Jon Gray is already arguably the best Rockies pitcher this year, but now he can add a home run to his already glowing resume. Gray left no doubt with the first home run of his career, a two-run shot in a 5-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds at Coors Field on Wednesday night.
“I didn’t [know] at first, but I mean it felt good,” Gray said about the blast. “I was just glad that it ended up being a big part of the game, so it helped us out a lot.”
Not only did he hit his first-ever Major League jack, but he managed to ink his name in the history books in the process. Soaring 467 feet, that bomb was the longest recorded by a pitcher since Statcast came into existence (2015) and the longest hit by any Rockies player this season, which is impressive, to say the least.
His teammates were equally impressed with his first game back at Coors Field since injury, to say the least.
“They really didn’t say much, it was like, ‘Man, that was crushed,'” Gray said.
Just watch.
https://twitter.com/TheRenderMLB/status/882774667953659904
Unfortunately for Gray, however, the ball saw a bad bounce off of the center field seats, and bounced into the pond in centerfield. He’s not sure if he’ll ever get to keep the memento from his first homer.
“No, I think it bounced in the [pond], so it’s gone forever,” he said.
Manager Bud Black, however, wouldn’t let that minor detail faze him in light of the much-needed victory.
“My initial thoughts when he hit it, I thought it was awesome,” Black said. “I got to see the aftermath of that, when they tried to retrieve the ball. I’ve heard some dialogue in the clubhouse about that.”
The homer started off the night for the Rockies offensively, as they battled for a 5-3 victory over the Reds. After a 5.2-inning pitching campaign from Gray, during which he allowed eight hits and two earned runs and struck out five, he also earned his second win of the season.
“It wasn’t a good day on the hill,” Gray said. “I didn’t have a feel for anything, really. Fast balls were cutting, fading away. Slider wasn’t very sharp.”
The game went all the way down to wire, with Holland coming in in the top of the ninth to earn yet another save.
“It was just a night to battle, it was a six-inning battle–not even six innings,” Gray said. “There were tough outs, and I was just doing my best to keep the ball in the yard.”