Red Sox ride Sonny Gray’s gem, Wilyer Abreu homer to 4-0 win

The Red Sox haven’t been scoring much lately, but Sonny Gray made sure they didn’t need to Saturday night.

Gray delivered seven shutout innings and Wilyer Abreu supplied the only run Boston needed with another home run as the Red Sox blanked the Pirates, 4-0, at PNC Park.

Andruw Monasterio finally gave Boston some breathing room with a two-run double in the ninth before Jahmai Jones added an RBI single to put the game away.

The win was only Boston’s second in its last eight games, but it also marked the club’s 13th shutout of the season and second in three games.

For most of the night, this was all about Gray.

The veteran right-hander scattered six hits, walked one and kept Pittsburgh off the scoreboard for seven innings to become the first American League pitcher to reach 15 wins this season.

It’s also the first 15-win season of Gray’s career.

Gray, who was an All-Star snub in July, has firmly worked his way into the American League Cy Young conversation. He’s also become the Red Sox’ de facto ace with Garrett Crochet missing most of the season because of a lat injury.

“When you lose Garrett, obviously going into the season as the ace of the staff, and what Sonny has done as far as leading our rotation, you cannot understate how important that’s been,” interim manager Chad Tracy said after the game. “Especially with some rookies in there. He’s been absolutely (the staff ace), to answer that question.”

His biggest test came in the fifth as Pittsburgh loaded the bases on two singles and a walk, putting Gray in his first real jam of the night. But with the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position, Gray escaped without allowing the Pirates to cash in.

“I'm just trying to be myself. I'm not trying to be anyone other than who I am,” said Gray. “Obviously, Garrett is very missed. I mean, he’s an electric guy, just his personality. He's a dude, right? I do know, there's moments like tonight, when you need to go out and win a baseball game."

Boston quickly jumped ahead when Abreu crushed a 96.8 mph fastball from Jared Jones in the second inning and sent it over the right-field wall for his 22nd home run of the season, matching the career high he established last year.

It was also Abreu’s 11th homer since the All-Star break, the most in the majors over that span.

Abreu doubled in the fourth, giving him his 12th game with multiple extra-base hits this season, the most in the American League.

At a time when Willson Contreras has cooled and much of the Red Sox lineup has struggled to produce consistently, Abreu has emerged as the club’s most dangerous hitter.

The Red Sox had several opportunities to give Gray some breathing room and repeatedly came away empty-handed.

Masataka Yoshida doubled with one out in the third to put runners at second and third, but Boston failed to score.

An inning later, things were even more frustrating after Contreras walked to begin the fourth before Abreu doubled, giving Boston runners at second and third with nobody out. A groundout and strikeout followed before Monasterio battled through a 10-pitch at-bat, only to fly out and end the threat. 

Despite the offense’s lack of execution, Gray remained dialed in on the mound.

Gray handed a 1-0 lead to the bullpen after seven, giving Tracy his first opportunity to show how he might navigate a close late-inning lead without Garrett Whitlock.

With Whitlock on the injured list because of elbow inflammation, Tracy turned to Erik Miller for the eighth with two of Pittsburgh’s three scheduled hitters batting from the left side.

Miller retired the side in order and sending Boston to the ninth still clinging to its one-run lead.

In his first four outings for the Sox, the big southpaw has allowed just one unearned run, while walking just one and striking out nine.

As the Sox entered the ninth, the offense finally broke through and put the game away. 

Monasterio, who had come up empty in the fourth despite a terrific at-bat, delivered this time with a two-run double to stretch Boston’s lead to 3-0. Jones followed with an RBI single to make it 4-0.

“If you want to play in the big leagues, you have to be clutch,” said Monasterio. “When you get those moments, take advantage.”

There was some potentially concerning news for Boston when Yoshida left the game with hamstring tightness, putting his status in question moving forward.

The injury comes at a time when Yoshida had quietly become one of Boston’s steadier hitters. He entered Saturday batting .306 with an .825 OPS over his previous 41 games and has primarily served as the club’s designated hitter against right-handed pitching.

For the season, Yoshida is batting .274 with a .347 on-base percentage and .399 slugging percentage, along with five homers and 28 RBI.

If Yoshida requires an injured-list stint, Romy Gonzalez and Nate Eaton would be logical options at Triple-A Worcester to provide Boston with another right-handed bat and some positional flexibility.

Adley Rutschman, meanwhile, is still searching for his timing after returning from the injured list.

Rutschman walked once but struck out twice Saturday and has now fanned five times in eight plate appearances through the first two games of the series.

Boston will have an opportunity to leave Pittsburgh with a series win Sunday afternoon, and will avoid one of the best pitchers in baseball in the process.

The Red Sox were originally scheduled to face Pirates ace Paul Skenes in Sunday’s series finale, but Pittsburgh has pushed the reigning National League Cy Young winner back to Wednesday against the Tigers.

Pirates manager Don Kelly said the decision is not injury-related, but rather an opportunity to give Skenes some additional rest. He’ll now have a full week between starts.

Pittsburgh took a similar approach coming out of the All-Star break, giving Skenes seven days of rest before he responded with seven innings of one-run ball against the Guardians.

The Sox will send Patrick Sandoval (1-1, 3.30 ERA) to the mound and he will be opposed by Pirates righty Luke Bacher (1-2, 3.97 ERA). The first pitch is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. ET.