ST. LOUIS (AP) — Sonny Gray tossed five innings in his St. Louis debut, and the Cardinals shut out the Philadelphia Phillies 3-0 on Tuesday night.
Gray (1-0) allowed five hits, struck out five and walked none. The 34-year-old right-hander threw 43 of his 64 pitches for strikes.
Gray signed a $75 million, three-year contract with St. Louis in free agency. He missed the start of the season after he hurt his right hamstring in a spring training game against Washington on March 4.
After Gray departed, Matthew Liberatore, Andrew Kittredge and JoJo Romero combined for three innings before Ryan Helsley handled the ninth for his fourth save in five chances this season.
Philadelphia right-hander Zack Wheeler (0-2) permitted three runs and six hits in seven innings. He struck out five and walked one.
Wheeler had allowed just two earned runs in 35 1/3 innings over his last five regular-season and postseason starts against St. Louis.
Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto departed after he was hit in the throat area by a Wheeler wild pitch in the seventh. Wheeler was pitching to Brendan Donovan when he bounced an 0-1 curveball, catching Realmuto in the area of his throat and knocking off his mask.
Philadelphia medical staff examined Realmuto before the 33-year-old walked off the field under his own power.
St. Louis jumped in front on Nolan Gorman’s third homer of the season in the fourth.
The Cardinals added two more in the fifth. Rookie Victor Scott II hit a sacrifice fly, and Donovan drove in Masyn Winn with a groundout.
Philadelphia threatened in the seventh. Bryson Stott and Nick Castellanos reached on infield singles against Kittredge. Romero walked Brandon Marsh to load the bases before striking out Whit Merrifield and Kyle Schwarber to end the inning.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Phillies: RHP Orion Kerkering (right forearm strain) pitched a scoreless inning in a rehabilitation appearance for Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Cardinals: C Willson Contreras (sore left hand) went 0 for 3 in his return to the lineup as the designated hitter. He was hit by a pitch last week at San Diego. Contreras said he still can’t squeeze a glove but hopes to return to catching on Friday in Arizona.
UP NEXT
Phillies RHP Aaron Nola (1-1, 5.40 ERA) faces Cardinals RHP Lance Lynn (0-0, 4.15 ERA) on Wednesday.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
