ARLINGTON, Texas — Sonny Gray’s sweeper looks like a strike for a long time before it breaks late off the plate, Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said before Thursday night’s series finale against the Boston Red Sox. Texas is facing the Boston right-hander at Globe Life Field.
Schumaker made the comments on The Skip Schumaker Show, the pregame segment Rangers Sports Network posted at 6:42 p.m. CT. Gray entered the night 17-5 with a 2.76 ERA.
Gray throws a cutter around 90 mph and a sinker that runs from 92 to 95 depending on the night.
“He’s been doing this for a long time, like you said, in a very effective way,” Schumaker said. “He can really spin the ball. I mean, his sweeper is legit. He has a cutter at 90 miles an hour and a sinker that’s between 92 and 95, depending on the night. So he throws strikes. He controls the run game.”
“So, but we just have to make sure we keep him on the plate, and that sweeper is, seems like it’s a strike for a long time and makes a hard left turn pretty late off the plate,” Schumaker continued. “So we got to make sure it’s inside the strike zone and start moving the ball forward aggressively, and I think we have a good chance tonight.”
Sonny Gray Has 17 Wins for Boston
Gray has a 1.17 WHIP over 156 2/3 innings. His 17 wins were tied for the most in the majors entering the series. The 36-year-old is a three-time All-Star, and Boston acquired him from the St. Louis Cardinals before the season. He is in the final year of a three-year, $75 million contract that includes a mutual option for 2027.
On Sept. 11 against the Kansas City Royals at Fenway Park, Gray allowed 3 runs over 6 innings in a 3-2 loss. He threw 90 pitches, 60 of them for strikes.
In his previous start Sept. 5 at Baltimore, his line was 7 innings, 3 hits, 0 earned runs, 3 walks, and 7 strikeouts for his 17th win. In late August, Boston pushed back Gray’s turn in the rotation to give him extra rest.
Rangers Hitters Against Sonny Gray
Entering the June 12 series opener at Fenway Park, Gray was 11-5 with a 2.87 ERA in 19 career games against Texas, 18 of them starts, the Boston Globe reported. Boston won two of the three games in that series.
At that point, Brandon Nimmo was 5-for-13 against Gray. Corey Seager was 3-for-12, Jake Burger was 2-for-9, and Ezequiel Durán was 1-for-5. Wyatt Langford was 0-for-3, and Josh Jung was 0-for-3.
On Thursday, Durán is leading off at third base. Seager is batting second, Jung third, Nimmo fourth, and Langford fifth.
Tyler Alexander started for Texas as an opener, and Schumaker said Cody Bradford would follow as the bulk pitcher. Schumaker called Thursday’s game a chess match.
The Rangers won the first two games of the series, 4-2 on Tuesday and 7-3 on Wednesday. Entering Thursday, Texas was 76-76 and tied with the Houston Astros for first place in the American League West. Boston (82-70) holds the second American League wild card.
The Toronto Blue Jays visit Globe Life Field from Sept. 18 to 20, with first pitch Friday at 7:05 p.m. CT on Rangers Sports Network.
