Sonny Gray turns in seven scoreless as Red Sox blank Orioles, 5-0

The Red Sox didn’t have anything close to their regular lineup on the field Saturday night. It didn’t stop them from finding enough offense to make Sonny Gray’s best start in weeks stand up.

Boston’s backups delivered five two-out runs while Gray tossed seven scoreless innings in a 5-0 win over the Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, putting the Red Sox in position to complete a four-game sweep Sunday.

The Red Sox (78-65) were without Ceddanne Rafaela, who remains sidelined with a tight right quad, while Adley Rutschman received a maintenance day and Caleb Durbin was given an overdue day off. Willson Contreras remains on the injured list with a hamstring injury.

On a night when the Red Sox needed someone to step forward, the backups did the job.

That was especially important for an offense that entered Saturday struggling to deliver in key situations. The Red Sox were just 22-for-107 (.206) with runners in scoring position over their previous 13 games.

For five innings, those struggles continued.

Boston finally broke through with two outs in the sixth, and Jarren Duran helped get the rally going on his 30th birthday.

Duran worked a six-pitch walk to load the bases, a notable plate appearance for an outfielder who had walked just once in his previous 67 plate appearances dating back to Aug. 15. Duran has also been mired in an offensive funk, going 5-for-39 over an 11-game stretch.

Starting in center field for Rafaela, Eli White lined a two-run single to put Boston ahead, 2-0. Connor Wong, giving Rutschman the night off behind the plate, followed with another two-out single to bring home Duran and extend the lead to three.

Trevor Story singled in the seventh before Isiah Kiner-Falefa delivered a two-run double that pushed Boston’s lead to 5-0.

Story continues to make his ugly rehab assignment at Triple-A Worcester look increasingly irrelevant. He batted just .171 with 11 strikeouts in 10 games for the WooSox, prompting questions about how much he could contribute upon returning.

The veteran shortstop is 11-for-25 with four multi-hit games since returning from the 60-day injured list Aug. 30. He singled in both of Boston’s run-scoring rallies Saturday.

Kiner-Falefa, meanwhile, continues to show why he could have value for Boston in October.

He flashed his offensive potential during May, when he went 15-for-39 (.385) with a .980 OPS, and his defensive versatility gives Boston another option around the infield. With Durbin sitting Saturday, Nick Sogard moved to third base and Kiner-Falefa started at second.

The five runs were more than enough for Gray.

Boston gave the veteran right-hander nine days between starts after he allowed six runs over 11 innings in his previous two outings. With the postseason approaching, the response was exactly what the Red Sox hoped to see.

Gray limited Baltimore to three hits over seven scoreless innings, throwing 92 pitches.

It didn’t necessarily look like he was headed for such an efficient night early. Gray needed 25 pitches to navigate the first inning before coming back with an eight-pitch second. From there, he settled in and kept the Orioles off the scoreboard.

One of his biggest outs came in the third.

Colton Cowser opened the inning with a double and advanced to third on a flyout with one out. Boston brought the infield in, continuing an aggressive approach it has used even early in games..

Blaze Alexander grounded directly to Sogard, who threw home to cut down Cowser and preserve the scoreless tie. Gray escaped the inning without allowing a run.

He didn’t need another escape once Boston finally gave him some breathing room.

The performance also continued an impressive two-night stretch for Boston’s rotation. Ranger Suarez tossed seven scoreless innings in Friday’s 1-0 victory before Gray matched him with seven shutout frames Saturday.

“Shout out to Ranger (Suarez) yesterday, shout out to Sonny today, this is what it’s going to take to win it all,” Kiner-Falefa told NESN’s Jahmai Webster postgame. “Our starting pitcher’s going to have to go out there and do the job and we’re going to have to play D and it doesn’t matter if we win by one or 10, we just got to win.”

Now the Red Sox have a chance to leave Baltimore with a sweep.

Rookie left-hander Payton Tolle (8-6, 3.23 ERA) will start Sunday against Orioles right-hander Kyle Bradish (7-12, 4.01 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 p.m.