Focus turns to the mound as White Sox, Red Sox clash again

The Boston Red Sox are the hottest team in baseball. The Chicago White Sox sit atop the American League Central.

Two reasons for their teams' recent success make up the head-to-head pitching matchup as the teams continue a three-game series on Wednesday night in Boston.

After the Red Sox rolled to a series-opening, 14-2 win, Boston's Sonny Gray (13-2, 2.93 ERA) returns to the mound as the AL's winningest pitcher against Sutton, Mass., native Sean Burke (7-5, 3.04) of the White Sox.

The Red Sox will look to support Gray like they provided runs for Tuesday starter Patrick Sandoval, socking a season-high four homers for the second straight game and putting up two six-run innings. Caleb Durbin got off to a grand slam start, while Wilyer Abreu went deep twice.

"Coming back home after the trip we just had (6-1), we knew it was going to be electric and that these fans would be going crazy," Durbin said. "We don't have a lot of pressure on us to try to hit the long ball, so we take what the game gives us. When we get a good pitch, we're able to drive it."

It was a rare night for Boston, which led 6-0 after the first inning and totaled 15 hits, allowing interim manager Chad Tracy to give center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela and first baseman Willson Contreras a few innings off and use trade-deadline acquisition Erik Miller with little pressure as a relief pitcher.

"Those (types of games) are hard to come by, but when you get them, you take them," Tracy said.

It came against another playoff contender, too. The Red Sox have now won 15 games in a row against teams that entered Tuesday with a winning record.

Gray strung together nine consecutive quality starts before his most recent two, but bounced back from his first loss since April with a seven-inning start at the Athletics last Thursday. He worked around allowing four runs on seven hits and two walks to post that 5-4 victory.

The 36-year-old is 7-2 with a 3.26 ERA in 14 career games (13 starts) against the White Sox. Though he has not faced them since 2024, Gray pitched seven scoreless innings in each of his two most recent outings against Chicago.

The White Sox, who took a home sweep at Boston's hands last month, seek a turnaround effort after allowing 14 runs for the second time this season and losing for the sixth time in 11 games.

Despite the loss, Chicago inserted two trade-deadline acquisitions -- catcher Joey Bart and multiple Gold Glove-winning center fielder Brenton Doyle -- into the lineup. Doyle had a hit in his White Sox debut.

"I'm super excited to be here," said Bart, who also was traded from the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Atlanta Braves in June. "It's a team that brings a lot of energy every day and is in a great position. I'm excited to bring what I bring and keep winning."

Munetaka Murakami is riding an 11-game hit and 17-game on-base streak after singling in Tuesday's fifth inning. He has a 1.024 OPS during that hit streak.

Burke will look to continue his outstanding recent stretch, having allowed no more than two earned runs during a run of seven quality starts in eight outings while punching out double-digit batters in three of his five July starts. Last Thursday, he blanked the New York Yankees over six, three-hit innings, striking out 10.

"I think it's the fastball," White Sox manager Will Venable said. "He's using it really well in the zone, getting swings and misses with it, and it's opening up everything else."

Burke's 140 strikeouts are tied for sixth in the American League.

Burke made his only career appearance against Boston on April 20 last season, allowing four runs (one earned) while striking out five during a five-inning no-decision. Chicago won the road game 8-4.

--Field Level Media