Expect a crisp, low-scoring first half before the depth and balance of Boston’s order tilt the game. Sonny Gray’s heavy sinker should play well in Great American Ball Park; look for six efficient innings with one run allowed, leaning on a strong infield defense anchored by Mayer and Story. Brady Singer matches zeros early, but his third-time-through issues surface in the sixth when Roman Anthony’s patience and Marcelo Mayer’s gap power spark a two-run rally. The Reds manufacture an early run via Sal Stewart’s opposite-field double and an Elly De La Cruz infield hit, but their lineup still looks disjointed—too right-hand–dominant against Gray’s sweeping breaker. Cincinnati’s bullpen, already stretched after Opening Day, yields tack-on runs in the seventh (Garrett Whitlock sacrifice fly off Connor Phillips) and ninth (Aroldis Chapman closes but Boston scratches one against Pierce Johnson before that). Boston’s late-inning trio of Whitlock, Slaten and Chapman slams the door, while Cincinnati’s lone late push comes in the eighth on a Matt McLain RBI single off Justin Slaten. Overall, Boston’s superior plate discipline (Anthony, Duran) and defense keep pressure off their pitching, and the Sox ride their momentum to a 5-2 win and a 2-0 start to 2026.

Probable Pitchers

S. Gray Red Sox

2-1 3.19 ERA

13 K

B. Singer Reds

2-3 5.61 ERA

28 K

Boston Red Sox — Roster

Player	Pos	AVG	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG
Roman Anthony	LF	.444	0	1	.545	.444
Trevor Story	SS	.182	1	2	.182	.455
Jarren Duran	DH	.250	0	1	.400	.250
Willson Contreras	1B	.000	0	0	.400	.000
Wilyer Abreu	RF	.333	1	2	.333	.778
Caleb Durbin	3B	.000	0	0	.111	.000
Marcelo Mayer	2B	.429	0	0	.429	.714
Connor Wong	C	.000	0	0	.000	.000
Ceddanne Rafaela	CF	.333	0	1	.333	.333

Cincinnati Reds — Roster

Player	Pos	AVG	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG
TJ Friedl	LF	.100	0	0	.100	.100
Matt McLain	2B	.429	0	1	.600	.571
Elly De La Cruz	SS	.250	1	1	.400	.625
Dane Myers	CF	.500	0	1	.500	.500
Eugenio Suárez	DH	.111	0	1	.111	.111
Spencer Steer	3B	.000	0	0	.222	.000
Noelvi Marte	RF	.000	0	0	.000	.000
Jose Trevino	C	.000	0	0	.000	.000
Nathaniel Lowe	1B	.000	0	0	.000	.000

Scoring Plays

▼ 1

Sal Stewart singles on a ground ball to right fielder Wilyer Abreu. TJ Friedl scores. Matt McLain to 3rd.

0-1

▼ 1

Eugenio Suárez reaches on a fielder's choice, fielded by pitcher Sonny Gray. Matt McLain scores. Sal Stewart to 2nd.

0-2

▼ 2

Matt McLain doubles (1) on a sharp line drive to center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela. Ke'Bryan Hayes scores.

0-3

▲ 3

Trevor Story homers (1) on a line drive to left center field.

1-3

▼ 3

Sal Stewart homers (1) on a fly ball to center field.

1-4

▲ 4

Roman Anthony singles on a ground ball to right fielder Will Benson. Carlos Narváez scores. Ceddanne Rafaela to 3rd.

2-4

▲ 4

Trevor Story called out on strikes.

3-4

▼ 5

Elly De La Cruz homers (1) on a fly ball to right field.

3-5

▲ 7

Wilyer Abreu doubles (1) on a sharp line drive to right fielder Will Benson. Jarren Duran scores.

4-5

▲ 9

Wilyer Abreu homers (1) on a fly ball to right field.

5-5

▼ 11

Dane Myers singles on a line drive to left fielder Roman Anthony. TJ Friedl scores. Matt McLain to 2nd.

5-6

Boston Red Sox — Batting

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	HR	AVG	OPS
Roman AnthonyLF	5	0	1	1	1	2	0	.444	.989
Trevor StorySS	6	1	1	1	0	4	1	.182	.637
Jarren DuranDH	3	1	0	0	1	1	0	.250	.650
Willson Contreras1B	2	0	0	0	2	2	0	.000	.400
Wilyer AbreuRF	5	1	2	2	0	0	1	.333	1.111
Caleb Durbin3B	5	0	0	0	0	1	0	.000	.111
Marcelo Mayer2B	5	0	1	0	0	3	0	.429	1.143
Connor WongC	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	.000	.000
Ceddanne RafaelaCF	5	1	1	0	0	1	0	.333	.666
Totals	40	5	8	4	5	15	2

BATTING

2B: Mayer (2, Singer); Abreu, W (1, Ashcraft, G).

HR: Story (1, 3rd inning off Singer, 0 on, 1 out); Abreu, W (1, 9th inning off Pagán, 0 on, 2 out).

TB: Abreu, W 6; Anthony; Mayer 2; Narváez 2; Rafaela; Story 4.

RBI: Abreu, W 2 (2); Anthony (1); Story (2).

2-out RBI: Abreu, W 2; Anthony.

Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Abreu, W; Durbin; Rafaela 2; Story 2.

Team RISP: 2-for-14.

Team LOB: 11.

BASERUNNING

SB: Duran, Ja (2, 2nd base off Singer/Trevino).

FIELDING

E: Story (1, throw).

a-Walked for Narváez in the 8th.

1-Ran for Yoshida in the 8th.

Cincinnati Reds — Batting

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	HR	AVG	OPS
TJ FriedlLF	6	2	1	0	0	4	0	.100	.200
Matt McLain2B	4	1	3	1	2	0	0	.429	1.171
Elly De La CruzSS	4	1	1	1	2	2	1	.250	1.025
Dane MyersCF	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	.500	1.000
Eugenio SuárezDH	5	0	1	1	0	1	0	.111	.222
Spencer Steer3B	4	0	0	0	1	1	0	.000	.222
Noelvi MarteRF	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	.000	.000
Jose TrevinoC	5	0	0	0	0	2	0	.000	.000
Nathaniel Lowe1B	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000
Totals	42	6	10	6	7	12	2

BATTING

2B: McLain, M (1, Gray, S).

HR: Stewart, S (1, 3rd inning off Gray, S, 0 on, 0 out); De La Cruz, E (1, 5th inning off Weissert, 0 on, 0 out).

TB: Benson; De La Cruz, E 4; Friedl; McLain, M 4; Myers; Stewart, S 5; Suárez, E.

RBI: De La Cruz, E (1); McLain, M (1); Myers (1); Stewart, S 2 (2); Suárez, E (1).

2-out RBI: McLain, M.

Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Suárez, E 2; Hayes; Trevino 2; De La Cruz, E; Friedl; Benson.

Team RISP: 3-for-16.

Team LOB: 14.

BASERUNNING

SB: Friedl (1, 2nd base off Gray, S/Narváez).

CS: McLain, M (1, 2nd base by Gray, S/Narváez).

FIELDING

DP: (McLain, M).

a-Struck out for Benson in the 9th.

b-Grounded out for Hayes in the 10th.

Boston Red Sox — Pitching

Pitcher	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	PC-ST	ERA
Sonny Gray	4.0	6	4	3	1	5	1	80-51	6.75
Greg Weissert	1.0	2	1	1	1	2	1	27-15	9.00
Danny Coulombe	0.2	1	0	0	1	1	0	14-8	0.00
Ryan Watson	2.1	0	0	0	3	1	0	51-27	0.00
Aroldis Chapman	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	9-6	0.00
Garrett Whitlock	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	6-5	0.00
Justin Slaten(L, 0-1)	0.1	1	1	0	1	1	0	11-7	0.00

Cincinnati Reds — Pitching

Pitcher	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	PC-ST	ERA
Brady Singer	4.0	5	3	3	2	5	1	74-40	6.75
Sam Moll	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	15-8	0.00
Pierce Johnson(H, 1)	0.2	1	0	0	0	0	0	7-6	9.00
Graham Ashcraft(H, 1)	1.0	1	1	1	1	2	0	19-12	5.40
Tony Santillan(H, 1)	1.0	0	0	0	2	3	0	25-13	0.00
Emilio Pagán(BS, 1)	1.1	1	1	1	0	2	1	22-16	6.75
Connor Phillips(W, 1-0)	2.0	0	0	0	0	3	0	23-16	6.75

Game Info

Umpires: Home Plate: CB Bucknor; First Base: Adam Beck; Second Base: Jeremie Rehak; Third Base: Dan Iassogna

Venue: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati

Weather: 49°F, Sunny

Wind: 2 mph, L To R

Boston Red Sox — News

Red Sox CEO: No Consideration Of Moving On From Breslow

Boston's 27-39 record includes a 10-21 home mark and -14 run differential, but leadership is committed to the GM despite the organizational collapse. The rotation anchored by Suarez and Gray (both 3.19 ERA) offers little upside to build around in the short term.

Boston Red Sox

MLB Mailbag: Devers, Nationals, DFA Carousels, Guardians, Red Sox

Devers (.233 AVG, 0.292 xwOBA in 68 G) carries negative trade value given his underperformance; Nationals' road success (23-13 away, 12-20 home) masks structural problems despite +8 run differential.

Boston Red Sox

Cleveland Guardians

Washington Nationals

Red Sox Front Office Exploring Trade Deadline Options Despite 27-37 Record

Boston sits 10-21 at home with a -11 run differential and 4-6 record over their last 10 games, positioning them as legitimate sellers despite any public hesitation from the front office. Their rotation offers limited appeal: Suarez (3.19 ERA, 0.313 xwOBA) and Gray (3.19 ERA, 0.333 xwOBA) are performing at league-average levels at best, making them marginal deadline candidates.

Boston Red Sox

Red Sox-Yankees Split Series; Judge Absent

Boston (27-35, -4 run diff) avoided a sweep against New York (37-26, +91 run diff) despite Judge's 0.248 AVG and 0.415 xwOBA limiting offensive support. The split leaves both teams heading into separate matchups today—BOS to Tampa Bay and NYY to Cleveland.

New York Yankees

Boston Red Sox

Red Sox-Yankees Game Postponed, Doubleheader Rescheduled for Aug. 29

Boston (27-35, -4 run diff) loses a road opportunity against Yankees (37-26, +91 run diff) who are +91 in run differential. The makeup doubleheader compresses recovery time late in the season for both clubs.

New York Yankees

Boston Red Sox

Cincinnati Reds — News

D-Backs Activate Jordan Lawlar From 60-Day IL

Lawlar returns with limited 2026 data (0 G, .333 AVG in small sample), making his impact uncertain against Cincinnati's weak pitching staff (4.10-5.61 ERA starters). Arizona gets a potential lineup boost heading into a series against a Reds team allowing 340 runs (2.0 more per game than league average).

Jordan Lawlar

Cincinnati Reds

Hunter Greene (RHP, CIN) targeting July return after elbow surgery

Greene's delayed timeline leaves Cincinnati dependent on Abbott (4.06 ERA), Singer (6.18 ERA), and Paddack (6.90 ERA) as the Reds sit 31-31 with a -48 run differential and struggle to stay competitive in the NL Central.

Hunter Greene

Cincinnati Reds

Lyon Richardson Elects Free Agency After Reds DFA

Richardson posted a 13.50 ERA across minor league action this season with no MLB innings pitched, making his departure a routine roster move for Cincinnati (31-30, -41 run differential).

Lyon Richardson

Cincinnati Reds

Orioles Acquire Kyle Nicolas From Reds

Nicolas carries a 0.863 xwOBA across minimal action and is headed to Triple-A, representing depth addition rather than immediate rotation help for Baltimore (29-33, -43 run differential).

Kyle Nicolas

Baltimore Orioles

Cincinnati Reds

Reds Release Josh Staumont

Staumont's departure is a routine depth move for Cincinnati, which sits 31-29 with a -38 run differential and has already cycled multiple relievers this season.

Cincinnati Reds