Athletics starting pitcher Sonny Gray, who fractured his left thumb on a Prince Fielder comebacker in the fifth inning of Thursday's ALDS loss to the Tigers, believes he could have pitched in the American League Championship Series if the A's had gotten that far, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
"I have no doubt I could have," Gray said.
Gray hopes to avoid surgery on his non-throwing thumb. That said, he won't know for sure until the results of his Friday MRI are released. He's expected to be at full strength by spring training.
The 23-year-old Gray went 5-3 with a 2.67 ERA over 12 appearances and 10 starts during the regular season with 67 strikeouts over 64 innings. He was excellent in the postseason as well for the A's.