OAKLAND — After a nightmarish beginning to the game, A’s ace Sonny Gray showed why contenders will covet him in next month’s upcoming trade deadline.
Despite coming into the night with no wins and a 5.87 ERA since May 24, Gray’s electric stuff has placed him at the forefront of trade rumors this past week, with Tuesday’s opponent, the Houston Astros, reportedly at the top of the list of teams looking to acquire his services.
Houston managed to bat around in a five-run first inning that was catapulted by George Springer’s 21st home run of the season, a leadoff homer to begin the night, but Gray responded with four shutout innings of two-hit ball and even struck out the side in his final inning of work after the rough start to keep the A’s in the game of what was an eventual 8-4 loss.