Oli Marmol has one heck of a take on Sonny Gray's perfectly-timed resurgence

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray is officially back on track after three straight outings giving up two runs or less. Gray had a rocky start against the Colorado Rockies earlier this month, which was poor by his standards.

Against the Rox, Gray didn't last the five innings necessary for a quality start, walking four and giving up three runs. He pitched dangerously and lived to tell the tale.

“Pitched like s—,” Gray said that day, per The Athletic. “It’s a trend. Trending in the wrong direction. So you’ve got to come in, come up with a plan and get back on track.”

Gray is no longer trending in the wrong direction. He has found control of his pitch arsenal, which is scary for the rest of baseball. After Gray dropped his ERA to 2.81, his manager Oli Marmol had this to say about his ace's approach.

“He said he wanted to be on the attack,” Marmol said, again per Katie Woo. “You can’t attack a lineup much more than what he did today. … He’s definitely demonstrating exactly what he talked about.”

St. Louis Cardinals have found their ace, but they need more

The Cardinals have created some separation between themselves and a jumbled mess of teams in the NL Central. The Brewers, of course, lead the division by five games. As of this writing, the Cardinals are in possession of the second Wild Card spot, a full game ahead of the San Diego Padres, which own the third slot.

Per president of baseball operations John Mozeliak, the Cardinals should be buyers at this season's MLB Trade Deadline. Mozeliak said the team will look for a fifth starting pitcher, and perhaps a right-handed hitting center fielder.

Cardinals fans would expect nothing less from an executive leaning ever closer to the hot seat, and a manager in Marmol who essentially needs to make the playoffs to keep his job.

Gray, at the very least, gives the Cardinals a capable No. 1 postseason starter. Behind him, there are some question marks despite the early-season success of Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn.