Jon Gray returned to the mound in a real game on Wednesday night for the first time since suffering a stress fracture in his left foot on April 14 in a rehab start for the High-A Lancaster JetHawks. It was an impressive return to action for the 25-year-old righty, who allowed just four hits (most of which were bloops) and a walk as he struck out five across four scoreless frames. Gray threw 55 pitches, 39 for strikes, and, according to Wilson Karaman of Baseball Prospectus, featured his usual assortment of pitches: a fastball from 95-97 mph, a filthy slider at 87-89 mph, a biting curveball at 77-80 mph, and a changeup in the upper 80’s. According to Karaman, Gray’s fastball command was a bit off early on, but that’s to be expected for a pitcher making his first start in two months.
Wednesday night will probably be Gray’s only start for Lancaster. After this, he’s likely to move on to Triple-A Albuquerque where he will make one or two more rehab starts before returning to the Rockies’ rotation. In non-Gray news on the farm, No. 7 PuRP Ryan McMahon hit his first homer in Triple-A as part of a two-hit game, No. 1 PuRP Brendan Rodgers extended his hitting streak to 22 games in Lancaster, and HM PuRP Jack Wynkoop hurled seven shutout innings for Double-A Hartford.
Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes 7, Fresno Grizzlies 3
Ryan McMahon (No. 7 PuRP): 2-for-4, HR, RBI, 2 K
Jordan Patterson (No. 13 PuRP): 1-for-4, K
Jairo Diaz (No. 24 PuRP): IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Sam Moll (No. 28 PuRP): 2⁄3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Matt Carasiti (HM PuRP): IP, 2 H, ER, 2 K
Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats 5, Trenton Thunder 4
Jack Wynkoop (HM PuRP): 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, BB, 5 K
Omar Carrizales: 1-for-3, 2B, BB, RBI
Ashley Graeter: 2-for-4, SB
Anthony Phillips: 2-for-4, 2B, RBI, K, CS, E
High-A: Lancaster JetHawks 4, Lake Elsinore Storm 0
Jon Gray: 4 IP, 4 H, 0 R, BB, 5 K
Brendan Rodgers (No. 1 PuRP): 1-for-3, BB
Garrett Hampson (No. 22 PuRP): 2-for-4, K
Brian Mundell (HM PuRP): 1-for-4
Low-A: Lexington Legends 7, Asheville Tourists 6
Colton Welker (No. 19 PuRP): 1-for-5, RBI, 2 K
Jose Gomez (No. 30 PuRP): 2-for-4, RBI
Willie Abreu: 3-for-5, 3B, SB, K
Matt Dennis: 3 IP, 2 H, ER, 6 K
Thursday probables:
Triple-A: Barry Enright (3-1, 4.37 ERA) vs. Fresno
Double-A: Parker French (No. 26 PuRP; 5-5, 4,48 ERA) vs. Trenton
High-A: Trey Killian (6-2, 6.00 ERA) @ Rancho Cucamonga
Low-A: Riley Pint (No. 3 PuRP; 1-7, 3.98 ERA) @ Lexington
Short-Season A: TBD @ Spokane
DSL: TBD @ DSL Yankees