Sonny Gray leads Red Sox to much-needed win as offense finally comes to life

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Manager Alex Cora acknowledged as much after Friday’s 5-2 victory in the home opener against the San Diego Padres. On the strength of Sonny Gray’s strong start, timely offense early on and power late to pad the lead, the Red Sox finally snapped a five-game losing streak and, with it, eased the building tension in and around the club. “It’s very hard, I’ve got to be honest,” Cora said of keeping focus through the early losses. “You see the numbers and the narrative and all that. You’re like, ‘It would be good to start winning a few games.’ But today was a good day.” The relief was visible in the clubhouse after the victory. And though one win doesn’t right their 2-5 ship just yet, they could at least find comfort in putting together a complete win. “For me, it was just go out and win a game,” said Gray, whose two runs allowed over six innings gave the Red Sox their second quality start of the season. “I was looking forward to being back here. I think we all feel really good about just being back here. We were on the road for a long time — spring training, and then you open on the road. You’re living out of a suitcase for a while. So, it’s very nice to be back here.” Gray felt the buzz of the sold-out crowd of 36,233 as he warmed up in the outfield before the game, hoping to prove his awful first start of the season in Cincinnati was an anomaly and not the norm. An eight-pitch first inning set an early tone. “It’s a team effort, for sure, but I do think it’s the starting pitcher’s job to come out and attack, put zeroes on the board and give your team a chance,” he said. Gray made a few adjustments from six days ago in Cincinnati, leaning more on his cutter against the Padres. He had a better feel for his pitches and located better Friday, getting ahead early with first-pitch strikes to 17 of 22 batters. The Red Sox offense, meanwhile, showed life, scoring its most runs in a game since the extra-innings loss Gray started last Saturday. Marcelo Mayer hit a leadoff double in the third and scored on a Ceddanne Rafaela single. The next inning, Jarren Duran doubled to lead off and scored on a two-out single from Caleb Durbin, who snapped an 0-for-19 start to the season. “Obviously, getting the first one out of the way feels good,” Durbin said. Gray kept the Padres in check with the early 2-0 lead, something Red Sox starters hadn’t been able to do in the previous series. The rotation was throttled in Houston, allowing 15 runs in 14 innings. “The first time through, it didn’t look great,” Cora said. “Today, (Gray) was really good. He was really good. That’s what we expect.” Even when the game could have gotten out of hand, the veteran starter kept it in check. Rafaela lost a ball in the sun to open the fifth inning, and it went down as a triple for Miguel Andujar, who scored on a single from Gavin Sheets. Two batters later, a Luis Campusano double tied the score 2-2. But Gray induced a groundout to escape the inning. He didn’t let Rafaela’s miscue rattle him and assured the Gold Glove-winning outfielder to let it go. “I’m like ‘Dude, I know you’re going to pick me up way more times than not this year,’” Gray said. “That’s just the game.” The Red Sox kept their swing-and-miss in check for a game. Entering Friday, they ranked third-worst in the majors with a 32.7 percent strikeout rate. Rather than racking up strikeouts as they had over the first six games, they took more measured at-bats. They totaled eight strikeouts on the day, just the third game this season they logged fewer than 10. And the home run power showed up. Willson Contreras clubbed his first homer of the season with one out in the sixth to give the Red Sox the lead. Contreras watched the towering 423-foot shot to center, flipping his bat and slowly walking to first. “I’m not trying to disrespect anybody,” Contreras said. “I’m not trying to show up anybody. That’s the way I play. If we like it or not, I don’t care. But I’m here to win. I’m loving it here.” WILLSON CONTRERAS OVER THE MONSTER ☄️ SEE YA, BALL 👋 pic.twitter.com/qlSW6rHAS5 Wilyer Abreu followed with a single, and with two outs, Cora trusted Mayer to face lefty Wandy Peralta. Mayer proved Cora right, crushing a two-run shot to right field into the visitors bullpen for a 5-2 lead. The three runs scored in the inning were the most the offense had scored in any inning this season. “I’m not trying to make it bigger than it is,” Mayer said of the homer. “It’s a baseball game, and if AC wants me in there against lefties, then my job is to do whatever I need to do in that moment. Obviously, it feels good to produce against lefties, given my opportunity.” The runs came just after Gray exited, putting him in line for the win. He allowed just four hits on the day, striking out three and not walking a batter. He logged 87 pitches, 57 for strikes. Greg Weissert and Justin Slaten followed him to the mound before Aroldis Chapman secured the win. It marked his 369th career save, moving him ahead of Jonathan Papelbon for 11th on the career saves list. “Just feels better to win than to lose,” Gray said. “Let’s just come in tomorrow and keep it going.” It wasn’t all good news Friday, though. The Red Sox placed right-hander Johan Oviedo on the injury list with a right elbow strain. He’s scheduled to meet Dr. Keith Meister this week, the same doctor who performed his 2024 Tommy John surgery. Oviedo allowed four runs in 3 2/3 innings Monday in relief of starter Ranger Suarez. In the outing, his velocity dipped to the low 90s. After the outing, the Red Sox said he was healthy, but Oviedo said Wednesday that he started experiencing more soreness than usual and couldn’t straighten his arm. A subsequent MRI revealed a strain. He’s awaiting consultation from Meister. “Last year was perfect after I came back (from surgery),” Oviedo said. “So this is a surprise, because I had a good offseason.” The Red Sox recalled pitching prospect Tyler Uberstine to fill Oviedo’s long relief role. Meanwhile, reliever Garrett Whitlock headed to the paternity list Thursday for the birth of his second son; the Red Sox recalled right-hander Zack Kelly to fill his bullpen spot. The news on Oviedo may mean Connelly Early, Saturday’s starter, sticks in the rotation for the foreseeable future. The Red Sox had originally said they would reassess the rotation after a few turns through, but with Oviedo on the IL, Early, who allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings Sunday, is likely to have a longer stay. For now, the Red Sox are just happy to have another win in the books. “It was a good day here,” Cora said. “Let’s do it again.” Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Jen McCaffrey is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Boston Red Sox. Prior to joining The Athletic, the Syracuse graduate spent four years as a Red Sox reporter for MassLive.com and three years as a sports reporter for the Cape Cod Times. Follow Jen on Twitter @jcmccaffrey