Sonny Gray twirls another stellar outing as Cardinals shut out White Sox to win opener

ST. LOUIS — Cardinals ace Sonny Gray held the Chicago White Sox scoreless for seven innings, while Nolan Arenado and Willson Contreras provided the bulk of the offense to get the homestand started on a winning note.

Arenado went 2 for 4, swatted a pair of doubles and drove in three runs in a 3-0 Cardinals win over the White Sox in front of an announced crowd of 34,010 at Busch Stadium for the first game of a three-game set on Friday night.

The Cardinals (15-17) avoided losing three games in a row after having dropped the final two games of their road trip in Detroit, and they shut out an opponent for the second time this season. Their first shutout came at home against the Philadelphia Phillies on April 9.

Ryan Helsley earned his major league best 11th save.

Gray (4-1) lowered his earned run average to 0.89 this season, and he has not allowed a run in the first four innings of any of his starts this season. On Friday, Gray struck out six and allowed just three hits and one walk in seven innings.

Contreras, the Cardinals' catcher, went 3 for 3 with a walk and two runs scored. He recorded his first multi-hit game at Busch Stadium this season, his first multi-hit game at home or on the road since April 17, at Oakland.

Old friends return to Busch

Friday night marked Paul DeJong’s first game at Busch Stadium as a member of an opposing team. DeJong spent the majority of the first seven seasons of his major league career with the Cardinals up until the trade deadline last summer.

“It actually is the first time I’ve been in the visitors clubhouse, and in this dugout it’s a different view as well,” DeJong said while speaking to reporters in the visiting dugout prior to the game. “But I’m just happy to be here with this team and excited to be in St. Louis.”

The Cardinals traded DeJong to the Toronto Blue Jays along with cash for minor league pitcher Matt Svanson on Aug. 1. A former collegiate standout at Illinois State University, DeJong signed with the White Sox this offseason.

...continued

swipe to next page