BALTIMORE — Amid a grueling stretch of 14 games in the last 13 days, the Boston Red Sox opted to skip starter Sonny Gray in their last turn through the rotation.The veteran starter had been a workhorse all season, but by late August, he needed a break, which he acknowledged late last week. And so the Red Sox worked it into their schedule, taking a loss when he would have pitched but knowing a more well-rested Gray could pay big dividends come October.Gray rewarded the Red Sox for the respite with a terrific start Saturday night in what’s turning out to be the best season of his 14-year career. He picked up his major-league-leading 17th win in a dominant 5-0 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.The 36-year-old cruised through seven scoreless innings, scattering three hits and three walks while striking out seven batters. He lowered his ERA to 2.69, the best mark he has posted since his 2013 rookie season.
Nasty. pic.twitter.com/YeF21Gbs2H
— Red Sox (@RedSox) September 6, 2026“He looked really sharp,” interim manager Chad Tracy said. “The layoff helped him. He looked good. Pitched deep. He was awesome.”Gray hadn’t pitched since Aug. 26 in Miami and said he used the extra time to rest his arm for three days, not even playing catch in that span, before beginning his normal five-day routine. It seemed to pay off.After a 25-pitch first inning, Gray needed just 48 pitches over the next four innings. By the seventh, he walked off the mound at 91 pitches, 56 for strikes. And thanks to a sixth-inning burst from his offense, he was in line for yet another win.Pitcher wins aren’t as meaningful as they once were in assessing a starter’s season, but when one has as many as Gray, it means he’s doing something right. Most importantly, the Red Sox have won 19 of his 26 starts this season.“I think I’m a bit more in the camp that (pitcher wins) do matter,” Tracy said. “As a starting pitcher, to get that many wins, that means that you’re putting your team in position to win a lot, which is what he’s done.”Gray’s start followed seven scoreless innings from Ranger Suarez on Friday night and six strong innings from Jake Bennett on Thursday. It was the first time since June 29 that the Red Sox had three starters in a row pitch at least six innings.“After watching Ranger last night,” Gray said, “you come out and you want to match it. You want to do better.”Gray’s night was aided by terrific defense, as is usually the case in scoreless outings. Nick Sogard started at third base in place of Caleb Durbin, who got his first full day off since June 17. Gray allowed a leadoff double in the third before a flyout advanced the runner. But on a grounder to third with the infield pulled in, Sogard quickly fired home to get the lead runner. Gray then struck out the next batter and that was the closest the Orioles would get to scoring off him. With Sogard at third, Tracy started Isiah Kiner-Falefa at second, noting his preference for Kiner-Falefa to play up the middle rather than at the corners.As Gray dazzled on the mound, however, Boston’s offense remained dormant for the first five innings against Orioles starter Chris Bassitt. The lineup looked a bit different with Ceddanne Rafaela out and Durbin off, though Durbin needed a similar respite to Gray. He was hitting just .191 with a .513 OPS in his last 15 games.Durbin’s off day meant a reshuffling of the batting order, with Trevor Story moved to the cleanup spot. Story had hit eighth in each of his first five games since returning from the injured list, and he rewarded his manager with a three-hit night. He has now hit safely in all six games he’s played in since returning, going 11-for-25 in that stretch with four multi-hit games.The Red Sox were coming off a game Friday in which they went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. Bassitt stymied Boston’s bats early before Story started the sixth-inning rally with a single.Sogard followed with another single, and Jarren Duran battled Bassitt to a full count, frustrated with a check swing call, before drawing a walk to load the bases. Orioles manager Craig Albernaz visited Bassitt on the mound but left him in. Eli White, starting for the third straight game in place of Rafaela, promptly sliced a single to left, scoring the first two runs.“Obviously, excited to be in the lineup,” White said. “I hate the circumstances that it’s under, obviously (with Rafaela hurt). But just trying to contribute when I’m in there, and my goal is to try and help the team win a game every time I’m in there, no matter what way that is.”Connor Wong added an RBI single to make it 3-0, and Kiner-Falefa padded the lead in the seventh with a two-out, two-run double.
