When the Boston Red Sox acquired right-handed pitcher Sonny Gray over the winter from the St. Louis Cardinals, it was seen as a low-risk, high-reward move.
It's safe to say that the move has turned into a high-reward one. The 36-year-old coasted into the All-Star break as one of the top pitchers in the American League. However, it still wasn't good enough to earn him a spot on the AL All-Star team. After a solid start against the Tampa Bay Rays out of the break, Gray hit some bumps in his last two starts before Wednesday night's start against the Chicago White Sox.
Gray turned things around once again with a veteran-like performance as the Red Sox won their seventh straight with a 4-0 victory over the AL Central Division leaders. After the game, Boston interim manager Chad Tracy didn't mince words about Gray's performance.
Gray was in command from the first pitch of the game. He worked six innings, allowing three hits, walking two and striking out eight in improving to 14-2. Boston's defense got Gray out of his one jam of the game. Caleb Durbin made a diving stop of a ground ball by Miguel Vargas. His throw to first was late. However, Willson Contreras in turn threw out Sam Antonacci at the plate to end the inning.
After that, Gray gutted his way through the next three innings without getting in another jam. What did Tracy think of his performance?
"I thought he was awesome," said Tracy, per Ian Browne of MLB.com . "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.
"It looked like vintage Sonny."
In his two previous starts, Gray allowed nine earned runs in 12 innings against the Toronto Blue Jays and Athletics. He had just eight strikeouts combined in both games. He had eight alone against the White Sox.
"Just [a mindset of] expecting to win," said Gray, per Browne. "Showing up to the park and just expecting to win no matter what it looks like."
Once buried in the AL standings, Boston is now just one game behind the New York Yankees for the first AL wild-card spot. They are just 5.5 games behind the first-place Tampa Bay Rays . Winning the division is certainly still well within reach.
Wilyer Abreu helped out Gray with his 20th home run off Chicago starter Sean Burke as the Red Sox won their 25th game in their last 28. However, it didn't come without concern. Contreras left the game after just one at-bat with an illness .
Boston will go for a second straight sweep on Thursday night. Coming off an impressive sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers last weekend, the Red Sox have now won nine straight series. It's their longest such streak since 1912 .
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