Sonny Gray walked into PNC Park and gave the Red Sox the kind of outing that can steady a team in a hurry.
With seven shutout innings and seven strikeouts, Gray set the tone for Boston’s 4-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday night. Wilyer Abreu did the early damage with a 420-foot solo shot, and Boston finished the job late to split the first two games of the three-game series.
The win pushed the Red Sox to 66-57 and gave them their second victory in three games after a five-game skid. It also wiped away some of the sting from Friday’s 8-4 loss and put Boston in position to chase the series Sunday.
Gray was sharp from the start and worked through 86 pitches while allowing six hits and one walk. He improved to 15-3 and trimmed his ERA to 2.65 with what was easily one of his most valuable outings of the year.
Pittsburgh had traffic, but not the kind of swing that changes a game. The Pirates went 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position and grounded into two double plays.
Abreu supplied the only run Boston needed for most of the night. In the second inning, he turned on a pitch from Jared Jones and sent it 420 feet for his 22nd homer of the season, giving the Red Sox a 1-0 lead. He wasn’t done there, finishing 3-for-4 with the home run and two doubles.
Jones kept Boston from running away with it. The Pittsburgh right-hander struck out seven and held the Red Sox to four hits over five innings, keeping the game within reach. Boston had chances to build on the lead but went just 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position, stranded seven runners and struck out 11 times.
The breakthrough came in the ninth. Caleb Durbin and Jarren Duran scored on Andruw Monasterio’s two-run double to center, and Jahmai Jones followed with an RBI single to push the lead to 4-0.
Erik Miller handled the eighth with a perfect inning, and Aroldis Chapman closed it out in the ninth for Boston’s second shutout win in three games.
The only real worry for the Red Sox came with Masataka Yoshida, who left in the third inning with left hamstring tightness after doubling into the right-field corner. He walked off under his own power and was initially listed as day-to-day.
Boston now turns to Sunday’s series finale, where left-hander Patrick Sandoval is set to face Pirates ace Paul Skenes at 1:35 p.m. ET.
In Other News...
Rafael Devers Is Putting The Red Sox Trade Back Under Fire
Rafael Devers was supposed to be the kind of star who steadied a franchise, not one who reopened old wounds after a deadline deal. Boston sent him to the San Francisco Giants before the 2025 trade deadline, moving on from a player who had long been one of the Red Soxs most productive bats and was still attached to a long-term contract.
Instead, Devers production has dipped in San Francisco, and the ripple effects are being felt well beyond the Bay Area. The Giants are left sorting through a deal that has not gone the way they hoped, while their general managers mixed comments after the deadline suggested a roster still very much in flux, the sort of uncertainty that can make a trade look different a few months later than it did on the day it was made. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox May Be Tipping Their Hand With Franklin Arias
Franklin Arias has become one of the more interesting names in the Red Sox conversation as the club sorts out its next move with the young infielder. He is getting work at both second base and shortstop, a detail that suggests Boston is keeping its options open as it looks at how he might fit into the roster picture if the team needs help later this season.
The timing remains unclear, with reports leaving open everything from a debut this year to a longer runway that stretches into 2027. For now, the Red Sox are still evaluating where he could make the most sense down the stretch and, if the club gets there, in October. No official decision has been made on a promotion, which leaves Arias as both a possible answer and a question Boston has not quite settled yet. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox Bullpen Shuffle Leaves Seth Martinez In A Strange Spot
Seth Martinezs time on the Boston roster took another turn this week when the Red Sox designated the right-hander for assignment and then moved quickly to bring up Alec Gamboa. The shuffle came as Boston tried to keep its bullpen moving, with the club also dealing with a separate roster hit in the form of Garrett Whitlock landing on the injured list.
Martinez did not get claimed after going on waivers, leaving him in an unusual holding pattern within the organization. He now has the option to elect free agency, but for the moment he remains in the system, a reminder of how quickly a relievers path can change when a team is forced to juggle depth and health at the big-league level. [Read more 🡒]