{"id":649666,"date":"2026-03-29T01:50:26","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T01:50:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/649666\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T01:50:26","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T01:50:26","slug":"heres-what-sonny-gray-said-about-his-rocky-red-sox-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/649666\/","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s what Sonny Gray said about his rocky Red Sox debut"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBoston Red Sox\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u201cI just don\u2019t feel like I put us in a good position to win the game, if I\u2019m being honest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\tSonny Gray got roughed up by his former team in his Red Sox debut. Andy Lyons\/Getty Images\t<\/p>\n

Sonny Gray\u2019s Red Sox debut was a forgettable performance.<\/p>\n

The 14-year MLB veteran pitched against his former team, the Cincinnati Reds (2019-21), in Saturday\u2019s 6-5 loss for Boston. Gray\u2019s outing yielded a no-decision in which he lasted just four innings, tossing 80 pitches before getting the hook.<\/p>\n

Gray, 36, coughed up two runs in a trying first inning in his new uniform to put Boston down early. The right-hander threw 35 pitches to begin the game, a sign that the bullpen was going to be called upon earlier than the team would have liked.<\/p>\n

Gray went on to allow one run each in the second and third innings. Reds first baseman Sal Stewart launched a solo home run off a hanging sinker by Gray on his first pitch of the third frame to extend Cincinnati\u2019s lead to 4-1.<\/p>\n

After the game, Gray gave an honest review of his first Red Sox start.<\/p>\n

\u201cOverall, I just don\u2019t feel like I put us in a good position to win the game, if I\u2019m being honest,\u201d he said. \u201cI just put us in a pretty big hole early and we did our best to climb out of it. But we just came up a little short. I don\u2019t feel like I gave us a really good chance to win that game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Manager Alex Cora didn\u2019t harp on Gray\u2019s rocky start too much postgame, stating that the defense behind him could have been better. The skipper complimented Gray on settling in after the first frame despite only lasting four innings.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe finished strong, to be honest with you,\u201d Cora said<\/a>. \u201c[The Reds] didn\u2019t chase too much today. But they didn\u2019t really hit the ball all that hard, so it\u2019s kind of like learning on the fly with him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019ll be ready for the next one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Greg Weissert relieved Gray to begin the fifth, who allowed a leadoff homer to shortstop Elly De La Cruz to put Boston at a four-run deficit.<\/p>\n

Following that run, the Red Sox\u2019 bullpen was nails. Newcomers Danny Coulombe and Ryan Watson came in after Weissert and posted scoreless frames, then did Aroldis Chapman and Garrett Whitlock in the ninth and 10th.<\/p>\n

Gray praised his fellow pitchers\u2019 lockdown appearances, which he said put the team in a position to keep themselves in the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter I was done, I was just proud to see how everyone continued to fight. And the bullpen did an incredible job,\u201d he said. \u201cThey gave us a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Justin Slaten ultimately allowed Reds pinch-hitter Dane Myers\u2019s walk-off hit in the 11th.<\/p>\n

The Red Sox never possessed a lead in the 11-inning contest; the closest they got was tying the game in the ninth inning on a Wilyer Abreu home run.<\/p>\n

Gray\u2019s next start is lined up to be Boston\u2019s home opener on April 3.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Profile\t<\/p>\n

\t\tKaley Brown<\/a>Sports producer\t<\/p>\n

Kaley Brown is a sports producer for Boston.com, where she covers the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGet the latest Boston sports news<\/p>\n

Receive updates on your favorite Boston teams, straight from our newsroom to your inbox.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Boston Red Sox \u201cI just don\u2019t feel like I put us in a good position to win the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":649667,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2400],"tags":[5,535,50,4259,4,536],"class_list":{"0":"post-649666","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cincinnati-reds","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-cincinnati","10":"tag-cincinnati-reds","11":"tag-cincinnatireds","12":"tag-mlb","13":"tag-reds"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116309960716106825","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=649666"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649666\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/649667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=649666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=649666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=649666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}