The Red Sox acquired veteran right-hander Sonny Gray last winter as part of a broader effort to refortify their rotation.
Gray has long been a steady workhorse, logging 184, 166 1/3, and 180 2/3 innings over the past three seasons. Boston brought in the 36-year-old to provide stability and veteran leadership alongside a developing core of young arms.
The version of Gray the Red Sox saw on Saturday afternoon was far from his usual steady self, as he struggled with command and lasted just four innings. That included a 35-pitch first inning in which he faced seven batters and allowed two runs.
He finished with three earned runs, one walk, and five strikeouts, throwing 80 pitches, 51 for strikes.
Gray’s outing stood in stark contrast to Garrett Crochet, who dominated the Reds on Opening Day. Boston’s ace delivered six scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and two walks while striking out eight to lead the Sox to a 3–0 victory.
“He did an amazing job,” manager Alex Cora said of his ace on Thursday. “That last inning, (he) started with a walk and then he just found it back and finished strong, and gave us a chance for the offense to cash in.”
On the flip side, Gray labored through his outing but battled to complete four innings.
“He finished strong, to be honest with you,” Cora said of the veteran Gray.
After allowing a leadoff solo home run to Sal Stewart in the third and a follow-up single to Eugenio Suárez, Gray settled in to retire five of the final six batters he faced.
“The first inning got a little carried away,” said the righty. “They kind of jumped me early. Overall, I don’t feel like I put us in a good position to win the game, if I’m being honest...I just put us in a pretty big hole early and we did our best to climb out of it. I just don’t feel like I gave us a really good chance to win the game.”
Sonny Gray thought you could peg the runner for an out pic.twitter.com/ol0hCBTevR
— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 28, 2026
There were other factors throughout the game that didn’t help Gray, including a throwing error from shortstop Trevor Story in the second inning that led to an unearned run. Gray also didn’t do himself any favors in that frame, misplaying a slow chopper in front of the mound that allowed another run to score from third. The play nearly turned chaotic, as it appeared he briefly considered trying to fire home before losing control of the ball.
“As soon as he hit it, I knew it was going to be a weird one,” Gray explained. “I went to field the ball. And as I fielded the ball, it was in my glove, but I never had it. And then I just saw him right in front of me and it (the ball) was kind of juggling in my glove. I just saw him in front of me, so I was like, OK, I’ll just go tag him because I didn’t feel like I had a grip on the ball where I could do like a little shovel pass to Narvi. So then I went to try to tag him and he just kind of dodged it and I just lost the ball.”
Gray is no stranger to Great American Ball Park, having pitched for the Reds from 2019 through 2021 before returning as a visiting pitcher with the Cardinals.
“I faced these guys a lot the last few years, just being in the division,” said Gray, “and they were kind of leaning over (the plate, looking to go the other way). I could tell that was going to be the approach and I just wasn’t able to then make the adjustment to combat that.
“I continued to try to execute pitches and stay in it. I never had lack of (competitiveness). It just didn’t go our way early, but I was happy to see that we didn’t give up. We fought back and gave them a run for it there at the end.”
To be clear, the Red Sox aren’t expecting Gray to be Crochet. What they need is a steady, mid-rotation presence who can eat innings and keep them in games.
Through his first couple of outings this spring, Gray struggled. In just 8 2/3 innings, he posted a 6.23 ERA, allowing two home runs and seven runs while striking out eight. He ultimately finished his first spring training with Boston with a 4.91 ERA. Pitchers are using their time on the mound in Grapefruit and Cactus League play to work on pitches and mechanics.
That alone wouldn’t be overly alarming in a vacuum; spring numbers can often be misleading, but it’s the way those results are being produced that raises concern.
Gray was far more effective against left-handed hitters in 2025, holding them to a .668 OPS with a 29% strikeout rate, which is an excellent mark. That trend held on Saturday, as he allowed just one hit to a lefty while striking out three.
Right-handed hitters, however, did the damage. They went