This story was originally published by Dead Spin
St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Sonny Gray has not enjoyed his reunions with the Cincinnati Reds this season.
Gray (12-9, 3.84 ERA), who pitched for the Reds from 2019-21, has lost both of his starts against his former team in 2023. He was tagged for 12 runs (nine earned) on 12 hits in 9 1/3 innings during those outings.
Counting a start in 2016, he is 0-3 with a 5.82 ERA in his career against Cincinnati, having allowed 14 runs (11 earned) allowed on 17 hits in 17 innings.
He will try again Thursday as the Cardinals (73-72) host the Reds (71-76) to conclude a three-game series.
Cincinnati won 3-0 on Tuesday and St. Louis prevailed 2-1 on Wednesday, snapping the Reds’ three-game winning streak.
Spencer Steer hit two homers and drove in five against Gray on Aug. 12, and Elly De La Cruz also took him deep in that contest.
More recently, Gray has pitched well. He allowed just two runs on seven hits across 13 innings in past two starts while facing the San Diego Padres and the Milwaukee Brewers.
He struck out 11 batters and walked just one in those games while lowering his ERA from a season-high 4.07.
The Cardinals, like the Reds, have struggled to score runs lately, but Paul Goldschmidt has been hot. The first baseman is hitting .361 in September, and he delivered the decisive RBI double in the eighth inning on Wednesday after Michael Siani singled and stole second base.
“That’s how you draw it up, the leadoff hitter gets on, gets to second, we’re able to get a hit there and hopefully win the series (Thursday),” Goldschmidt told Bally Sports Midwest.
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said, “I thought we hit a lot of balls hard today right at people. I felt good about a lot of our at-bats, not a ton to show for it.”
Reds manager David Bell has been able to cobble together sufficient pitching despite having four of the team’s top five starters on the injured list.
Cincinnati has allowed a total of two runs in its past three games with Nick Martinez, Rhett Lowder and Brandon Williamson drawing the starts.
“They stepped up,” Bell said. “They’ve been doing it all year, really, especially our bullpen. But our starters have been outstanding. When we were challenged a little bit more than typical, they’ve just done nothing but answer that and want to be in the situation and do absolutely everything they can to help us win games. They’ve continued to pitch well.”
The Reds will give Jakob Junis (4-0, 2.82 ERA) another opportunity on Thursday. Since coming to Cincinnati from Milwaukee ahead of the trade deadline, he has recorded a 3.24 ERA in 11 appearances, including two starts.
Junis pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings during a relief appearance against the Cardinals on Aug. 12. In his career, he is 0-1 with a 2.48 ERA in nine appearances, including five starts, against St. Louis.
The Cardinals subtracted reliever Chris Roycroft from their roster on Wednesday, returning him to Triple-A Memphis so they could activate starting pitcher Lance Lynn from the 15-day injured list.
–Field Level Media
