Top prospect Gray sharp for ninth Double-A win
Right-hander delivers 5 2/3 scoreless innings of one-hit ball with seven K's
Rockies' No. 1 prospect Jon Gray threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings Wednesday as Double-A Tulsa defeated Northwest Arkansas, 2-0.
Gray, ranked No. 13 on MLBPipeline.com's Top 100 Prospects list, held the Naturals to one hit and two walks. He struck out seven batters and picked up his ninth victory -- his sixth against Northwest Arkansas -- this season.
After a leadoff single by Angel Franco and a one-out walk to Jorge Bonifacio in the first inning, Gray retired 16 of the final 17 batters he faced. Only a leadoff walk in the fourth inning broke his rhythm before manager Kevin Riggs went to his bullpen in the sixth inning after Gray had thrown 93 pitches.
Shortstop Trevor Story, the Rockies' No. 9 prospect, went 2-for-4 with a home run to lead Tulsa's offense. It was his first home run since being promoted from Class A Advanced Modesto last month.
With the victory, Gray improved to 9-4 with a 3.54 ERA. He has struck out 88 batters and walked 28 in 94 innings in his first full professional season. He leads the Texas League in wins and ranks third in strikeouts.