SEATTLE — No matter what else is going wrong, the A’s can count on Sonny Gray. Especially when he’s pitching at Safeco Field.
Oakland’s ace turned in another solid start at Seattle on Friday night, when he allowed just one earned run over six innings in the A’s 4-3 loss in extra innings. Gray didn’t factor into the decision and actually saw his career ERA at Safeco Field go up — to 1.07 ERA in five career starts there.
Of course, pitching well in Seattle is just one of the things Gray does well. His performance Friday night left the 25-year-old starter with a 1.65 ERA this season. He added nine more strikeouts Friday to give Gray a team-high 44 on the season — the third highest in the American League.
Gray’s only hiccup Friday came at the beginning of the second inning, when a leadoff double and Seattle first baseman Logan Morrison’s RBI single put Oakland into a 1-0 hole. The Mariners went on to load the bases on Gray in the third, but he got out of that jam and cruised through the following three innings, leaving the game with a 3-1 lead.
Oakland’s bullpen fell flat again, but that didn’t take away from another solid performance from Gray.
“You definitely don’t want to face him for an entire game,” Seattle’s Morrison said after Gray’s pitch count of 102 forced him out after six innings of Friday’s game. “He’s a great pitcher. That’s probably the nastiest I’ve seen him.”