St. Louis Cardinals Ace Sonny Gray Tosses 1-Hit Shutout, Makes Wild MLB History

Unlike Cincinnati Reds right-hander Nick Martinez, who lost his no-hit bid in the ninth inning Friday night, St. Louis Cardinals veteran Sonny Gray gave up his first hit of the evening in the bottom of the fifth.

But while Martinez got charged with a run and failed to go the distance against the San Diego Padres, Gray didn't let a blip on the radar tarnish his historic gem against the Cleveland Guardians.

Gray retired the first 14 batters he faced, then sat down the next 13 Guardians who stepped into the box following Nolan Jones' single. That lone hit came on a 1-2 count, too, and the one ball actually appeared to catch the top of the zone, meaning Gray was one call away from a perfect game.

The Cardinals won 5-0, so there was no need to run Gray into the ground. And yet, the 35-year-old righty threw just 89 pitches in his 9.0 shutout innings.

Gray didn't simply toss a Maddux – a complete game shutout on fewer than 100 pitches – he accomplished a feat never seen before in 125 years of big league history.

According to Jomboy Media's Dalton Feely, Gray became the first MLB player ever to allow zero earned runs, zero walks and one or fewer hits over 9.0 innings with at least 11 strikeouts on fewer than 90 pitches.