better total stuff than Yu Darvish. Last night however was not his best night. Darvish struggles against the A’s because they are the most patient team in the game and fight during at bats like no other. Seven of the first ten batters Darvish faced went to a full count.

-There was a heads up base running play in this game by Eric Sogard which you rarely ever see guys replicate. With one out and a bloop towards centerfield Sogard took off and kept going, reaching third when the ball hit the ground. Too many times you see guys come to a complete stop and end of getting thrown out anyway because they stopped on the way to second or stopped and impeded their ability to get back to first. In Sogard’s mind if he’s going to be out anyway on a catch may as well take the chance of getting the extra base in case the ball falls. He deserves applause and recognition for that.

-The Rangers really miss Geovany Soto. Robinson Chirinos is a tremendous defensive catcher with a rocket arm but very little offensive output. J.P. Arencibia is arguably the worst all around catcher in baseball so he’s no help for the team either. Soto is a better well rounded player and calls a good game so he needs to come back quickly for the Rangers. They have done well enough without him so upon his return they could really go on a run.

Thanks for joining us here on Day 1 of 30 Days Around the Majors. We will back tomorrow with some news and notes on the New York Mets/Philadelphia Phillies game as Jon Niese takes the mound for the Mets who are looking to continue their winning ways against the back to healthy Cole Hamels at Citizens Bank. Be sure to follow us on Twitter @changingspeeds for our continued coverage of the national pastime.