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Red Sox’ Sonny Gray explains ‘weird’ play at plate, trying to make diving tag
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- Red Sox’ Sonny Gray explains ‘weird’ play at plate, trying to make diving tag
CINCINNATI — Red Sox starting pitcher Sonny Gray dived unsuccessfully to tag out Reds' Matt McLain at home plate during a chaotic 35-pitch first inning.
Boston lost 6-5 to the Reds in 11 innings at Great American Ball Park.
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Gray sprinted off the mound to the third base side to field Eugenio Suárez 's weak grounder. The 36-year-old righty initially made a throwing motion toward catcher Carlos Narváez before instead deciding to dive. McLain avoided Gray's tag and scored.
"As soon as he hit it, I knew it was going to be a weird one," Gray explained. "I went to field the ball. And as I fielded the ball, it was in my glove, but I never had it. And then I just saw him right in front of me and it (the ball) was kind of juggling in my glove. I just saw him in front of me, so I was like, OK, I'll just go tag him because I didn't feel like I had a grip on the ball where I could do like a little shovel pass to Narvi. So then I went to try to tag him and he just kind of dodged it and I just lost the ball."
The ball popped out of Gray's glove and rolled toward the backstop.
"I never cleanly fielded the ball is what it felt like," Gray said. "Looking back, I could have slowed it down, fielded the ball and gave it up to Narvi completely. I just never felt like I got a clean grasp of the ball. Weird play."
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Gray struggled in his Red Sox debut, allowing four runs (three earned), six hits and one walk while striking out five. He gave up two extra-base hits, including a 399-foot home run to Sal Stewart . He induced five swings and misses: two with his curveball and one each with his sinker, sweeper and four-seam fastball.
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