Photo | Ashley Green courtesy of Worcester Red Sox
Washington Nationals right-hander Josiah Gray took the mound Friday night in a rehab assignment for the Rochester Red Wings, facing the It marked another important step in his return from Tommy John surgery.
Josiah Gray, who typically relied on a four-seam fastball averaging around 92.7 mph before surgery, showed flashes of his old velocity early on. In the first inning, he touched 92 mph, but for most of his outing, his heater sat between 90–91 mph.
Where Gray really stood out was with his secondary pitches. Worcester hitters struggled to make solid contact, as his command and pitch placement kept them off balance throughout his outing. In 2.2 innings of work, Gray didn’t allow a hit or a run. He walked three batters while striking out two and managed to retire six consecutive hitters before issuing a two-out walk to Kristian Campbell in the third.
His night ended after 45 pitches, when reliever Bryce Conley entered the game to finish the inning.