For the second game in a row, a Red Sox starter went seven scoreless innings, backed up by two scoreless innings from the pen, as they beat Baltimore 5-0. Unlike Friday night, on Saturday the bats were engaged throughout the game and provided a little bit of insurance to help Gray cruise to his 17th victory of the season.
Sonny Gray clearly accepted the challenge that Ranger Suárez threw down the night before and ran with it. The veteran righty went seven shutout innings, allowing only three hits and three walks while fanning seven Orioles batters. Other than a few nervous moments in the first and then the third inning, the Baltimore offense never really mounted much of a threat.
In the top of the first inning, it looked like Boston would get off to another hot start down in BMore as they loaded the bases against Chris Bassitt thanks to two walks and an infield single by Story. Kiner-Falefa ended the threat, though, when he swung at the first pitch he saw and grounded out to third base.
In the bottom half of the inning, it appeared that the Orioles might get a little lucky when a bloop by Gunnar Henderson found its way safely onto the grass at Oriole Park, just inside the foul line and away from Jarren Duran’s glove, for a video-reviewed double. Gray then walked Pete Alonso and fell behind Orioles’ catcher Samuel Basallo 3-1 before inducing a harmless ground ball to Sogard at third to end the threat.
In the bottom of the third inning, the Orioles mounted their biggest challenge to Gray when Colton Cowser led off with a double to left field and moved to third with only one out on a fly ball to right by Jackson Holliday. Chad Tracy brought the infield in with one out and a man on third, and Sonny induced a one-hopper from Blaze Alexander to Sogard at third, who gunned down the runner trying to score.
I cannot confirm if anyone stared too long at Alexander after he stole second base or asked if he was mad about not driving in the run, but after Gray struck out Henderson to end the inning, there didn’t appear to be any drama.
The game remained scoreless through five innings before Boston finally came through with runners in scoring position and two outs. Trevor Story and Nick Sogard had back-to-back singles with one out. After Kiner-Falefa flied out to left, Jarren Duran worked a walk to load the bases.
I say worked because the count went full, but it started off 3-0. After taking the fourth pitch right down the middle, which I completely approve of and hope was ordered by the coaching staff, he checked his swing at a terrible curveball up 3-1 in the count that the third-base umpire determined was a swing. For those who did not see it, the pitch was not good, and for a 3-1 pitch when you have runners in scoring position and are looking to do some damage, that pitch was even worse.
But to his credit, he did lay off another sweeper inside that was even worse than the previous pitch and drew his walk.
That brought up Eli White with the bases loaded, and he delivered a broken-bat line drive over the infield and into left field for a two-run single that drove Bassitt from the game. Connor Wong then added an insurance run with a single of his own to give Boston a 3-0 cushion.
In the top of the seventh, Kiner-Falefa scorched a two-run, two-out double down the right-field line to score Gasper and Story and extend the lead to 5-0. Sonny Gray delivered a perfect bottom of the seventh inning and then turned the ball over to the pen to lock down the victory.
At least that was the plan.
Remember, the Red Sox are confident that they are going to get into the playoffs, and the most important duty for Chad Tracy this month is to rest the important guys as much as possible. Yes, I agree with the strategy, but that still doesn’t mean I love watching some of the guys who have to pitch in order to do it!
Jovani Moran started the bottom of the eighth inning and did what Morans do. He gave up a leadoff single to the number eight hitter and walked the guy pinch-hitting for the nine-hole hitter on five pitches.
Welcome back into the game, Baltimore, and hey there, hypertension. I had missed you for a few innings!
Moran was able to strike out Jackson Holliday, but it was mainly because he took the “Duran approach” and swung at a few pitches that clearly would have been balls, then confusingly took a straight four-seam fastball right down the middle for strike three.
That was enough for Chad Tracy, who figured that not all of these Orioles hitters were going to be as mixed up as that, and he called in Greg Weissert to face Blaze “Bruce Banner” Alexander.
Incredibly, Weissert got Alexander to ground into a fielder’s choice, second to short, to get the middle man and put runners on the corners with two outs. The play itself involved an incredibly graceful pivot by IKF as he went for a ball to his left and, like a ballerina, spun and delivered a quality throw to Story, who almost turned the double play. If it weren’t for Alexander’s speed, that play would have certainly been one for the nightly highlight reels.
If they even still do those kinds of things.
The strain of the inning was not over for Red Sox fans, however. It was still Greg Weissert on the mound, after all, and although he got ahead of Gunnar Henderson 0-2, he walked him to load the bases for Pete Alonso.
Maybe Weissert was just channeling his inner Rick “Wild Thing” Vaughn, but he struck out the Polar Bear on three pitches! (Video for your edification)
In the bottom of the ninth, Tracy turned to “The Marshal” Wyatt Olds to secure the final three outs, and although he mixed in a two-out double, he got the job done. Boston had won its third game down in Maryland and was actually able to do it while resting more of its “core” players.
I Love It When a Plan Comes Together
Boston’s Starting Lineup for Saturday, September 5
Anthony DH
Gasper 1B
Abreu RF
Story SS
Sogard 3B
Kiner-Falefa 2B
Duran LF
White CF
Wong C
If you didn’t laugh out loud or choke on whatever it was you were eating when that lineup came out, then this section isn’t something that is going to resonate with you, and I envy your approach to life...or at least to consuming the Red Sox.
For the rest of us, it really called into question our life choices as we were still seriously considering spending three hours of the time we have left on this planet watching “those guys” play baseball.
The disdain that was shared across social media and private communication channels all over New England was probably enough to make even Richard Pryor blush. God rest his soul.
Yet, this was the plan: get as much rest for the everyday players as possible while still “trying” to win ball games down the stretch.
Now, if you were clairvoyant enough to know it was a game where Moran, Weissert, and Olds were the only pitchers who would come out of your bullpen, I would be shocked if you didn’t place a mortgage-sized wager on the Orioles at plus odds to win that game and prepare to start taking a bath in cash!
But the plan worked.
White, Wong, and Kiner-Falefa accounted for all of the runs batted in during the game. Your cleanup batter, Trevor Story, was 3-for-5 with two runs scored. Heck, even Duran scored a run.
I cannot explain it, and I don’t think I even want to try. For now, I am just going to nod my head and follow along because over 45 years of actively following baseball has not prepared me in the least for what the hell is going on with this team!
You Can’t Lose if They Don’t Score
One of the oldest adages in sports, and clearly one that the 2026 Red Sox are devoutly holding to, is probably the one aspect of the offseason philosophy that has been maintained throughout the season.
Sixteen shutouts overall this year and 18 consecutive scoreless innings by the pitching staff in this series! While they are resting players and doing their best to coast into the Wild Card Round, the surest way to maintain their position is to pitch, and we have to give them credit on that score.
With all of the comparisons to the 2011 collapse following the disaster in New York last week and the Mariners series that followed, the one thing that might just separate those two renditions of the Boston Red Sox is the men who are taking the hill each night.
Back in 2011, it felt like every starting pitcher who took the mound faltered, and Boston was trailing in just about every game they played. This year, those starters are answering the bell and driving this team down the stretch.
I just hope they can get a little bit of rest themselves, or simply making the Wild Card Round could be the pinnacle of this season and not just a stepping stone.
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