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No sooner did Jon Gray get into trouble in the first inning than he got out of it. It was a pattern he would emulate throughout the night.

Combining power pitching with sleight of hand , Gray struck out 12 in seven dominant innings, Nolan Arenado homered in Colorado’s six-run fourth, and the Rockies won their fourth in a row by beating the Miami Marlins 11-3 on Friday night.

After fanning the first batter he faced, Gray gave up a single to Brian Anderson and a double to J.T. Realmuto – but he came back to strand both.

”I think you saw in that first inning where two runners got on, Jon gets out of it with no problem,” Rockies catcher Tom Murphy said. ”That was huge for Jon. It kind of set the tone for him and made him realize nothing was going to stop him tonight.”

It was Gray’s 12th career 10-plus strikeout game and the fourth this season. He had at least two strikeouts in five of his innings, including striking out the side in the sixth. Gray (7-7) walked none and withstood a solo homer in the third by Derek Dietrich, who drove a 2-0 pitch the opposite way into the left-field bleachers.

”We attacked early with fastballs,” Gray said. ”We threw strikes early in the count and kind of forced swings. I think that was key.”

Gray also mixed in a devastating slider to keep the Marlins’ hitters guessing, changing his grip on occasion to vary the ball’s movement.

”Obviously, we didn’t get a whole lot going,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. ”A couple of the guys swung the bat OK. I thought we really got away from what we wanted to do tonight. A lot of chases.”

Arenado had three hits, including his team-leading 17th homer, a two-run drive. Murphy had two doubles among his three hits and two RBIs.

The Rockies have scored at least 10 runs in three of their four wins. Even Gray pitched in with a run-scoring sacrifice in the fourth in which he reached when a sliding Carlos Gonzalez beat the throw home from first baseman Justin Bour.

Wei-Yin Chen (2-4) matched Gray through three innings, but then ran into trouble in the fourth – some of it not of his own doing. Second baseman Starlin Castro bobbled the ball after getting a relay throw, allowing Ian Desmond to score from third with the first of the Rockies’ six runs in the inning. A wild pitch by Chen helped set up Noel Cuevas‘ score on D.J. LeMahieu’s sacrifice fly. Blackmon singled ahead of Arenado’s home run , which he sent deep into the left-field bleachers.

Chen allowed seven runs and nine hits in four innings.

Pinch-hitter Gerardo Parra, batting for Gray in the bottom of the seventh, doubled off the right-field wall to drive in a pair of runs. Murphy’s RBI double in the second pushed across the Rockies’ first run.

IF THE SHOE FITS

Gray opted to wear white cleats on Friday, the same type he wore when he pitched his career-best 16-strikeout complete game against the San Diego Padres on Sept. 17, 2016. ”The last time I was in white shoes, I had the best game of my life. I don’t know why I ever stopped wearing them,” Gray said with a laugh.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Marlins: RHP Jose Urena was placed on the 10-day disabled list because of a right shoulder impingement. RHP Nick Wittgren filled the roster vacancy when he was reinstated from the 10-day DL. Wittgren had been sidelined by a right middle finger contusion.

Rockies: RHP Scott Oberg (back strain) and LHP Mike Dunn (upper back strain), who are both on the 10-day DL, are slated to begin their respective rehab assignments. The two are scheduled to pitch an inning apiece Saturday for Triple-A Albuquerque at Fresno and then each work another inning Monday for high Class A Lancaster at Modesto.

UP NEXT

Marlins: RHP Trevor Richards (1-4, 5.45 ERA) has gone 1-2 with a 6.28 ERA since his recall for his second stint with Miami this season.

Rockies: LHP Tyler Anderson (4-2) will be looking to bounce back from a loss in his last outing, when he gave up three runs in a 12-2 loss earlier this week to the New York Mets.

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PHOENIX — Give Arizona left-hander Robbie Ray an “A” in self-evaluation.

Ray won his final six regular-season decisions in 2017 after missing a month with a concussion suffered when he was struck in the head by a line drive in St. Louis on July 28. Then last Wednesday, he spun six scoreless innings in a 2-1 victory over Florida in his first start after missing 58 days with an oblique injury.

Ray will face the Cardinals again on Monday, in the first game of a three-game series at Chase Field. Right-hander Carlos Martinez will start for the Cardinals.

“Obviously, I’m not going to go out there if I don’t feel 100 percent,” said Ray, a first-time All-Star in 2017.

“There is a constant line of communication between me and Torey (manager Lovullo). He was open with me. He wanted me to make another rehab start. I made it clear that I felt like I was ready. It felt good to be back on the mound and to be good to put up some zeroes for this team and help us win.”

Both Arizona and St. Louis enter the series after being swept , the Diamondbacks losing three to NL West rival San Francisco and the Cardinals dropping three to NL East-leading Atlanta.

That was only a slight hiccup for the Diamondbacks, whose 19 victories in June tied for the most in the majors. They led the majors with 11 triples and were second in runs in the month. Starting pitchers had 15 victories, also the most in the majors, capped by wins by Ray and Zack Greinke in the final two games of a four-game series in Miami early last week.

The D-backs have lost only two of their last 10 series, both to San Francisco, while recovering from a 2-15 skid in May.

“You are going to have ups and downs,” Ray said. “That was a little bit of an extended down, but good teams find a way to break out of that. I feel like we’ve done that this month.

“It’s another thing we have going on. The dynamic in this clubhouse, we are never down on ourselves. Guys were in here playing music every single day. Nothing has changed. We understand that there is a process, and you have to stick with it. The second that you start changing who you are and over-analyzing a little bit, it can weigh on you.

“We just come in there every day like it’s a new day. We prepare every day the same way, and we don’t change anything.”

The Cardinals have been careening a bit. They have lost four in a row after winning four straight, a run that ended another three-game losing streak. They have lost 12 of 18 since peaking at eight games over .500 on June 11.

St. Louis has scored 11 runs in their last four games after clobbering Cleveland’s Corey Kluber, scoring six runs off his in 1 2/3 innings, the shortest outing of his major league career.

Martinez (4-4) won that game, his first in five starts since returning from the disabled list , giving up two runs with eight strikeouts in six innings. He had a 1.62 ERA in eight starts before going on the disabled list and has 6.75 ERA in five starts since returning. His issue has been walks, 43 in 72 2/3 innings.

The Cardinals have considered moving first baseman Jose Martinez to the outfield in an attempt to increase their run production, but Martinez started at first again Sunday.

“The bat has to be (in the lineup),” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny told reporters over the weekend. “You’ve got a guy who’s been as consistent as anybody we’ve had all season. So you’ve got to find a place for him.

“We’ve never ruled out the outfield. None of that is out of the question. We haven’t featured that yet but it’s something that has been in the conversation. He’s been doing work out there, too. But, right now, it’s how do we improve at first base?”

Carlos Martinez has had good success against Arizona, with a 2.88 ERA in eight appearances. That ERA ranks 20th among active major leaguers with at least 30 innings against the Diamondbacks. Martinez has been even more successful at Chase Field, with a 2.11 ERA, fifth among those with at least 20 innings.

Martinez has given up one homer against the Diamondbacks, that coming to Gerardo Parra in their first meeting. Since then, he has gone 33 1/3 innings without giving up a homer to them.

Ray (3-0) is 1-2 with a 4.60 ERA in four career starts against the Cardinals. He was removed after being struck by Luke Voit liner in the second inning of the July 28 start last season.

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