Here’s what Red Sox SP Sonny Gray said about his rough debut

“I just don’t feel like I put us in a good position to win the game, if I’m being honest.”

Sonny Gray got roughed up by his former team in his Red Sox debut. Andy Lyons/Getty Images

March 28, 2026

2 minutes to read

Sonny Gray’s Red Sox debut was a forgettable performance.

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

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.

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’s lead to 4-1.

After the game, Gray gave an honest review of his first Red Sox start.

“Overall, I just don’t feel like I put us in a good position to win the game, if I’m being honest,” he said. “I 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’t feel like I gave us a really good chance to win that game.”

Manager Alex Cora didn’t harp on Gray’s 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.

“He finished strong, to be honest with you,” Cora said. “[The Reds] didn’t chase too much today. But they didn’t really hit the ball all that hard, so it’s kind of like learning on the fly with him.

“He’ll be ready for the next one.”

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.

Following that run, the Red Sox’ 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.

Gray praised his fellow pitchers’ lockdown appearances, which he said put the team in a position to keep themselves in the game.

“After I was done, I was just proud to see how everyone continued to fight. And the bullpen did an incredible job,” he said. “They gave us a chance.”

Justin Slaten ultimately allowed Reds center fielder Dane Myers’s walk-off hit in the 11th.

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.

Gray’s next start is lined up to be Boston’s home opener on April 3.