Fade to Gray: Righty atypically poor in loss

CLEVELAND -- Not even Sonny Gray could halt the A's road woes.
They continued in the worst of ways at Progressive Field on Tuesday evening, an early three-run lead gone for naught as Oakland dropped to 7-19 away from the Coliseum with a 9-4 loss. Gray stumbled, and A's hitters couldn't regain momentum, as Cleveland's staff stole all of it in a 19-strikeout showing.
Indians starter Trevor Bauer led the way with 14 strikeouts, locking down the shutdown inning when Gray couldn't.
Staked to a 3-0 lead after four innings, Gray walked his first batter of the fourth en route to a four-run frame. The Indians tacked on three more in the fifth, with Gray only able to record two outs in the inning and finishing at 92 pitches.
The seven earned runs allowed matched his total from his previous four starts combined.
"Any time we have a three-run lead, I think everyone in this locker room expects to win games like that," Gray said. "When the team gives you a cushion like that, I've gotta continue to attack the zone and get us back in the dugout as quick as possible. We have a big inning, and I go out and walk [Francisco] Lindor on five pitches, five fastballs, and really none of them were really close, that's something that's unacceptable. You walk the leadoff hitter, and you're kind of asking for a big inning."
Gray yielded four hits in a row in the fourth and nine overall, including a leadoff homer to Jason Kipnis to open the fifth. He struck out three, walked two and unleashed a wild pitch that brought in Cleveland's seventh run.
"Just got some runners on and they got some momentum and they made some good swings and just got him on the ropes a little bit," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "He looked good early on, velocity was probably as good as we've seen all year, and they just put together some good at-bats and strung them together and next thing you know they had four runs and then three and I had to take him out."
A healthy Sonny Gray's stock was on the rise in recent weeks, the right-hander regaining his groove after beginning the season on the disabled list following a forgettable 2016 campaign, and the effects seemingly twofold: by pitching well, Gray was also increasing his trade value.
He'll remain under the magnifying glass leading up to the Trade Deadline at the end of July, but Gray won't concern himself with such matters.
"The quicker I can put this game behind me, the better off I'll be," he said. "I'll go away from this tonight and try to come in here tomorrow and try to not think about it and continue to move forward. I think that's the best way to get rid of this."