We don’t care much about starting pitching records anymore, and for good reason. But it’s kind of wild to look up and realize that Sonny Gray is 9-1 following his latest gem for the Red Sox against the Rockies in Coors Field on Tuesday night. On a team that entered the evening tied for the fewest wins in all of baseball, Sonny Gray has pretty much been everything Boston could’ve asked for this year, and he was again following the team’s latest gut punch loss on Monday.
Gray didn’t just throw seven innings of one run baseball, he struck out eleven guys in a ballpark notorious for balls going in play. It never felt like he was in trouble, he once again proved in command of all of his pitches, and he’s now responsible for nearly a third of the team’s victories all season.
And I guess that’s kind of the other big story of this game: The Red Sox, for whatever reason, seem to play a little bit more of a complete game when Gray is on the mound. It’s probably mostly sequencing and luck, but this squad has wasted so many wonderful outings from their starters in 2026, it’s almost surprising when they button one down in mostly uneventful fashion.
But for now, score one for a game going mostly as advertised on paper. The Red Sox had the huge pitching advantage on the mound, and it largely played out that way. If we want to get picky, you wouldn’t be wrong to note they probably should have scored more than five runs with Sean Sullivan on the mound for the Rockies at Coors Field, but I’m not going to complain about that tonight. The Red Sox got a win they needed, the Rockies looked like the Rockies, and Coors Field proved much more docile than it can be on a warm summer night.
To the studs and duds!
Three Studs
Sonny Gray: Seven innings of one run baseball at Coors Field with eleven strikeouts attached is a golden ticket here every time. If he does get moved later this summer, the price just went up.
Wilyer Abreu: He grew up a fan of Carlos Gonzalez, and he looked a lot like Carlos Gonzalez in his heyday tonight. A monster home run, a triple, and he almost had an outfield assist that turned into an unlucky error when the ball hit the runner. Here’s the big blast:
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Nate Eaton: Led off the game with a walk, scored the first run on Abreu’s triple, and then had three more hits the rest of the night.
Bonus Stud: Anthony Seigler: 2-3 with a walk, and helped set up chances all night from the bottom of the lineup.
Three Duds
Jarren Duran: Not only did he go 0-5, but he managed to strike out three times while the rest of the team only struck out once combined. Opponents are attacking him down and away pretty routinely, and they’re having enormous success.
Andruw Monasterio: The only other player to go hitless in the Boston lineup, although he at least walked once.
Garrett Whitlock: He came into a four run game in the ninth inning after allowing four hits last night and quickly looked vulnerable surrendering a solo home. While Whitlock worked through it and ended the game before Chapman had to be called, Coors Field doesn’t seem to agree with him, and I have to imagine the Sox will stay away from him tomorrow in the finale.
Speaking of which, that will be an early 3:10pm ET first pitch with Ranger Suarez on the hill trying to finish off what would become a 4-2 road trip for the Sox with a win.
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