Trying to portray Jon Gray as an ace proves impossible. Especially given his volatile start to the 2018 season. However, hidden beneath the bloated ERA and WHIP lies hope of a turnaround as the season progresses. Gray not only whiffed 11 Padres over six innings on Wednesday afternoon, he generated 24 swinging strikes and registered 14 called strikes. It’s a welcome change from past outings. Here’s a visual account of his day courtesy of BaseballSavant.com:
There’s no guarantee Gray can carry this over to his next start, but the talent exists. Harnessing it over a prolonged stretch has not happened yet for the Rockies pitcher. Wednesday’s win marks the ninth time Gray’s recorded at least 10 strikeouts in a game, four of them versus San Diego.
That Just Happened
Over the last nine games, Trevor Story ’s 12-for-29 (.414) with two doubles, a triple, three home runs, 13 RBI, six walks and eight strikeouts. He finished with a hit, a run and an RBI on Wednesday.
Adam Ottavino struck out two hitters in his inning of work which marks the 11th time in 13 appearances this year he’s done so. For the season, Ottavino’s whiffed 26 of the 45 hitters faced for an impressive 57.8 strikeout percentage.
Padres reliever Brad Hand worked an inning giving up a hit with a strikeout. He’s completed eight straight scoreless outings allowing three hits and striking out 14 in them.
Albert Pujols notched hit number 2,994 with a home run off of Justin Verlander . Just another milestone within reach amidst all the debate about his actual age.
Segue alert, Verlander won his fourth straight decision this year and owns a 1.86 ERA in six starts to this point with 48 strikeouts, eight walks and a 0.73 WHIP.
No more monkey on José Altuve ’s back. He hit his first home run of 2018. In an post-game interview, Altuve joked about being relieved hitting his first dinger. Or did he?
On the closer front, Ken Giles notched his second save of the year. He did yield a long flyout to center by Mike Trout , recovered to strikeout Justin Upton and retired Pujols. Edwin Díaz recorded his major league leading 10th save in a clean outing with two strikeouts for Seattle.
A typical day for Yoan Moncada . He launched a lead-off home run, his fifth of the season, and struck out in his remaining three at-bats. Under the radar, Yolmer Sánchez went 2-for-4 with two runs, a double and a stolen base (his third). Tim Anderson moved his hitting streak to seven games (he’s hitting .344 in it) with his third multi-hit game in the last four games.
Washington rested some starters but still piled on versus the Giants. Trea Turner recorded five hits, scored two runs, drove in two and stole his 10th base. Matt Adams also racked up three hits with a double, his third home run and six RBI. And some pitcher named Max Scherzer won his fifth game and registered his 68th career double digit strikeout game. He’s filthy.
Brandon Belt extended his hit streak to eight games going 2-for-4 with a run scored. Jeff Samardzija imploded giving up six earned run in less than four innings.
Although not completed, the Tigers and Pirates seem to be playing slow pitch softball in the rain. Miguel Cabrera moved up the career RBI chart passing Harold Baines for 37th All-Time with two RBI double. Jacoby Jones and James McCann each extended their hit streaks to seven games. Nick Castellanos has three hits including his second home run and Jeimer Candelario also notched three hits with four runs with his fourth home run as well.
For Pittsburgh, Francisco Cervelli hit a three run home run, his third this year. Colin Moran added his second home run and Corey Dickerson ’s recorded three hits so far.
Night Moves
Texas placed Adrián Béltre on the 10-day disabled list with no timetable for a return. They also optioned Matt Bush to the minors in order to activate Doug Fister and recall Ryan Rua 
Milwaukee takes another injury hit with Eric Thames suffering a UCL injury to his thumb. He could miss six-to-eight weeks as a result. His owners should see if Jesus Aguilar ’s on the waiver wire. Aguilar’s hitting .429/.487/.629 over 19 games this year and not just a southpaw hitting specialist.
Seattle demoted Daniel Vogelbach and plan to activate Ryon Healy when they return to action at home this weekend. Plan accordingly.
There’s whispers not only will Jack Flaherty return to the mound for the Cardinals on Saturday, but the Pirates may promote Nick Kingham to start in their home game as well.
Burning Questions
Will the Twins beat the Yankees? How many strikeouts can Clayton Kershaw rack up versus the Marlins? Will weather wreak more havoc with games? How will Ronald Acuna do in his debut?
Be sure to stop back in the morning for Fantasy Alarm’s Round Up to catch up on all of the night’s action.
Statistical Credits
MLB.com
Fangraphs.com
BaseballSavant.com