Shockingly, Willson Contreras plays a positive role in Sonny Gray's Cardinals development

Sonny Gray was drafted by the Oakland A's in the first round of the 2011 MLB Amateur Draft. Gray holds the organization and The Coliseum close to his heart, so it makes sense that he would feel a little anxious before his start on Monday.

Gray was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals this offseason to a three-year contract worth $75 million. His time with the Cardinals has gotten off to a slow start thanks to a right hamstring injury that sidelined him for the first couple of weeks of the season.

After getting his first start in St. Louis out of the way, he returned to Oakland for a meaningful start in his career.

How vital was this start for Cardinals ace Sonny Gray?

Sonja Chen of MLB.com explained that Gray earned the 100th win of his Major League career in Monday's 3-1 victory over the A's, where he also picked up his first win more than ten years ago.

Gray is now one of 13 active pitchers to have 100 or more victories, including two of his teammates, Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson. Gray debuted in 2013 with the A's, making three appearances on the road before picking up his first win. Gray, a 23-year-old rookie at the time, blanked the Astros over eight innings on Aug. 15, 2013.

Chen said Gray has been back thrice as a visitor since being traded to the New York Yankees at the 2017 Trade Deadline. Gray is still a massive part of the Athletics' fabric. He leads the team among all active Major League pitchers in wins with 27, innings with 402.1, and strikeouts with 334 at the Coliseum.

Willson Contreras helped Gray through this start in many ways

Gray highly regards the A's organization and is thankful for what they have meant to his career. So it's no surprise his Cardinals teammates knew how unique this game would be for Gray.

Willson Contreras, who joined the Cardinals in 2023 after starting his career with the Chicago Cubs, where he helped them win their first World Series Championship in over 100 years, knows what it is like to return to a meaningful location with a new team.

Contreras told Chen he worked with Gray to get focused before the start.

"Before the game, I was helping him to slow down because he had a lot of emotions, obviously," Contreras said. "This was his house for many years."

Gray is now 2-0 after pitching six scoreless innings on Monday. He gave up four hits while striking out six batters, inducing 11 swings and misses.