'Nasty' Jon Gray Locks Down Mariners, Texas Rangers Win Series Opener

Texas Rangers starter Jon Gray turns in his best performance this season against the Seattle Mariners one start after venting frustration.

Jon Gray’s last start against was a frustrating one. The Texas Rangers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-4, but Gray only pitched 5 1/3 innings and gave up eight hits and four runs, walking one and striking out two.

As he stood in his locker after that game, his frustration with himself, not his teammates, was clear.

“I’ve just kind of run out of patience with myself,” Gray said on May 2. “I feel like the first month I really haven’t had a good game, so I’m just frustrated with that.”

Gray was waiting for “things to be fun again.”

Fast-forward to Monday at the Seattle Mariners. Gray gave up a one-out, solo home run to Ty France to give the Mariners a 1-0 lead. While France held a gold trident in the dugout — the Mariners’ home run trophy — Gray likely seethed.

And then Gray finally had some fun. By the time he was lifted after seven innings, the Rangers had a lead, and Gray had his longest and best start of the season.

And improved to 2-1.

“That’s what we expect from Jon,” second baseman Marcus Semien said. “He’s been great. He’s had a couple of outings that didn’t go his way, but he’s going to be huge for us.”

Gray did come up huge. It wasn’t just because it was a 2-1 win, especially since the Rangers struggled in one-run games last season in record-setting fashion. It was because the opposing starter, Logan Gilbert, was dominant through six innings.

Gilbert carried a perfect game into the seventh before Semien broke it up and the Rangers squeezed out two runs.

On nights like that a team needs a starter to have that kind of game. Rangers manager Bruce Bochy called it “beautiful.”

Rangers closer Will Smith had another word for it, “nasty.”

“He gave up the homer and then he locked it down the rest of the way,” Smith said.

This start was definitely more to Gray’s liking, who has struggled at times with his command. Last week, Gray said he was fighting himself.

On Monday, he was only fighting the Mariners. His slider really clicked. It worked so well, Gray said, he didn’t want to back away from the pitch.

“I just needed to find a spot where I could compete and I felt I found that tonight and I wasn’t battling myself,” Gray said. “It was like that all night.”

Gray allowed just four hits, walked no one and struck out eight. The strikeouts were key. Gray was mired in a four-start streak in which he struck out exactly two hitters in each start. His eight were a season-high and his most since fanning seven April 3 against the Baltimore Orioles.

Two of those strikeouts Monday were against reigning Rookie of the Year Julio Rodriguez, who left five hitters on base and is batting .210 after going 0-for-4.

The Rangers bullpen went through three pitchers — Jonathan Hernández, Brock Burke and Smith. While Hernández got in trouble in the eighth and hit two batters, Burke bailed him out with a strikeout of Jarred Kelenic. Smith struck out the side in the ninth for his fifth save.

But Gray exposed the unpredictable bullpen to only two innings. Right now the Rangers will take that.

And Gray can finally wear a smile after a game.

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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard

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