Major League Baseball

Sonny Gray's leadership setting the tone for A's recent revival

Published Jun. 5, 2015 10:13 a.m. ET

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At just 25, Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Sonny Gray is asserting himself as a front-of-the-line starting pitcher this season.

The A's ace, who dominated the Detroit Tigers in his last start on Wednesday night, tossing eight innings and only allowing two base hits, improved his record to 7-2 and lowered his American League-best ERA to a minuscule 1.65 (his ERA+ is an A.L.- best 235, too). 

While other pitchers in the league get the most attention, Gray has been quietly brilliant for Oakland. He's a big reason their pitching staff has led the way during the recent hot streak that has found the A's go 7-3 in their last ten games, take 3/4 from the New York Yankees, sweep the Tigers in Detroit and improve their record from 17-32 (as of Wednesday, May 27th) to 23-33 (as of Friday, June 5th). 

The A's are trying to pull themselves out of the hole they dug into with their dismal start this season, and Gray's leading the charge. Just look at these statistics: 

The reserved Gray was sheepish about calling Wednesday's outing his best of the season, responding to Joe Stiglich of CSN Bay Area's question with the following: “Um, I don’t know. I felt good. It was a good outing for sure.” 

His rotation mate Jesse Hahn, who also held the Tigers in check during Oakland's sweep and has now won his last two starts (both against Detroit), gave some credit to Gray's leadership:

After their good time in Detroit, the A's now boast the fourth-best team ERA in the A.L. (3.60) and have thrown the most shutouts (eight). 

Part of the reason Oakland got off to such a poor start this season had to do with pitching issues - both out of the bullpen and in the rotation. Since then, however, Hahn has begun pitching to his level of capability and young right-hander Kendall Graveman has been rather impressive since rejoining the club a few weeks back. 

In fact, the success of Gray, Hahn, Graveman Scott Kazmir and Jesse Chavez has allowed the team to use lefty Drew Pomeranz out of the bullpen, a rather beneficial output of so much pitching depth.

Oufielder Josh Reddick told Stiglich of how things are 'clicking' for Oakland right now: "We all had to get on the same page. It took us a little longer than most teams do. We’re finally clicking together. Now we’re showing the league what we can do when we’re all clicking on the same cylinder. It’s fun baseball to be a part of.”

The A's are doing their best at the moment to back up GM Billy Beane's declarations of not being worried about their tough start, and Gray's leadership is a prime reason why that's the case. 

(h/t CSN Bay Area)

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