Sonny Gray
The sun was shining at Target Field on Tuesday but everything was gray in the worst way for the Twins. It was just a flat-out bad day for Sonny Gray, who fell behind before he could even get settled on the mound and ended up getting chased before he could finish four innings of work.
It was the second shortest outing of the season for Gray and it came at the worst possible time. Some fans pointed to the shadows and how they played a role in the Twins hitters being unable to see Cristian Javier's pitches, but Astros batters had no problem seeing what Gray was throwing to them.
What they saw were a ton of sweeper, which looked great when it was working:
Sonny Gray, 84mph Sweeper and 94mph Two Seamer, Individual Pitches + Overlay. pic.twitter.com/70ILougmo8
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) October 10, 2023
Gray's over-reliance on it, and stubborn reluctance to pivot away from it once he started getting tagged, ended up being his undoing. His day was essentially over before it had a chance to start, with the Astros jumping all over Gray for four runs in the first inning.
More than once Adam Wainwright pointed out mistakes Gray was making with his pitches, including a a sweeper he left hanging that Jose Aberu destroyed for a three-run homer. It was that kind of day for Gray, and it ended up putting the Twins in a hole they couldn't climb out of.