Gray Debuts as Baseball Returns to Louisville

(By Josh Romans/Louisville Bats)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – For the first time in roughly a year and a half, there was professional baseball in Louisville, Kentucky.

Shortly after announcing the Louisville Bats season opener would be pushed back to early May, the Bats announced that Louisville Slugger Field would serve as the Cincinnati Reds’ official alternate training site during the month of April. To heighten the excitement of the Reds coming to Louisville, the first pitcher to take the hill at Slugger Field in 2021 was one of the organization’s top arms, right-hander Sonny Gray.

“I felt great. I treated it as close to a normal start as I could,” said Gray after facing the Kansas City Royals Monday night. “It was nice to get out among the umpires and the game. I felt really, really, really good.”

Gray, who had his spring training cut short due to back spasms that began to bother him in mid-March, was happy to be back on the field.

“It was needed, for sure,” said Gray. “Going into it, I wanted to treat is as much like a normal start as I could. I was ready to roll, I think it went very well, and I was very pleased with how I threw the ball.”

The fans in Louisville were just as pleased to see Gray in action, selling out all available tickets prior to the game’s 7 p.m. start.

When asked if he could feel a good atmosphere in Louisville, Gray smiled and replied, “Yeah, I could. It was cool, it really was. I got here yesterday after our game in Cincinnati and walked around the city on Easter Sunday and got it take it all in. You could tell that the city has been through a lot and I definitely felt that.”

The energy was still apparent as he took the mound Monday.

“And then, today, the fans were very excited. I think, across the big leagues and trickling down into the alternate sites and Triple-A, baseball is something that is bringing a lot of joy to people and it was so nice to see a lot of smiling faces in the stands.”

Gray showed flashes of what made him the Reds Opening Day starter in 2020, finishing with six strikeouts in his 4.2 innings of work and retiring the final four batters he faced in order. He whiffed the Kansas City’s No. 1 overall prospect, Bobby Witt Jr., on three straight pitches early in the contest, freezing him with a fastball on the black for a called third strike.

Ultimately, Gray finished with 60 pitches before being relieved by Bo Takahashi in the fifth. The Reds and Royals played to a stalemate through nine innings.

The two Alternate Site teams continue their five-game series at Louisville Slugger Field tonight at 7 p.m. Click HERE for tickets.