Overview
- The 5-0 shutout of the Brewers on Wednesday delivered Boston’s first series win and first back-to-back victories, moving the Red Sox to 4-8.
- Sonny Gray worked 6⅓ scoreless innings following Tuesday’s deep outing by Garrett Crochet, and the club is 4-0 in games with quality starts from its top two arms.
- The offense produced zero extra-base hits in the final two games of the series yet won both, a first for the franchise in consecutive games since September 1970.
- Behind Gray and Crochet, the rotation remains uneven as Connelly Early shows promise and Ranger Suarez and Brayan Bello search for form, echoing Alex Cora’s stance that pitching must carry the team.
- Depth has thinned with Johan Oviedo shut down from throwing for about six weeks and Justin Slaten sidelined with an oblique issue, setting up a road test in St. Louis for whether the pitching momentum holds.