Sonny Gray took the mound after nine days of rest on Saturday and shut out the Baltimore Orioles in a 5-0 victory. It marked the second straight game in which the Boston Red Sox shut down the Orioles, who also suffered a 1-0 loss the previous day. The Red Sox starter’s dominant return against the Orioles was fueled not only by their AL East rivalry but also by Blaze Alexander.
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“We wanted to bury these guys, especially after what that dude [Alexander] was trying to do last night,” Sonny Gray told the reporters, per Tyler Milliken on X.
As the Orioles and the Red Sox clashed for a second game at Camden Yards, Blaze Alexander sparked a benches-clearing incident over a backward glance from Trevor Story. When Alexander started chirping, the Red Sox players could not even figure out what the problem was in the first place.
At the bottom of the eighth, the Orioles were trailing 1-0 when benches-cleared over an inning-ending double play. In an otherwise disappointing showing from the Orioles’ lineup, the home team got a chance to make an impact during Robert Luis Jr.’s late-inning at-bat.
With one out and trailing by just a run, the game was still within reach for the Orioles. But Garrett Whitlock foiled those plans as he grounded Luis Jr. into a 6-4-3 double play. As Luis Jr.’s grounder went to Story, second baseman Nick Sogard threw the Red Sox shortstop’s flip to first base to record the first out of the play. Then, Sogard put out Alexander to end the inning as he slid hard into second base. The inning ended, but Alexander was not done with the Red Sox players. He got involved in a brief verbal altercation with Story, Sogard, and others.
The broadcast cameras caught Story asking him, “Why are you mad?”
After the game, Alexander revealed that he thought the Red Sox players were staring him down. Hence, he confronted them before leaving second base.
“I thought it was a clean slide into the bag and just getting stared at,” Alexander said, per MLB.com. “I wanted to know why I’m getting stared at.”
The chit-chat between Alexander and the Red Sox infielders emptied the bullpens and the benches onto the field. A few minutes of pushing and shoving later, both teams retreated, and the play resumed. The umpires let them go with only a warning to both teams; they did not eject any players.
The Red Sox’s second baseman later revealed that his looking back had nothing to do with Alexander. He was checking how far Alexander had slid.
“I didn’t have a problem with the slide, but we turned the double play. I was just looking back to see how far he went,” Sogard told the reporters, per MLB.com. “I don’t know if he liked me looking back. That was pretty much it.”
Alexander’s conduct did not sit well with the Red Sox players, as Sonny Gray made it plenty clear. But before vocalizing his displeasure, Gray let his ball do the talking on Saturday.
Sonny Gray shuts down the Orioles, reveals inspiration
Sonny Gray (2.69 ERA) has been one of the most reliable starters for the Boston Red Sox this season. He did not even falter when the Red Sox slumped heavily, almost losing the chance to qualify for the playoffs. However, the Red Sox pushed through, and now they rank second in the AL Wild Card race.
Coming back to Gray, during his last start against the Miami Marlins, the veteran pitcher struggled on the mound. He allowed 2 runs on 7 hits across 5.0 innings. The start before, on August 21, Gray allowed 4 runs on 7 hits in 6.0 innings. Considering his recent struggles, interim manager Chad Tracy rested him for 9 days. Saturday marked his comeback.
Gray secured the series for Boston as he threw seven scoreless innings. During his 92-pitch outing in Baltimore, Gray allowed only 3 hits and fanned 7 Orioles hitters while issuing 3 walks.
Following the game, Gray revealed that Ranger Suarez’s brilliant outing on Friday inspired him.
“After watching Ranger last night, you want to match it,” Gray said, per Jake Rill of MLB.com on X. “You want to do better, you want to match it. That’s just how it is. And our guys came in and put some runs across late and then added.”
The day before, Suarez and the Red Sox relievers protected Mickey Gasper’s solo homer to lead the Red Sox to a 1-0 victory. Suarez went 7 innings deep, allowing 5 hits while fanning 3.
Next, the Red Sox will aim to sweep the Orioles on Sunday.