Talking after Josiah Gray tossed six scoreless against the New York Mets, striking out nine of the 23 batters he faced in Citi Field, Nationals’ skipper Davey Martinez told reporters he saw Gray’s fastball as the key to his success in the outing.
Gray leaned on his breaking pitches in his first four starts this season, with his fastball usage down significantly from 2022 percentages, but he established it early in NY, and worked off the pitch opposing hitters did the most damage on in ‘22 (.305 AVG, 24 of a league-high 38 HRs allowed).