OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Sonny Gray struck out six and didn't walk a batter over six scoreless innings to beat his former club with career win No. 100, and Willson Contreras doubled twice and drove in a run for the St. Louis Cardinals in their 3-1 win against the Oakland Athletics on Monday night.
Nolan Arenado hit an RBI single in the first to stake Gray (2-0) to an early lead against an Oakland team that had won three of four and drew a crowd of 5,508.
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OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Sonny Gray struck out six and didn't walk a batter over six scoreless innings to beat his former club with career win No. 100, and Willson Contreras doubled twice and drove in a run for the St. Louis Cardinals in their 3-1 win against the Oakland Athletics on Monday night.
St. Louis Cardinals' Iván Herrera wears socks honoring Jackie Robinson Day before a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics, Monday, April 15, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman, right, throws to first base for an out against Oakland Athletics' Darell Hernaiz during the fifth inning of a baseball game Monday, April 15, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
St. Louis Cardinals' Willson Contreras hits an RBI double against the Oakland Athletics during the sixth inning of a baseball game Monday, April 15, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
St. Louis Cardinals' Sonny Gray walks to the dugout after pitching against the Oakland Athletics during the third inning of a baseball game Monday, April 15, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
St. Louis Cardinals' Willson Contreras reacts after hitting an RBI double against the Oakland Athletics during the sixth inning of a baseball game Monday, April 15, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Oakland Athletics right fielder Lawrence Butler dives to catch a fly ball hit by St. Louis Cardinals' Jordan Walker during the fourth inning of a baseball game Monday, April 15, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
St. Louis Cardinals' Jordan Walker, left, reacts after hitting a fly ball to Oakland Athletics right fielder Lawrence Butler during the fourth inning of a baseball game Monday, April 15, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
St. Louis Cardinals' Jordan Walker hits an RBI single against the Oakland Athletics during the sixth inning of a baseball game Monday, April 15, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
St. Louis Cardinals' Lars Nootbaar, center, celebrates with teammates in the dugout after scoring against the Oakland Athletics on Willson Contreras' double during the sixth inning of a baseball game Monday, April 15, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
With the A's set to play the next three seasons in Sacramento, Gray realized this was likely his last time taking the Coliseum mound. He earned his first career win here on August 15, 2013, against the Astros.
“I’ve made so many starts here and just knowing the whole week that this is probably the last one that you’ll have, probably the last time we’ll ever play here, it was pretty special," he said. “To me, it had a lot more meaning than just a game in the middle of whatever month it is.”
Esteury Ruiz was called up by Oakland shortly before first pitch from Triple-A Las Vegas and hit a pinch homer in the eighth.
Gray — who had been set to be the Cardinals' opening day starter before straining his right hamstring in his second spring outing — surrendered four hits in his impressive first road start of 2024 with his new club.
“It was special for him because this is win No. 100 and to get his first one here and his 100th here, it was pretty cool,” manager Oli Marmol said. “He did a really nice job.”
If Gray continues to do well physically, his pitch count will be increased by 10-15 next time.
Closer Ryan Helsley struck out two in a 1-2-3 ninth for his sixth save in a game that lasted 2:19.
A's starter Ross Stripling (0-4) left in the sixth and gave way to Michael Kelly, who immediately gave up an RBI single to Jordan Walker. Stripling has allowed 32 hits over his initial four starts since the A's acquired the right-hander in a trade from the Giants.
Zack Gelof had a pair of hits for the A's, who took two of three from the Nationals at home over the weekend and have won three straight series for the first time since May 31-June 16, 2021, when they had five victorious sets in a row.
These clubs hadn't played in Oakland since 2019 and the A's had won the previous three at home in the interleague matchup.
Longtime San Francisco Giants shortstop and fan favorite Brandon Crawford was back in his native Bay Area in his first season as a backup for the Cardinals.
“I don’t know if it’s a change of scenery that’s what I needed or wanted or anything like that necessarily,” he said in the dugout before the game. “I’m happy ... the role that I’m in here is tough, it’s definitely a new challenge, trying to stay ready to face major league pitching, play good defense at shortstop while only playing every four to seven days. It’s definitely hard.”
TRAINER'S ROOM
Cardinals: OF Tommy Edman (sprained right wrist) started to take dry swings and was set to hit off a tee Tuesday. ... RHP Kenyan Middleton has started playing catch in his recovery from a flexor strain in his pitching arm.
Athletics: 3B J.D. Davis had an MRI exam for his strained groin that came back showing no structural damage, but he went on the 10-day injured list. Ruiz was in the Oakland clubhouse, took batting practice and was called back up to fill the roster spot shortly before first pitch.
UP NEXT
RHP Lance Lynn (0-0, 2.63 ERA) pitches the middle game of the series for St. Louis opposite LHP JP Sears (1-1, 5.17).
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
Oakland Athletics' Seth Brown reacts after striking out against the St. Louis Cardinals to end the fourth inning of a baseball game Monday, April 15, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
St. Louis Cardinals' Iván Herrera wears socks honoring Jackie Robinson Day before a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics, Monday, April 15, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman, right, throws to first base for an out against Oakland Athletics' Darell Hernaiz during the fifth inning of a baseball game Monday, April 15, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
St. Louis Cardinals' Willson Contreras hits an RBI double against the Oakland Athletics during the sixth inning of a baseball game Monday, April 15, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
St. Louis Cardinals' Sonny Gray walks to the dugout after pitching against the Oakland Athletics during the third inning of a baseball game Monday, April 15, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
St. Louis Cardinals' Willson Contreras reacts after hitting an RBI double against the Oakland Athletics during the sixth inning of a baseball game Monday, April 15, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Oakland Athletics right fielder Lawrence Butler dives to catch a fly ball hit by St. Louis Cardinals' Jordan Walker during the fourth inning of a baseball game Monday, April 15, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
St. Louis Cardinals' Jordan Walker, left, reacts after hitting a fly ball to Oakland Athletics right fielder Lawrence Butler during the fourth inning of a baseball game Monday, April 15, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
St. Louis Cardinals' Jordan Walker hits an RBI single against the Oakland Athletics during the sixth inning of a baseball game Monday, April 15, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
St. Louis Cardinals' Lars Nootbaar, center, celebrates with teammates in the dugout after scoring against the Oakland Athletics on Willson Contreras' double during the sixth inning of a baseball game Monday, April 15, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
DEDHAM, Mass. (AP) — The trial of a Massachusetts woman who allegedly killed her Boston police officer boyfriend by intentionally driving her SUV into him opened Monday with prosecutors saying a cracked taillight and her own words to firefighters that she "hit him" will prove she is guilty.
Karen Read, 44, of Mansfield, faces several charges including second degree murder in the death of John O’Keefe, 46, in 2022. The 16-year police veteran was found unresponsive outside a home of a fellow Boston police officer and later was pronounced dead at a hospital. Read has pleaded not guilty and is free on bond.
“The defendant, Karen Read, is guilty of murder in the second degree, striking the victim, Mr. O’Keefe with her car, knocking him back onto the ground, striking his head on the ground, causing the bleeding in his brain and swelling, and then leaving him there for several hours in a blizzard," Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally told the jury.
As the case unfolded, the defense's strategy has been to portray a vast conspiracy involving a police coverup. It has earned Read a loyal band of supporters — who often can be found camped out at the courthouse — and has garnered the case national attention.
“Karen Read was framed,” Read's defense attorney David Yannetti told the jury. “Her car never struck John O'Keefe. She did not cause his death and that means somebody else did.”
The couple had been to two bars on a night in January 2022, prosecutors alleged, and were then headed to a party in nearby Canton. Read said she did not feel well and decided not to attend. Once at the home, O’Keefe got out of Read's vehicle, and while she made a three-point turn, she allegedly struck him then drove away, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors haven't said where they think she went after that. However, they allege she later became frantic after she said she couldn't reach O'Keefe. She returned to the site of the party where she and two friends found O’Keefe covered in snow. While on the scene, firefighters said she told them “I hit him, I hit him, I hit him.”
He was pronounced dead at a hospital. An autopsy concluded he died from head trauma and hypothermia.
Investigators found a cracked right rear tail light near where O'Keefe was found and scratches on her SUV. Prosecutors are also expected to present evidence of injuries suffered by O'Keefe consistent with him being hit by the car and strains in the couples relationship including a “20 minute screaming match” witnessed by O'Keefe's two adopted children they had while on vacation in Aruba.
The defense have spent months arguing in court that the case was marred by conflicts of interest and accused prosecutors of presenting false and deceptive evidence to the grand jury. In a motion to dismiss the case, the defense called the prosecution's case “predicated entirely on flimsy speculation and presumption.” A Superior Court judge denied the request.
On Monday, Yannetti argued that close relationships between investigators and those in the house resulted in authorities focusing solely on Reid, whom the defense described as a “convenient outsider.”
Yannetti also claimed investigators failed to consider the possibility that O'Keefe got into a fight at the party and was left for dead outside. While not offering evidence of who was responsible, they laid out of a series of missteps in the investigation — failing to investigate a history of animosity between O'Keefe and the family who owned the home nor searching the home for evidence of a struggle.
They also are expected to provide evidence that Read's taillight was damaged when she hit O'Keefe's car hours later at their home — not at the party — and dispute that the couple had a strained relationship. They got along well that night and had made plans for several trips in the months ahead.
“You will question the Commonwealth's theory of the case,” Yannetti said. “You will question the quality of the Commonwealth's evidence. You will question the veracity of the Commonwealth's witnesses and you will question their shoddy and biased investigation.”
In August, Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey criticized suggestions that state and local enforcement were orchestrating a cover up, saying there is no evidence to support O'Keefe was in the Canton home where the party took place nor was in a fight.
The idea that multiple police departments and his office would be involved in a “vast conspiracy” in this case is “a desperate attempt to reassign guilt.”
Such comments have done little to silence Read's supporters, dozens of whom dressed in pink for the first day of the trial.
Most days, a few dozen supporters — some carrying signs or wearing shirts reading “Free Karen Read” — can be seen standing near the courthouse. Many had no connection to Read, who worked in the financial industry and taught finance at Bentley University before this case.
Among her most ardent supporters is a confrontational blogger Aidan Timothy Kearney, known as “Turtleboy." He has been charged with harassing, threatening and intimidating witnesses in the case. For months, he has raised doubts about Read's guilt on his blog that has become a popular page for those who believe Read is innocent.
Friends and family of O’Keefe fear the focus on Read and the conspiracy theories are taking away from the fact a good man was killed.
The first witness in the trial was O'Keefe's brother, Paul, who described in harrowing detail having to rush to the hospital that morning, walking past Read who was repeatedly screaming “Is he alive?" and into a room where his body was covered partially with a white sheet.
“He was pretty banged up,” Paul O'Keefe told the jury, detailing how his brother had blood running down his mouth and nose and markings on his right arm. “What really stood out to me was the eyes. It was as if there were ping pong balls under his eyelids.”
FILE - Karen Read sits in court during jury selection for her murder trial at Norfolk County Superior Court, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. Read, 44, is accused of running into her Boston police officer boyfriend with her SUV in the middle of a nor'easter and leaving him for dead after a night of heavy drinking. Read's trial is scheduled to begin Monday, April 29. (David McGlynn//New York Post via AP, Pool,File)
FILE - Karen Read, of Mansfield, Mass., center, departs Norfolk Superior Court following a day of jury selection, April 17, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. Read is accused of running into her Boston police officer boyfriend with her SUV in the middle of a nor'easter and leaving him for dead after a night of heavy drinking. Read's trial is scheduled to begin Monday, April 29. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
FILE - This undated photograph provided by the Boston Police Department shows Officer John O'Keefe of Canton, Mass. O'Keefe was found dead outside the home of a fellow officer in January 2022, and his girlfriend, Karen Read, has been charged with his death. Read's trial is scheduled to begin Monday, April 29, 2024. (Boston Police Department via AP, File)
Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally gives his opening statement as the murder trial for Karen Read begins in Norfolk County Superior Court, Monday, April 29, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. Read is accused of backing her SUV into her Boston Police officer boyfriend, John O'Keefe, and leaving him to die in a blizzard in Canton, in 2022. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
Judge Beverly J. Cannone addresses the jury before opening statements for the murder trial of Karen Read in Norfolk County Superior Court, Monday, Aapril 29, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. Read is accused of backing her SUV into her Boston Police officer boyfriend, John O'Keefe, and leaving him to die in a blizzard in Canton, in 2022. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
The facts of the case against Karen Read are read as the murder trial for Read begins in Norfolk County Superior Court, in front of Judge Beverly J. Cannone., Monday, April 29, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. Read is accused of backing her SUV into her Boston Police officer boyfriend, John O'Keefe, and leaving him to die in a blizzard in Canton, in 2022. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
Karen Read talks with lawyer David Yannetti in court during jury selection at Norfolk County Superior Court, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. Read, 44, is accused of running into her Boston police officer boyfriend with her SUV in the middle of a nor'easter and leaving him for dead after a night of heavy drinking. (David McGlynn/New York Post via AP, Pool)
Karen Read departs Norfolk Superior Court following a day of jury selection, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. Read is accused of running into her Boston police officer boyfriend with her SUV in the middle of a nor'easter and leaving him for dead after a night of heavy drinking. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Karen Read, center, departs Norfolk Superior Court following a day of jury selection, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. Read is accused of running into her Boston police officer boyfriend with her SUV in the middle of a nor'easter and leaving him for dead after a night of heavy drinking. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Karen Read sits in court during jury selection at Norfolk County Superior Court, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. Read, 44, is accused of running into her Boston police officer boyfriend with her SUV in the middle of a nor'easter and leaving him for dead after a night of heavy drinking. (David McGlynn/New York Post via AP, Pool)
Karen Read sits in court during jury selection at Norfolk County Superior Court, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. Read, 44, is accused of running into her Boston police officer boyfriend with her SUV in the middle of a nor'easter and leaving him for dead after a night of heavy drinking. (David McGlynn/New York Post via AP, Pool)
Karen Read talks with lawyers in court during jury selection at Norfolk County Superior Court, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. Read, 44, is accused of running into her Boston police officer boyfriend with her SUV in the middle of a nor'easter and leaving him for dead after a night of heavy drinking. (David McGlynn/New York Post via AP, Pool)
Karen Read departs Norfolk Superior Court following a day of jury selection, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. Read is accused of running into her Boston police officer boyfriend with her SUV in the middle of a nor'easter and leaving him for dead after a night of heavy drinking. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
