Gray finds 'quiet and calm' in later innings of quality start in comeback win

WEST SACRAMENTO – A familiar pattern emerged for the Red Sox in this four-game series at Sutter Health Park. The bats would go cold in the early innings, only to come to life later. It was a formula that mostly worked.

Boston rode back-to-back homers by Wilyer Abreu and Willson Contreras to open the eighth inning, turning a 4-3 deficit into a lead, and coming away with a 5-4 victory that allowed interim manager Chad Tracy’s team to take three out of four from the Athletics.

“I don't think this was our cleanest series of baseball by any stretch at all. And you're certainly right, we were quiet early and played from behind in all four games and found a way to win three of them,” said Tracy. “So, big at-bats in big spots and [we] didn't stop fighting. And it's important to win games like that, too.”

For the surging Sox, that makes seven straight series victories leading into a marquee, three-game showdown that starts Friday night at Dodger Stadium. The Sox are 12-1 on the road in their last two trips and 20-3 overall since July 3.

Here is what mattered most from another satisfying getaway night for Boston.

1. Sonny finishes strong

It was far from Sonny Gray’s best start of the year, but the 36-year-old veteran showed his usual guile by going seven innings. In fact, Gray’s last frame was the best, as he struck out the side to keep his team within reach, down a run.

“Maybe in about the fifth inning or so, I was just able to find a little more quiet and calm,” said Gray. “And that’s when I’m at my best, when I find that.”

Gray (13-2, 2.93 ERA) scattered seven hits while allowing four earned runs to go with two walks and five strikeouts in his 97-pitch performance. He kept his team within range at 4-3, and the homers by Abreu and Contreras made a winner out of him after his exit.

2. Bullpen again gets it done

Thanks to Gray eating up innings, the Sox only needed two innings from a bullpen that has worked hard as of late. Greg Weissert, who usually pitches earlier in the game, took care of the eighth. Aroldis Chapman, who got the win on Wednesday after nearly giving up a walk-off homer, came on for his 26th save.

After the game, Tracy said that his top three setup men – Garrett Whitlock, Tyron Guerrero and Justin Slaten – were all unavailable. That made Weissert’s shutdown frame after the back-to-back homers all the more important.

“Amazing,” said Tracy. “Second day in a row. Second day in a row in big spots [for Weissert]. Huge, huge contributor to two wins for us the last two days.”

3. Abreu, Contreras both snap slumps

Contreras has been Boston’s best hitter for most of the season, but was in a 1-for-16 spell when he stepped up in that key spot in the eighth. For Contreras, home run No. 23 was a no-doubter, and he enjoyed admiring it as it traveled a Statcast-projected 414 feet to left. The always-emotional Contreras pounded his chest where the uniform said “Boston,” and shouted at his teammates as he circled the bases.

But it was Abreu who first tied up the festivities, breaking out of a slump of his own. The left-handed hitter had two hits in his last 35 at-bats before the equalizing solo shot.