Per Jane Lee of MLB.com, Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Sonny Gray has become the first A’s player since at least 1914 to open a season with 10 consecutive quality starts. Gray ran his streak to 10 games with an eight-inning performance Thursday afternoon, allowing only a single earned run to the Tampa Bay Rays while striking out three.
In order for a pitcher to get a quality start, he must toss a minimum of six innings while allowing no more than three earned runs. Sixteen of Gray’s 20 career starts qualify, and three of the other four weren’t far off. He’s only had one truly bad outing, which came Aug. 25 against the Baltimore Orioles.
Through 10 starts and 68 innings in 2014, Gray has compiled a 5-1 record with a 1.99 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 55 strikeouts. On April 28 against the Texas Rangers, he recorded his first career complete game and first career shutout.
Gray is averaging just slightly less than seven innings of work per start this season, and his five wins are tied with the resurgent Scott Kazmir for tops on the Athletics’ staff. Gray has made 20 starts of a total 22 appearances in his major league career—10 starts in 2013 and 10 more thus far in 2014.
The A’s have compiled a stout 7-3 record in the 24-year-old’s starts this season after going 6-4 in his outings last year. The team lost three of Gray’s first four career starts, but dating back to Aug. 31, 2013, Oakland’s record over his last 16 appearances is an impressive 12-4.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com