Gray has rare tough outing as bats are stymied by Cease

BOSTON -- Some days, you just have to tip your caps or your batting helmets or however the expression goes.

On Saturday at Fenway Park, the Red Sox simply got mastered by Blue Jays ace Dylan Cease, who had a perfect game through four and a no-hitter through five -- and finished a complete-game, one-hit shutout on 120 pitches.

With Sonny Gray off his game for the first time in months, the Sox endured a 6-0 defeat to the Blue Jays.

However, Gray’s dropoff didn’t matter much considering the performance Cease had.

“It's the story of the game. Not much to say,” Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said of Cease. “He was awfully good and in the zone. Frequently in the zone, and ahead in the count, and he had good stuff. There are games you play where you have to tip your cap. He threw the ball very, very well.”

Here are some takeaways from a frustrating Saturday at Fenway for the Sox, who will try to end this successful homestand (7-2 so far) with a win in Sunday’s rubber match against the Jays.

1. Gray finally has a mishap

No Red Sox starting pitcher has been better or more consistent this season than Gray. But the 36-year-old righty was bound to have an off-day at some point, and that point was Saturday.

Over five innings, Gray gave up 10 hits and five runs while walking none and striking out three. All five runs came in a rough third inning, in which Gray gave up six straight hits with two outs. The biggest knock was a three-run homer off the bat of George Springer.

Coming into the outing, Gray was 10–0 with a 1.94 ERA in his last 13 starts dating back to May 6.

The ultimate competitor, Gray didn’t take solace in the fact he had thrown nine consecutive quality starts before paying the prices for that one tough inning.

“No, I'm pissed,” said Gray. "I'm not happy about it. But sometimes, that's part of it. I'll be OK. We'll be OK. And as a team, we still have a chance to come out tomorrow and have a really good homestand and win a series. Games like this happen. Sucks when it does happen.”

2. Rafaela’s latest sensational play

On a day the Red Sox didn’t have much in the way of highlights on either side of the ball, Ceddanne Rafaela made a brilliant catch even by his own lofty standards. Last year’s Gold Glove Award winner came swooping in to make a diving catch on a broken-bat, sinking liner by Yohendrick Piñango. From one knee, Rafaela fired to second to double off George Springer. Per Statcast, Rafaela needed to cover 50 feet in just 3.5 seconds.

“I'm happy to help my pitcher on the mound,” said Rafaela. “I think those are the plays you don't see every day. And to help Sonny there, I was happy for him. “

The Red Sox have become accustomed to Rafaela’s near daily highlight reel.

“That's a broken bat,” said Tracy. “Off the bat, it kind of looks [like], 'Oh man, that's going to drop in.' Actually, my initial thought was even if it bounces in front, maybe he's got to play to throw him out at the plate. But he catches it like he often does, and keeps that game where it was. And then they do their thing in the third. But yeah, it was a heck of a play.”

3. Gamboa preserves bullpen for Sunday

With Ranger Suarez set to pitch on Sunday for the first time in three weeks, and without a Minor League rehab assignment, it was important for interim manager Chad Tracy not to run through his bullpen. Thanks to Alec Gamboa, he didn’t have to. The lefty reliever came on in relief of Gray in the sixth and gave Boston four innings with one run allowed while striking out six. That leaves Brayan Bello available in bulk relief for Suarez on Sunday.

“Huge,” Tracy said. “He was efficient and was able to finish the game for us and give people rest and keep people online.”