ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Tuesday marked the regular season and home debut of prized offseason signing starter Sonny Gray, after working his way back from a hamstring injury he suffered in his second start of Spring Training.
Gray wasn't at full strength, as he was limited to a pitch count in the range of 65 pitches Tuesday night against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Despite the pitch count, Gray overdelivered on expectations in his debut, pitching five shutout innings, five strikeouts and helping generate two double plays while still keeping his pitch count under 65 pitches Tuesday night in the Cardinals 3-0 win against the Phillies.
Cardinals Oli Marmol still couldn't believe the performance by Gray Tuesday while still staying within the limits that was set forth in his debut when he joined KMOX for his weekly interview right before the Cardinals series finale with the Phillies at Busch Stadium Wednesday.
"It was really incredible," said Marmol. "We knew heading into that game that 60-65 pitches would be where we wanted (Gray) to stop. For him to go out there and give us five shutout innings while still staying in that limit was pretty incredible."
Marmol gave credit to Gray and his preparation for the game as a key factor for how amazing his debut was Tuesday night.
"It just shows you what the style of pitcher he is and his competitive nature was just fun to watch," said Marmol.
"In order to do that when the stakes are high, you have to prepare in a way to allow for that. When you watched him throw a bullpen, people were already impressed in watching him in Spring Training with how detailed-oriented he is, you would think he's pitching in a World Series when he's throwing a bullpen."