PITTSBURGH -- As a stat, pitching wins aren’t as indicative as they once were in baseball.
But there are exceptions. And Sonny Gray is proof of that in this, his first season with the Red Sox.
When the 36-year-old righty notched his career-high 15th victory on Saturday night while leading his club to a 4-0 victory over the Pirates at PNC Park, it was the latest example of the master craftsman delivering for his team in a big spot.
Gray (15-3, 2.65 ERA), working with a new batterymate for the first time in Trade Deadline acquisition Adley Rutschman, was in complete command, staving off the Bucs on a night Boston’s bats had trouble getting going. Over seven scoreless innings, Gray scattered six hits while walking one and striking out seven.
On the heels of a 27-3 run, the best 30-game stretch in Red Sox history, interim manager Chad Tracy’s team entered Saturday in a 1-6 skid.
With Gray’s outing the official start of the countdown for Boston’s final 40 games of the season, the Red Sox had no interest in reverting to their early-season struggles.
Staked to a 1-0 lead on Wilyer Abreu’s solo shot in the second, Gray stingily made sure it stood up. Abreu later added two doubles.
Garrett Crochet, the ace who all but willed the Red Sox to their first postseason appearance since 2021 last season, has missed most of this one with left shoulder inflammation.
That has thrust Gray into the role of stopper, and he has been up to every bit of the challenge for the Sox (66-57).
When the Pirates loaded the bases with two outs in the fifth, Gray buckled down to strike out frequent Red Sox tormenter Brandon Lowe on a 2-2 sweeper.