- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,152,127
- Reaction score
- 59
The Boston Red Sox improved to 27-35 on the season thanks to a 5-2 win over the New York Yankees on Friday night in the Bronx. The Red Sox were led by a solid performance from veteran starter Sonny Gray, who backed up his offseason comments about his time in New York with the outing.
After being acquired by Boston in an offseason deal with the St. Louis Cardinals, Gray immediately ingratiated himself with his new fanbase, dismissing his time as a Yankee, calling New York a place he never wanted to be.
Gray spent parts of two seasons in New York after being acquired from Oakland in a 2017 trade deadline deal. The then 27-year-old struggled in his time in New York, posting a 4.51 ERA in 195.1 innings.
"It’s easy to hate the Yankees these days,” Gray told reporters, including MLB.com's Ian Browne, during his introductory press conference on Dec. 2, "New York just wasn't a good situation for me. It wasn't a great setup for me and my family. I never wanted to go there in the first place," he continued.
Facing his former team for the first time as a member of the Red Sox, the 36-year-old took the mound at Yankee Stadium and backed up his offseason talk, keeping the Yankees' offense mostly in check.
"I'm glad we won," Gray said of his return to New York. "There was definitely some juice...it was fun," he continued.
The Yankees jumped on Gray early as designated hitter Ben Rice launched his 18th home run of the year in the first inning to give New York a 1-0 lead. But the Boston offense was quick to respond for their starter, scoring two in the top half of the third inning to give the Red Sox a 2-1 lead, which they would not relinquish.
While Gray danced in and out of trouble throughout the outing, he did a good job limiting damage, allowing just three runs on eight hits, getting better as his night went on and needing just 79 pitches to get through 6.1 innings.
"Sonny was fantastic," interim manager Chad Tracy said after the win. "He did, in lieu of strikeouts, got a lot of weak contact," he continued.
It was a fantastic night for the Red Sox pitching staff, who needed just 108 pitches to get through a Yankees lineup that entered Friday's series opener with the league's best weighted runs created+ (wRC+) at home.
The Red Sox's struggles at home have been well documented: the team is a league-worst 10-21 at Fenway Park, struggling to score consistently despite playing in one of baseball's most hitter-friendly environments. With the win on Friday night, Boston improved to 17-14 on the road, scoring 4.71 runs per game compared to the 3.3 they are averaging at home.
The Red Sox and Yankees will be back at it on Saturday night at Yankee Stadium as Boston will look to secure the series victory. Ranger Suarez (2-3, 3.38 ERA) will get the start for Boston opposite Will Warren (7-1, 3.22 ERA) for New York. First pitch from Yankee Stadium set for 7:35 p.m. ET.
Remember to join our RED SOX on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Red Sox fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!
Continue reading...
After being acquired by Boston in an offseason deal with the St. Louis Cardinals, Gray immediately ingratiated himself with his new fanbase, dismissing his time as a Yankee, calling New York a place he never wanted to be.
Gray spent parts of two seasons in New York after being acquired from Oakland in a 2017 trade deadline deal. The then 27-year-old struggled in his time in New York, posting a 4.51 ERA in 195.1 innings.
"It’s easy to hate the Yankees these days,” Gray told reporters, including MLB.com's Ian Browne, during his introductory press conference on Dec. 2, "New York just wasn't a good situation for me. It wasn't a great setup for me and my family. I never wanted to go there in the first place," he continued.
Backing up all the talk
Facing his former team for the first time as a member of the Red Sox, the 36-year-old took the mound at Yankee Stadium and backed up his offseason talk, keeping the Yankees' offense mostly in check.
"I'm glad we won," Gray said of his return to New York. "There was definitely some juice...it was fun," he continued.
The Yankees jumped on Gray early as designated hitter Ben Rice launched his 18th home run of the year in the first inning to give New York a 1-0 lead. But the Boston offense was quick to respond for their starter, scoring two in the top half of the third inning to give the Red Sox a 2-1 lead, which they would not relinquish.
While Gray danced in and out of trouble throughout the outing, he did a good job limiting damage, allowing just three runs on eight hits, getting better as his night went on and needing just 79 pitches to get through 6.1 innings.
"Sonny was fantastic," interim manager Chad Tracy said after the win. "He did, in lieu of strikeouts, got a lot of weak contact," he continued.
A pitching masterclass
It was a fantastic night for the Red Sox pitching staff, who needed just 108 pitches to get through a Yankees lineup that entered Friday's series opener with the league's best weighted runs created+ (wRC+) at home.
Road Sweet Road?
The Red Sox's struggles at home have been well documented: the team is a league-worst 10-21 at Fenway Park, struggling to score consistently despite playing in one of baseball's most hitter-friendly environments. With the win on Friday night, Boston improved to 17-14 on the road, scoring 4.71 runs per game compared to the 3.3 they are averaging at home.
The Red Sox and Yankees will be back at it on Saturday night at Yankee Stadium as Boston will look to secure the series victory. Ranger Suarez (2-3, 3.38 ERA) will get the start for Boston opposite Will Warren (7-1, 3.22 ERA) for New York. First pitch from Yankee Stadium set for 7:35 p.m. ET.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Remember to join our RED SOX on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Red Sox fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!
Continue reading...
