Central STL News

Pedro Pagés, the catcher for Cardinals ace Sonny Gray during his impressive one-hit game against Cleveland, left Progressive Field with a memorable keepsake. After Gray's 89-pitch masterpiece on Friday, he handed the game ball to Pagés as a token of appreciation for his contributions both in preparation and on the field.

Pagés expressed surprise at receiving the ball from Gray, saying, "Lars gave Sonny the ball, and he gave it to me and said, ‘You keep it!’ and I was like, ‘No, no, that’s your ball,’ but he told me to keep it.” The catcher plans to display it in his South Florida home.

Gray's performance was notable for its efficiency; he achieved what is known as a "Maddux," a complete-game shutout with fewer than 100 pitches. Nolan Arenado praised Gray’s performance as exceptional: “That was as good a performance as I’ve ever played defense behind in my career.”

The partnership between Gray and Pagés has been effective this season. The Cardinals have won 13 out of 16 games started by Gray. This success is attributed to Pagés' dedication in studying hitters’ tendencies and making strategic calls during games. With Pagés catching, Cardinals pitchers have maintained a 3.56 ERA compared to 4.60 when other catchers are behind the plate.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol highlighted Pagés' ability to build trust with pitchers: “The relationship you build with a pitcher and the trust you have -- it’s about going out there and competing and building that trust."

On Friday night, despite an overlap with team meetings affecting their usual pregame routine, Gray showed flexibility by allowing Pagés to attend the hitters’ meeting instead of their regular session. In response to encouragement from Gray to hit a home run during the game, Pagés delivered by breaking a scoreless tie with his sixth homer of the season.

Reflecting on that moment in the dugout after hitting his home run, Pagés said humorously: “Once I [hit the homer], I looked at [Gray] in the dugout and he smiled back at me.”