A month ago, Sonny Gray sounded like a pitcher bracing for an exit. Now, he sounds like a guy who sees a contender.
That shift tracks perfectly with what the Red Sox have done on the field. On June 23, after a series loss to the Colorado Rockies, Boston’s playoff odds sat at 9.4 percent, according to FanGraphs.
The offense was dragging the whole operation down, even with strong defense and All-Star-level pitching carrying the load. The team looked like a likely seller before the deadline, and Gray himself said on June 21 that he’s "open for a conversation" about waiving his no trade clause.
Since then, everything has flipped. Boston’s playoff chances have climbed to 59.3 percent.
The Red Sox have won 18 of their last 20 games and are riding a 13-game winning streak. Gray has stayed sharp through the surge, and his numbers since July began reflect that run: a 1.50 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP over 18 innings.
He hasn’t allowed more than one run in any outing since the hot streak started.
That change in the standings has brought a change in Gray’s tone, too. After his July 19 start against the Tampa Bay Rays, he no longer sounded like a pitcher weighing his options for August 3.
"We weren’t a good team, and that was a fact. But we’ve always had it in us and we are a good team. At the same time, you can’t get too high and you can’t get too low in this game," Gray said after his July 19 outing against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Boston still had to work through some trouble in that game. Victor Mesa Jr. opened the scoring with an inside-the-park home run, and Gray’s command wasn’t clean - he walked a season-high four Rays hitters. But afterward, he said he trusted his teammates to pick him up, and that belief helped him stay locked in even while he was fighting his own stuff.
That’s the clearest sign of how much the Red Sox have changed. In early June, they hadn’t won more than three straight and hadn’t erased a three-run deficit. They didn’t seem to trust themselves when things turned sideways.
Now they do. The offense has started to look like a different unit, too.
Boston is tied for the 27th-lowest home run total in baseball with 94, but it has hit 31 in the last month, which ranks 12th over that stretch. The Red Sox have drawn 298 walks on the season, 26th in the league, yet they’ve taken 85 in the last month, the eighth-best total in that span.
The turnaround shows up everywhere, but Gray’s comments may say it best. A month ago, he was talking like a veteran searching for a path to October. Now, he’s talking like someone who believes the path is already there.
In Other News...
Red Sox Suddenly Face A Risky Deadline Reunion Debate
The Red Sox have spent much of this season looking like a club that can pitch with anyone, which is why they remain in the playoff race and why any deadline conversation now comes with a little more ambition attached. Even so, the next few weeks could force Boston to think beyond simple bullpen depth or a modest bench upgrade, especially if San Diego decides to explore ways to reshape its roster and move a veteran name with real familiarity in Boston.
Any reunion talk would come with plenty of baggage, starting with the long-term money still attached and the question of whether the player would even be willing to sign off on a move. From the Red Sox perspective, the appeal is obvious: a chance to add a proven bat to a team trying to hold its place in the race. But the real intrigue is whether Boston would be willing to get pulled into a bigger deal if the Padres also made a premium late-inning arm part of the conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Lose A Key Piece As Red Sox Series Suddenly Shifts
The Orioles lineup took a hit at an awkward time, with their series against the Red Sox arriving while Baltimore is already trying to keep pace in the division race. Adley Rutschman has been one of the most important pieces of that effort, so any absence behind the plate changes the feel of a matchup that already had plenty riding on it.
Baltimore filled the roster spot by bringing up Chadwick Tromp from Triple-A Norfolk, a move that at least gives the Orioles another catching option as they navigate the next stretch. For Boston, the timing matters too, because a series that looked like a test against one of the American Leagues steadier clubs suddenly looks a little different with a key Orioles regular unavailable. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox Trade Idea Sparks Familiar Catcher Debate
The catcher market always gets complicated when a team is trying to balance present need against future value, and that is why Jim Bowdens latest trade idea is the kind of proposal that catches the eye. The concept centers on a 26-year-old backstop who has already shown real middle-of-the-order production, with 30 homers, a .886 OPS, 2.6 bWAR and two All-Star selections giving him a profile that is easy to understand for a contender and just as easy to covet for a club looking to reshape its roster.
For Boston, the appeal is obvious enough: a catcher who can help now and perhaps change the shape of the lineup. For Colorado, the question is whether a possible sell-off at the deadline could turn one premium bat into a wider return of pitching and position-player talent, including a mix of big league and upper-minors pieces. It is the familiar kind of debate that follows any aggressive deadline idea, where the fit makes sense on paper but the real challenge is deciding how much certainty a team is willing to give up for one player. [Read more 🡒]