Gray fans 8 but has mixed results in loss to Mets

NEW YORK -- Right-hander Jon Gray had his start pushed back a few days because he injured his right middle finger. His day to pitch finally came on Saturday night at Citi Field, and the results were mixed as the Rockies lost to the Mets, 5-3.

Over the first three innings, Gray had problems with his fastball command and allowed three runs. The biggest blow came in the second, when he allowed a two-run homer to Carlos Gomez.

• Box score

It looked like Gray was going to get out of the third unscathed, but that wasn’t the case. Gray issued a two-out walk to Michael Conforto and allowed a single to Wilson Ramos to put runners on first and third. Todd Frazier then came to the plate and hit a 1-1 pitch into left field to drive in Conforto.

“Jon threw some really good pitches. He threw some pitches he would like to take back. It’s as simple as that,” manager Bud Black said. “He wasn’t able to [have] one particular pitch to keep it a lower scoring game.”

The Rockies tied the game at 3 in the fourth, as Gray settled down in the fourth and fifth by striking out five of the six hitters he faced.

“I was keeping things simple," Gray said. "I was throwing my pitches for strikes. I wasn’t trying to do too much. I was trying to hit [catcher] Tony [Wolters'] glove."

By the time Gray exited with two outs in the sixth, he had fanned eight. He also became the sixth Rockies pitcher to strike out 600 or more batters in a career.

But Gray took the loss, giving up the go-ahead run when Amed Rosario grounded into a double play in the sixth.

“I had good enough stuff to win tonight. I didn’t have my best stuff, obviously,” Gray said. “The thing that eats me alive is that when I made a mistake ... I would overthrow a pitch. I throw a slider past someone, and it’s a good pitch. I try to make [the next] one better, and they hit it. It’s things like that that shouldn’t happen again."

As far as his right middle finger is concerned, Gray said it felt better than it did in his previous two starts, when it came close to developing a blister. But that didn't happen Saturday.

“It was really good tonight. It held together,” Gray said. “I’m just upset about making mental mistakes, really.”