Red Sox Shut Out Orioles
Sonny Gray Dominates With Seven Scoreless Innings As Red Sox Shut Out Orioles 5-0
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Gray said his nine-day rest was intended to help him recover from pitching on five- or six-day schedules: “I think it's probably what you call a 36-year-old that has been pitching on five or six days' rest all year.”
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Gray relied primarily on his sinker, which accounted for 29% of his 92 pitches, while mixing in curves, sweepers, four-seam fastballs and cutters. Boston has won 19 of his 26 starts this season.
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The victory underscored Gray’s consistency: he had allowed two runs or fewer in at least five innings in five of his previous six starts, and had given up more than three runs only four times in 26 outings.
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Boston reliever Greg Weissert preserved the shutout by striking out Pete Alonso with the bases loaded in the eighth inning.
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The Red Sox remained in the second AL wild-card position, moving six games ahead of Cleveland and within three games of the New York Yankees; Baltimore stayed three games behind Cleveland for the final wild-card spot.
Sonny Gray dominated the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday, pitching seven scoreless innings as the Boston Red Sox won 5-0 to clinch the series. Gray allowed just three hits and three walks while striking out seven, earning his American League-leading 17th victory and lowering his ERA to 2.69 MLB. The shutout came nine days after his last start, part of Boston's strategy to manage the 36-year-old ace during the playoff push Yahoo Sports.
Boston broke through in the sixth inning when Eli White delivered a two-run single, then Isiah Kiner-Falefa added a two-run double in the seventh. The Red Sox improved to 78-65 and moved within three games of the Yankees while pulling six games ahead of Cleveland in the wild-card race Boston 25 News. Baltimore fell to its fifth consecutive loss, dropping three games behind Cleveland for the final wild-card spot.
Gray's Rest Strategy Pays Off at 36
Gray said the nine-day break helped him manage the wear and tear of pitching on short rest all season. "I think it's probably what you call a 36-year-old that has been pitching on five or six days' rest all year," Gray explained Yahoo Sports. Boston has won 19 of his 26 starts this season, showing the ace's consistency even as the club carefully manages his workload down the stretch.
Precision Pitching Keeps Orioles Off the Board
Gray leaned heavily on his sinker, which accounted for 29 of his 92 pitches MLB. He mixed in curves, sweepers, four-seam fastballs and cutters to keep Baltimore's hitters off balance. The Orioles went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and mustered just three hits all night, unable to create any scoring chances against Gray's command.
Boston's Depth Wins Late-Season Battle
White and Kiner-Falefa provided the offensive punch after the game remained scoreless through five innings ArcaMax. Kiner-Falefa's two-run double in the seventh extended Boston's lead to 4-0. Reliever Greg Weissert preserved the shutout by striking out a batter with the bases loaded in the eighth, showing the Red Sox's depth across the entire roster.
Red Sox Tighten Wild-Card Grip With Shutout Streak
This was Boston's second straight shutout victory over Baltimore. The Red Sox beat the Orioles 1-0 on Friday behind Ranger Suárez's seven scoreless innings and Mickey Gasper's solo home run Yahoo Sports. The pair of low-scoring wins gives Boston control of the series at 3-0 and strengthens its position in the increasingly tight AL wild-card race against teams like Cleveland and New York.
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