This is Jon Gray: Version 2.0.Gray threw effectively into the seventh

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DENVER (AP) — Viewed as a power pitcher Rickey Henderson Jersey , Jon Gray always felt he needed to rely on strikeouts.He altered that thinking. inning and Ian Desmond hit a two-run triple in the sixth, leading the Colorado Rockies to a 6-2 win over the San Diego Padres on Wednesday night.“Jon wasn’t as crisp as we’ve seen him, but yet he pitched into the seventh inning,” Rockies manager Bud Black said.All part of his change.He was sent to the minors earlier this season to hone his command and Gray returned a different pitcher. He doesn’t rely on his fastball as much as he placed more faith in his breaking pitches.“It’s more of a controlled aggression than being aggressive,” Gray explained. “I’m not trying to make it nasty and throw it under their bat. I’m trying to make a quality pitch that’s sharp, that’s in the strike zone, but keeping it out of the heart of the plate.”Gray (10-7) went 6 1/3 innings and allowed two runs before running out of steam and turning it over to the bullpen. He’s now 3-0 with a 2.59 ERA over seven starts since his recall from Triple-A Albuquerque.“I hit the reset button,” Gray said.After allowing a run in the first, Gray settled into a groove against a Padres team that was missing infielder Wil Myers after he was a late scratch. Myers sustained a cut on his nose when a grounder hit him in the face while he was fielding during batting practice.Padres manager Andy Green said after the game there was no concussion.“He definitely took a hard one off the face. I don’t know that he was ever pretty but he’s definitely not pretty right now,” Green said. “Probably down (Thursday) and hope we can get him back in rhythm in L.A.”Myers was scheduled to make his eighth start at third base as the Padres experimented with sliding the veteran first baseman across the infield. Instead, Cory Spangenberg moved to third and Jose Pirela played second.Rockies catcher Tony Wolters added an RBI triple and a run-scoring sacrifice fly for the rolling Rockies, who began the day 1 1/2 games behind NL West-leading Arizona.Jacob Nix (1-2) turned in a solid outing in his first career road start. He allowed three runs over five innings.“There’s still very much to like and a lot to look forward to,” Green said of his right-hander.The Rockies improved to 24-24 against teams with a losing record. In contrast, they’re 45-33 versus those at or above the .500 mark.“It shows you why you can’t sleep on anybody Catfish Hunter Jersey ,” said Carlos Gonzalez, who had an RBI single in the first.TRAINER’S ROOMPadres: INF Christian Villanueva has a fractured finger and will be placed on the disabled list, Green said.ROSTER MOVEThe New York Yankees acquired catcher Chris Rabago off waivers from the Rockies and optioned him to Double-A Trenton. The move freed up a spot on the 40-man roster for the Rockies, which could potentially be used to add Matt Holliday. The slugger is currently hitting .346 with Triple-A Albuquerque.GONE TO THE DOGSIt was a “ruff” night as a parade of pooches made their way around the field before the game as part of a promotion called “Bark at the Park.”“This is the tail end of the dog days” of summer, Black joked. “This is the back end of the dog days.”TROUBLESOME INNINGSpangenberg had an RBI double in the first, which has turned into a problematic inning for the Rockies. The starting pitchers have allowed 110 runs in the opening inning this season.START OF SOMETHINGThe Rockies have now won each of Gray’s last nine starts. It matches Ubaldo Jimenez’s stretch in 2010 for the team’s longest win streak during a pitcher’s starts in franchise history.THIS & THATGray was cruising along, retiring 12 straight, before SS Freddy Galvis lined a solo homer in the seventh. … Desmond scored two runs and stole a base.UP NEXTPadres LHP Joey Lucchesi (6-7, 3.79 ERA) makes his fourth career start against Colorado on Thursday. The Rockies counter with LHP Kyle Freeland (11-7, 2.96). He’s 7-2 with a 2.22 ERA in 11 starts at home. BOSTON — Having flexed their muscles with wins in the first two games of the series, the Cleveland Indians send 15-game winner Carlos Carrasco to the mound against the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night at Fenway Park.The Indians, who hit three home runs in coming back from a 3-0 deficit to win Monday night, hit two more Tuesday in the second game between the two division leaders, a 6-3 victory.Carrasco Rollie Fingers Jersey , 15-6 with a 3.33 ERA, faces left-hander Brian Johnson, who will try to help the Red Sox, losers of three games in three days, avoid what would be their first four-game losing streak of the season.Article continues below ...For the second straight night, Greg Allen and Melky Cabrera tormented the Red Sox. Allen went 2-for-3 to extend his hitting streak to 14 games and also drove in a run and made two outstanding catches and Cabrera had three hits, including a homer for the second straight game in the series — the third in a row overall.Two teams with substantial leads in their divisions — a hyped series that could be a playoff preview.“We just wanted to win tonight. That’s all,” said Indians manager Terry Francona. “I don’t care about that stuff.“They’re a really good team and we played a good game. But now we’ve got to play a better game tomorrow.”The Red Sox, who still lead the Yankees by eight games atop the American League East, have seen the lead chopped by 2 1/2 games in the last three days. They lost three in a row way back in April but have not lost four in a row all season.“We’re not swinging the bat well right now since (Tyler) Glasnow on Saturday, then the bullpen game on Sunday,” said Boston manager Alex Cora. “These guys. It seemed like yesterday we were waking up early but then they did a good job and today we were unable to get something going until that inning.“So, we’ll come back tomorrow and look for pitches in the middle of the zone and try to hit it in the air and hopefully they go out of the ballpark.”Speaking about the Indians, Cora said http://www.athleticsfanproshop.com/authentic-khris-davis-jersey , “It’s a tough lineup because they don’t strike out. They will put the ball in play; they found ways. So we got to be able to expand somewhere, probably up in the zone, and obviously down with the breaking ball late in counts. But I think it was more about them than actually Nate (Eovaldi, the starter and loser).”Carrasco, who has forced his way into the Cy Young talk, has gone 7-1 in July and August and has thrown back-to-back seven-inning shutout efforts his last two times out. He is 1-2 with a 6.83 ERA in seven games — five starts — lifetime against the Red Sox, 0-1 in four games — three starts — at Fenway.Johnson is 4-3 with a 4.00 ERA overall but is 3-0 as a starter in August, with the offense helping him out. He has yielded 17 hits and 12 earned runs in 17 2/3 innings in those starts but does have 19 strikeouts over that span.Brock Holt is 4-for-5 (.800), Xander Bogaerts 3-for-7 (.429), J.D. Martinez 9-for-25 (.360) with two home runs and Mitch Moreland 5-for-14 (.357) with three homers against Carrasco. But Mookie Betts is 1-for-8 (.125) and Ian Kinsler 11-for-50 (.220) against the right-hander.Johnson has never faced the Indians.