Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals' $260 Million Man Sends Message To Sonny Gray

The Cardinals star opened up after the masterclass...
Patrick McAvoy|
Jun 27, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray (54) delivers a pitch in the ninth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images
Jun 27, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray (54) delivers a pitch in the ninth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | David Richard-Imagn Images

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The St. Louis Cardinals had one of the most dominant pitching performances you are ever going to see on Friday night.

Three-time All-Star Sonny Gray took the mound to face off against the Cleveland Guardians. St. Louis had lost two straight games against the Chicago Cubs -- while not scoring a run in either -- and needed someone to step up. That guy was Gray.

He didn't just find success against Cleveland, he dominated. Gray spun a complete game shutout on just 89 pitches, a "Maddux." If you have been seeing that term floating around social media, it is in reference to Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux and means a complete game shutout with under 100 pitches thrown.

Beyond just the greatness of a complete game shutout anyway, Gray also struck out 11 batters and only allowed one base hit. There weren't any walks. He was just one base hit away from a Perfect Game.

What a game it was and fellow All-Star Nolan Arenado shared after the fact that it was "as good" of a performance as he's ever seen.

"That was as a good a performance I've ever played defense behind in my career," Arenado said as transcribed by MLB.com's John Denton. "It felt like we were running out there and then running back in again.”

Arenado has been around the block. He's in his 13th season and has seen a lot of success. If he thinks it's up there as the best games he has ever seen, it must be true.

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Patrick McAvoy
PATRICK MCAVOY

Patrick McAvoy's experiences include local and national sports coverage at the New England Sports Network with a focus on baseball and basketball. Outside of journalism, Patrick also is pursuing an MBA at Brandeis University. After quickly rising as one of the most productive writers on the site, he expanded his reach to write for Baseball Essential, a national baseball site in Sports Illustrated Media Group. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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