Gray's Milestone, Boston Sweeps
Sonny Gray Shines with Near No-Hitter and 2,000 Strikeouts as Red Sox Sweep Yankees
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Key Points
1
Sonny Gray reached 2,000 career strikeouts on the night, becoming the 92nd pitcher in history to achieve the milestone (with active peers such as Verlander, Cole, Darvish among those with high totals), and his outing lowered his season ERA to 2.69 in 15 starts.
2
Wilyer Abreu made a notable defensive play in the third inning, robbing Austin Wells of a hit with a sliding grab in shallow right field, a sequence that helped Gray keep the game scoreless early.
3
Boston’s four-game sweep of the Yankees marked its first such sweep since last August in Baltimore, underscoring the Red Sox’s late-season push.
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In the 10th inning, Masataka Yoshida delivered a pivotal moment by jumping on Fernando Cruz’s first pitch to move two runners into scoring position, setting up Tsung-Che Cheng’s sacrifice fly before Jarren Duran’s walk-off single.
Sonny Gray carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning, struck out nine, and reached 2,000 career strikeouts — but the Red Sox needed a dramatic 10th-inning walk-off to seal a 5-4 win over the Yankees on Sunday. The victory completed a four-game sweep at Fenway Park, Boston's first sweep of New York since last August, and moved the Sox to within half a game of the final Wild Card spot.
Amed Rosario's clean single to center with one out in the eighth ended Gray's no-hit bid. Then Aroldis Chapman blew a 4-2 lead in the ninth. Then Jarren Duran delivered a walk-off single in the 10th. It was the kind of game the Red Sox of April would have lost. This one, they won.
Gray Makes History Before Rosario Spoils the Bid
Gray was masterful from the start. In the third inning, Wilyer Abreu made a sliding grab in shallow right field to rob Austin Wells of a hit, keeping the no-hitter alive. Gray rewarded the defense by carving through the Yankees lineup. He struck out his 2,000th career batter in the eighth inning, becoming just the 92nd pitcher in MLB history to reach the mark.
Then, with one out in the eighth, Rosario singled up the middle. The no-hitter was gone. Gray exited to a standing ovation from the Fenway crowd of 37,492 — a 2026 season high. His final line: 7 1/3 innings, one hit, nine strikeouts. His season ERA dropped to 2.69 over 15 starts. "Sonny was an artist today," manager Alex Cora said, via MLB Network.
Chapman Blows Save, Yankees Tie It at Four
With Boston leading 4-2 in the ninth, closer Aroldis Chapman entered and quickly unraveled. He walked two batters and gave up a Gleyber Torres double. The Yankees scored twice to tie the game at 4-4. It was Chapman's third blown save of the season. "We had them where we wanted in the 9th, but we couldn't shut the door," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, via YES Network.
Duran Walks It Off in a Chaotic 10th Inning
The 10th started with a ghost runner on second. Masataka Yoshida jumped on Fernando Cruz's first pitch and moved two runners into scoring position. Tsung-Che Cheng then hit a sacrifice fly to left field to tie the score after New York had briefly retaken the lead in the top half of the inning.
Then Duran ended it. He laced a single to right field, and Boston had the win — 5-4 in 10 innings. "We knew after Chappy lost the lead that we weren't losing this game," Duran said, via The Boston Globe. "The energy in this clubhouse is different than it was in April." Gray put it another way: "Doing it in a sweep of the Yankees? That's what keeps you coming back at 36 years old," he told NESN.
A Statement Sweep Reshapes the AL Wild Card Race
The series wasn't close. Boston outscored New York 19-8 over the first three games before Sunday's drama. The sweep moved the Red Sox from 4.5 games back of a Wild Card spot to just 0.5 games back. According to Baseball Reference, Boston's playoff odds jumped from 22% to 41% following the four-game run.
The Yankees, meanwhile, face growing questions about their bullpen before the July 31 trade deadline. Carlos Rodón struggled with control in Sunday's fourth inning, walking four batters and allowing Caleb Durbin — a former Yankees prospect — to deliver the decisive two-run single. ESPN's Buster Olney wrote that Boston "broke the Yankees' spirit for the month of July." The Red Sox, once written off, look very much like buyers.
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