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Sonny Gray Makes Impressive History In Shutout Start vs. Guardians

Gray was locked in en route to the shockingly efficient complete game shutout.
Tim Capurso|
Gray was in the zone on Friday night.
Gray was in the zone on Friday night. | David Richard-Imagn Images

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St. Louis CardinalsCleveland Guardians

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray was masterful in his club's 5-0 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Friday night.

Gray pitched a Maddux, or a complete game shutout while expending fewer than 100 pitches, as he tossed a one-hitter over nine scoreless innings, striking out 11 batters while throwing an astonishing 89 pitches.

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It was the fewest number of pitches in a Maddux since 2021 and the highest number of strikeouts accompanying such a game since 1988, or as early as pitch count data is available, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com.

Gray set the tone with an eight-pitch first inning, then proceeded to throw 10 or fewer pitches in all but two of the remaining frames.

Additionally, Gray became just the second pitcher to pitch a shutout on fewer than 90 pitches with 10-plus strikeouts since 1988, joining David Cone. Cone's outing was a perfect game.

Pretty, pretty good.

Gray, 35, improved to 8-2 with a 3.36 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 93 2/3 innings pitched in 2025.

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Tim Capurso
TIM CAPURSO

Tim Capurso is a staff writer for Sports Illustrated, primarily covering MLB, college football and college basketball. Before joining SI in November 2023, Capurso worked at RotoBaller and ClutchPoints and is a graduate of Assumption University. When he's not working, he can be found at the gym, reading a book or enjoying a good hike. A resident of New York, Capurso openly wonders if the Giants will ever be a winning football team again.

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