How Sonny Gray went from small-town star to Athletics ace

Sonny Gray has a 1.91 ERA through his first seven starts and 47 innings with 40 strikeouts.

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And now, in 2014, Gray is off to a brilliant start in Oakland, with a 1.91 ERA in seven starts (he was the American League pitcher of the month for April) for the first-place A's. He is an early Cy Young frontrunner, one of the key players in what should be a white-knuckle race in the AL West, one of the bright young stars in the game, with so much left to learn and do. "He has been a Friday night guy his entire life," Corbin said, "whether it's on the football field, or baseball in the SEC, or Sonny as the lead singer in the school play without a voice, or now, as a pitcher for the Oakland A's. Sonny will always rise to the moment."