Worthy: It's still sunny in Florida (for now) despite bumpy start for Cardinals' Sonny Gray

PORT ST.

LUCIE, Fla.

Theres no reason to panic ...

yet.

The early results for the Cardinals most accomplished and experienced starting pitcher, Sonny Gray, have not been inspired this spring.

With the wind blowing out and the ball flying out of the ballpark Monday night, Gray might have given you a few moments of anxiety about the season ahead.

Cardinals fan internal dialogue with Gray on the mound at Clover Park: Wait! He was supposed to lead the rotation this season.

If thats the clubs best pitcher and hes getting tagged in spring training like the slow kid on the playground in a game of tag, then this season might really be a trainwreck.

Oh please, dont let them ruin my summer! Calm down.

Just because Gray let an inning get out of hand against the New York Mets doesnt mean you should let your emotions run amok.

Theres at least some reason to believe hes got more in the tank than what hes shown thus far.

Gray made his second Grapefruit League start of the spring Monday, and he allowed four runs on six hits and one walk in four innings.

He gave up two home runs and struck out four.

He gave up three of his four runs in the second inning, one frame after hed retired Mets stars Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto and Pete Alonso in order on 10 pitches.

For those keeping track at home, Gray has allowed seven runs on 10 hits including five home runs in his two starts (623 innings).

He has also struck out seven batters.

And yes, the wind was also blowing out in West Palm Beach last week when the Astros took Gray deep three times.

The weather report will offer very little comfort to some folks, and thats fair.

For what its worth, Gray came out of this latest outing with more optimism than his outing against the Astros.

I let it spiral a little bit on me there in the second, Gray said following his start on Monday night.

I felt better after that.

Im getting there.

I feel a lot better after this one than I did the last one.

So I feel like Im getting a lot closer.

In that second inning spiral, the Mets Starling Marte doubled on a first-pitch sinker.

Jeff McNeil doubled on a 2-1 fastball.

Luis Torrens smacked another fastball for a two-run home run.

Just like that, they hung a three-spot on Gray.

He fell behind some guys, and they took some good swings on his fastball, Cardinals manager Oli Marmol said.

More importantly, he came out of that feeling good, and he finished in the bullpen because he still wanted to touch a couple more, which is a really good sign.

So yeah, it didnt look the way he wanted it to, but he found how to come out of it and be productive.

Like a good veteran pitcher, Gray put a positive spin on his outing by admitting he was frustrated with that one inning and then pointing to the way he responded as a good sign.

He even said a rough inning like that may be a good thing from time to time, especially if youre able to learn from it, make adjustments from it.

Then, he indirectly broached an underlying factor to his spring outings: his velocity.

Grays average velocity on his four-seamer, sweeper and sinker were each down a little more than 1 mph, and his spin rates were also below his season averages.

All three of the fastballs, the sinker lined by Marte and the pair of four-seamers hit by McNeil and Torrens were below 92 mph.

Last season, Grays four-seamer averaged 92.3 mph, and his sinker averaged 92.7 mph.

Ive been kind of guarding myself a little bit, if were being honest with how Im throwing the ball as far as not 100% getting on it, Gray said.

But I feel ready to do that now, physically.

In other words, Gray, a max-effort pitcher, has not been letting it eat in his first couple of spring training outings.

Hes been easing into games rather than really putting the pedal down.

You might be tempted to view that as a convenient excuse, but Gray hasnt forgotten that he spent the first 20 games of the regular season on the injured list after he sustained a hamstring injury in, thats right, his second spring training start of 2024.

His last spring training as a member of the Cincinnati Reds also included an injury interruption (back) and an IL stint to start April.

I just felt like in springs in the past, Ive come in guns blazing and two of my last three or whatever, I havent made it out of spring, Gray said.

So I came in this one with a little bit of a different approach.

Physically, I feel like my feet and my legs are under me now.

Im getting the mental part right as far as a mindset.

Ive still got some work to do with that, but I still have time to hone in on that.

Physically, I feel ready to really let it go and get after it which is a good thing.

Gray, who set single-season Cardinals records for strikeouts per nine innings last season (10.98) and strikeout percentage (30.3%), didnt kick the can down the road indefinitely.

He said he for sure needs to pitch full throttle before the Cardinals leave Florida.

For the time being, we can take Gray at his word about holding back in his first two appearances.

Hes got a track record 12 MLB seasons, three All-Star selections, twice among the top three in Cy Young Award voting that says he knows what he needs to do to get ready for the season.

I feel better about where Im going.

I feel better about where Im at, Gray said.

And I just feel a lot closer..

This article has been shared from the original article on stltoday, here is the link to the original article.