The Cardinals defeated the White Sox 3-0 on Friday night to snap a two-game losing streak. Nolan Arenado drove in three runs with a pair of doubles, Willson Contreras added three hits, and Sonny Gray pitched seven scoreless innings.
In order to drive in Contreras and Paul Goldschmidt, Arenado launched a double at 105.4 mph in the opening inning, which was his hardest-hit ball of the year. Arenado scored Contreras from first base with a double in the fifth inning by going the other way. With his 66th career double in interleague play, Arenado tied Cardinals great Albert Pujols for sixth place all-time in NL/AL history.
For Gray, that was more than enough, as he reduced his ERA to 0.89 in five starts for the season. The Cardinals wanted an ace, and they found one in Gray, who they signed to a three-year, $75 million free-agent contract in November. He retired 13 of the final 14 batters he faced, left runners in scoring position in the second and third innings, and cruised through easy innings in the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh. Gray gave up just three hits and one walk in five innings of work this season, striking out six. He has not let up a run in the opening four innings of any of his five outings.
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