Josiah Gray struck out 10 batters but gave up three walks and a big home run in the Nationals’ 5-2 loss to the Marlins. Here are some quotes from last night's game:
“Josiah threw the ball well,.. It was really one pitch, the walk, and one pitch from having a really good outing. But I thought he threw the ball well. He came out that last inning, he had 98 pitches when we took him out, but he was still throwing 94, making decent pitches, should have been out of that inning on that ball to Escobar, but I thought he threw the ball really well... He was throwing strikes with all his pitches,.. Fastball, breaking balls ... breaking ball was sharp today and he used it very well, him and Keibert had a good game plan going in today. But like I said, he had that one inning where he walked [Sánchez], and one bad pitch — he tried to throw a slider, it didn’t really do much, Wendle hit it for a home run, but he came back and like I said, a lot of weak contact, and threw the ball well.” Martinez discusses Josiah Gray's performance against the Marlins
“Was a product of having good command tonight, but going out there and wanting to attack those guys knowing their approaches and things like that, but first time through was great in terms of first-pitch strike, things like that, and just look to build on that for the next outing.” RHP Josiah Gray on his success last night against the Marlins
He came in yesterday and took some ground balls, and he got pretty tired quickly, so we’re going to have to build him up and then get him going, but as soon as we feel like he’s ready, and he’s ready, he’ll be back here... He didn’t do much. With him, he’s built for speed and putting the ball in play, and stuff like that, so we’re going to get him to play some outfield, some middle infield when he’s down there, but I’ll stay in touch with Matt [LeCroy] and see how he’s doing every day, but I told him, and I talked to Dee and told him, ‘Hey, when you feel like you’re ready just let us know and we’ll keep eyes on you." Martinez discussed Dee-Strange Gordon's status before yesterday's game against the Marlins
"We got to definitely keep an eye on [Josh] Bell — because he’s got two injuries that we’re kind of worried about a little bit, one with his knee and the other one with his hamstring, so we’ll keep an eye on him. But Vic[Victor Robles] said he felt good, like he said, he thought it was a cramp, so he said he feels good today.” Martinez discussed the status of Josh Bell and Victor Robles before yesterday's game against the Marlins.
“I thought I was sharp for the most part... I think two out of the three walks ended up scoring, so being able to limit those guys scoring and advancing is obviously something I need to work on. But other than that, I thought one bad pitch to Wendle there -- I’ve got to get that slider down. But for the most part, I thought I was in command of the game, in command of my fastball, my breaking balls, and definitely a lot of positives... These hitters are going to continue to get looks off me, and [I'll] just continue to find ways to get them out... I feel like I’m in a really good spot with some good outings, and I’m looking forward to the next one.” RHP Josiah Gray on his success last night against the Marlins