BOSTON -- It was expected that Red Sox right-hander Sonny Gray's day would start early, given that he got the nod in Monday’s annual Patriots' Day game with an 11:10 a.m. start time.
Much less expected was that Gray’s day also ended early. He walked off the mound with a right hamstring strain after walking Gleyber Torres with two outs in the top of the third inning in Boston's eventual 8-6 win against the Tigers. Gray landed on the 15-day injured list a day later, with the club recalling lefty reliever Tyler Samaniego from Triple-A Worcester to take his roster spot.
Lefty Payton Tolle, the team’s No. 1 prospect per MLB Pipeline, is likely the top candidate to fill the rotation spot vacated by Gray, whose next scheduled start would have been Saturday at Camden Yards.
Gray realized immediately what the injury was, having spent stints on the injured list with right hamstring woes in 2022 (twice) and ‘24.
“I threw that last 3-2 pitch, and I felt a grab in my right hamstring,” Gray said. “It’s something that I have felt before. In the moment, I kind of knew what it was. I knew I needed to at least throw a warm-up pitch before I felt comfortable continuing.
"When something like that happens, you kind of start going, ‘Should I keep trying to pitch? Should I not pitch? Am I going to make this worse? Am I not going to make this worse?’ You really don’t know what to do. After a warm-up pitch, it was the same feeling. Not a grab, but a tightness after that. It was just there. That was it.”
Red Sox manager Alex Cora appreciated Gray’s honesty.
“Sometimes, guys push through that and it makes it worse,” said Cora.
When Gray exited, lefty Danny Coulombe entered out of the bullpen for Boston with his Red Sox leading, 2-1, at the time. He inherited two baserunners from Gray and stranded them on a groundout.
Boston’s bullpen pieced things together nicely for the rest of the day.
Gray is 2-1 with a 4.30 ERA in his first five starts for the Red Sox. It will be at least a couple of weeks before the 36-year-old can build on those stats. He was the team’s first significant acquisition of the offseason.