Sonny Gray zeroes-in on another scoreless outing, hurls Cardinals to shutout of Dodgers

When the word “stopper” is thrown around to describe a starter, it often refers to the pitcher who halts losing skids, who gives his bullpen a break and his team a lift.

The title needs to be expanded when referring to Sonny Gray.

The Cardinals’ top pitcher has not only stopped some recent losing stumbles, he’s flat out stopped opponents. Gray authored his second consecutive scoreless start by stymying those high-flying Los Angeles Dodgers in a 5-0 shutout Friday night at Busch Stadium. Gray had the backing of a two-run homer from catcher Pedro Pages for the majority of his start and scattered eight hits through 6 1/3 innings. Since a bruising outing in Philadelphia, the Cardinals’ right-hander has pitched four consecutive quality starts.

Three of the four have been scoreless outings.