A’s: Sonny gray strikes out four during two scoreless innings in loss to Padres.

PEORIA, Ariz. — It was one day. Two innings. Twentyseven pitches. With hundreds, not thousands, of people in the park.

It was hardly reminiscent of a regular-season game, but the old Sonny Gray was a sight to behold nonetheless.

“It’s nice to be get back out there and compete and execute and feel good,” Gray said after striking out four batters in two scoreless innings in Oakland’s 5-0 loss to the Padres on Wednesday.

This assignment was longawaited for the A’s right-hander, who’s coming off his worst season. Gray was limited to 23 starts and had five wins and a 5.69 ERA. He had a strained trapezius and strained forearm and hardly pitched the final two months.

No wonder Gray referred to the exhibition, the fifth in the Cactus League season for the A’s, as “a real game.” It meant that much to him. “It’s a different feeling,” Gray said. “You can face hitters, throw bullpens, do all these things and never really simulate a real game. Coaches can get you prepared body- and arm-wise, but once you’re in a real game, it’s a different feeling.

“Being able to take the work we’ve done this spring and what we started last year while I was on the DL and having these six, seven, eight months’ worth of work to get back in games, I’m excited to feel good and excited to get out there.”

Travis Jankowski, Gray’s first batter, doubled off the right-field wall. No other hitter reached base off Gray, who struck out four of the next six batters including Erick Aybar to end the second inning.

Of his 27 pitches, 19 were strikes. Gray threw everything except his slider. His fastball had zip. His curve was hard and down in the zone. His sinker and changeup had good life.

“He came here on a mission this year,” manager Bob Melvin said. “For a lot of reasons, there were issues last year, but a healthy Sonny Gray’s going to pitch well.”

Gray’s physical woes dated to spring training last year. He found himself overcompensating and putting stress on other body parts, and eventually his mechanics got out of whack. Now, he feels more compact (and back to normal) while throwing.

“You can get away from your mechanical staples,” Gray said. “You work on it, and you get it right.”

The A’s are looking for a bounce-back year from the 27-year-old, whose career ERA before 2016 was 2.88. He’s clearly the leader of a young rotation that could benefit if he returns to his All-Star form.

His command suffered last year along with his strikeout rate and walk rate, and he made just one start after Aug. 6 — that was his one-inning assignment at Anaheim on Sept. 28.

Bruce Maxwell caught him that day and caught him again Wednesday.

“With the injuries and little things he was battling last year,” Maxwell said, “he was down on himself a bit, and we had a rough year as a team, but seeing him going back out there and dominate like the old Sonny with the new, improved control, I felt like everybody was rallied up around that, including himself.

“I think it’s exciting to see, and it’s good to build off.”