Cincinnati Reds: Poor run support has doomed Sonny Gray this season

Until last night, the Cincinnati Reds have failed to offer much run support for starting pitcher Sonny Gray who has yet to record a win this season.

Sonny Gray has started 7 games this season for the Cincinnati Reds with a 3.89 ERA and allowed only 25 hits and 15 runs. He has only walked 8 batters and thrown an unbelievable 564 pitches thus far. Gray’s not yet on the level of Luis Castillo, but he’s has been excellent so far this season. Yet, Gray also carries a win-loss record of 0-4 and until last night has received little to no run support.

If you had told me at the beginning of this season that the offense would be the biggest problem for this Reds team, I probably would have laughed at you. How can a team that includes the likes of Yasiel Puig, Joey Votto, and Jesse Winker be struggling offensively? But it’s happening, and it’s been frustrating for fans to watch.

It has to be even more frustrating for Gray and the rest of the pitching staff. Following last night’s 11 runs scored, this season has provided only three occasions when the bats have looked really good. Sonny Gray has fallen victim to the offensive woes more than anyone.

In Gray’s start on April 28th, he threw 5 innings, gave up 3 hits, and 2 runs. Gray walked 2 batters while striking out 5. However those stats do not necessarily indicate how well he actually pitched. However, the offense couldn’t get the job done and scratched across just 2 runs, but not before the bullpen gave up 3 more runs giving the St. Louis Cardinals the win.

One the other hand, in Tanner Roark‘s last start, the right-hander was handed a four-run lead to work with in the second inning. Roark pitched 3.2 innings gave up 4 hits, 4 earned runs, hit a batter, walked 4, and only struck out 3.

It has been a frustrating season so far for both players and fans. It is easy to sit back and look for someone to blame for the offense’s struggles, but let’s not forget that the baseball season is a marathon not a sprint. There’s still a lot of games to be played, as we’re not even 20% into the 2019 season, and I seriously doubt that these players are going to continue to struggle over the remaining 130 games.

Jesse Winker, Eugenio Suárez, and Yasiel Puig are all hitting below .250 on the season. Kyle Farmer has a better batting average than Joey Votto, and Michael Lorenzen has drawn more walks than Matt Kemp.

The offense will come, one way or another. With the call up of Nick Senzel last night, as well as the improvements we have already seen from Jesse Winker and José Peraza, I’m inclined to think the offense will pick up the pace sooner rather than later.

Hopefully the bats  can help Sonny Gray in his next outing with the same run support they offered during last night’s 12-11 loss. Gray is slated to start for the Cincinnati Reds when the team heads out west to his old stomping grounds in Oakland next week. Let’s just make sure the bullpen is up to the task of maintaining a 7-run lead next time.