Jon Gray was knocked out of the NL wild-card game on Wednesday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second inning after a shaky start.
Following the game, the Colorado Rockies starting pitcher tried to explain his struggles.
“I think I was just doing too much out there,” Gray said after the game. “I could tell early I was overthrowing my offspeed. Things were up in the end zone every time.”
Gray gave up two hits to start the game and then a 3-run home run that put his Rockies in a 3-0 hole. He said the rowdy environment affected him the wrong way.
“The environment’s pretty loud. You want to step up and do something good for the team. I was felling like I needed to pick up my effort a little bit more. I think it hurt me,” said Gray.
“It’s tough but it’s the first time I’ve been in this environment. I’m just hoping to learn from it.”
Gray is only 25 and this was his first career playoff game, so it’s understandable why he may have been so amped for the game. Now he’s learned to dial it down next time despite the heightened intensity of the game.
Oh, and the bright side is after allowing four runs on seven hits in 1.1 innings this time around, improvement in his next playoff start is likely.
