BOSTON – Sonny Gray’s magical season tapered off just a bit the previous two times he took the mound, as his streak of nine consecutive quality starts came to an end.
But if you thought the 36-year-old righty was in the process of wearing down, Gray proved otherwise in convincing fashion on Wednesday night at Fenway Park.
Gray started what he hopes will be a new string of quality starts with six innings of scoreless mastery against the White Sox while leading the scorching-hot Red Sox to a 4-0 victory.
“I thought he was awesome,” said Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy. “Very, very locked in and determined from the time he got here, and he executed his pitches, had his spin pretty much whenever he wanted to. Got a lot of spin below the zone for swing and miss, and it was just a really, really good outing.”
Not only did Tracy’s squad win their seventh game in a row, but they clinched their ninth consecutive series victory in the process. Boston (62-51) will go for the sweep of the White Sox in Thursday night’s finale of this three-game set.
Since July 3, the Sox are 25-3. They are 30-5 since June 25.
What is it like to play for a team on that type of torrid run?
“Just [a mindset of] expecting to win,” said Gray. “Showing up to the park and just expecting to win no matter what it looks like.”
While giving up three hits and two walks while striking out eight, Gray improved to 14-2 and lowered his ERA to 2.78.
As routine oriented as Gray is, the All-Star break might have had something to do with his sharpness diminishing just a bit, when he gave up nine earned runs and 17 hits over 12 innings in those last two starts against the Blue Jays and A’s.
He recaptured everything on Wednesday.
“Focus, attention to detail. Creating an edge,” said Gray. “Finding an edge. Spinning the ball. That's who I am. I think a lot of little things add up to it. I don't think it's one thing. I think it's a lot of little things when you pay attention to the little details on a daily basis. That puts you in the position to be the best version of yourself on the mound.”
The best version of Gray is pretty tough to beat. He is the ultimate craftsman in an era that has been dominated by velocity. Gray’s hardest offering as he increased his AL lead in wins was 93.3 mph.
Gray’s six-pitch arsenal was crisp across the board, as he generated 17 whiffs out of the 41 swings the White Sox took against him.
So diverse was Gray’s mix that he didn’t throw any of his pitches more than 30 percent of the time.
“I just felt like I was a little closer to just being myself and that's a good feeling,” said Gray. “I felt good. I was in a good space.”
It was a night the Red Sox have seen often this season from the man who wears No. 54.
“It looked like vintage Sonny,” Tracy said.
The Sox had been ripping the ball offensively in recent games, but this was a quieter performance – still more than enough for Gray and the bullpen.
Willson Contreras staked his team to a 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the bottom of the first. Wilyer Abreu mauled his fourth homer in a span of 10 at-bats, a solo shot to right in the third.
Jarren Duran helped generate an insurance run with his speed in the seventh. After a single to left, Duran stole second, which forced a throwing error by White Sox catcher Drew Romo.
Andruw Monasterio hit a 253-foot flyball to left that wouldn’t have been deep to score many runners in MLB. But the speedy Duran tagged and scored safely, drawing roars from the latest packed house (37,517) at Fenway Park.
Many of those fans probably went home thinking about what Thursday might bring.
“I think our energy, our passion for baseball, is because of this stadium,” said Abreu. “We're privileged to play here. This is an amazing feeling, an amazing time.”