Sonny Gray Delivers Red Sox Reality Check: 'Not a Good Team Right Now'

The Boston Red Sox gave the fanbase a bit of hope late on Thursday against the Toronto Blue Jays, only for it to be squashed.

Boston entered the eighth inning of Thursday's contest against Toronto down 3-1 and hoping to avoid a sweep. Caleb Durbin and Isiah Kiner-Falefa gave the club some much-needed offense and blasted back-to-back homers to knot the score at three. Boston then turned to All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman, who entered the game with a minuscule 0.44 ERA in 21 outings, to try to get through the ninth inning. Well, things didn't go as planned.

Chapman entered the game with just one earned run allowed on the season way back on April 4 against the San Diego Padres. He went 17 straight appearances without giving up a run, but that streak was snapped on Thursday. Chapman allowed a run to score just a few pitches after a pop-up went foul that arguably could've been caught but was blown by the wind. Boston's offense wasn't able to muster anything up in the ninth inning and the club fell, 4-3 in a back-breaker. Now, Boston is a season-high 14 games below .500 and has lost four games in a row.

After the game, Red Sox starter Sonny Gray didn't sugarcoat things and said that Boston is "not a good team" right now, as transcribed by Gabrielle Starr of The Boston Herald.

“I can't speak on behalf of the group, but I can speak on behalf of myself. It's very frustrating. We're not good, we're just not a good team right now, and that's just a fact," Gray said.

The Red Sox Aren't In A Good Place

Jun 18, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Sonny Gray (54) pitches against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Unfortunately, he's not wrong. The Red Sox are falling further and further out of playoff contention and the offense isn't showing signs of improvement. Boston scored one run total across the first two games of the series against the Blue Jays and four runs overall across the three games.

Kiner-Falefa also acknowledged that the club needs to go on a streak or "we’re going to be having new players in this locker room."

"We got to go on a streak, and we need to go on a streak now. So yeah, I mean, it's time to go on a streak, or we’re going to be having new players in this locker room, so we just got to figure it out," Kiner-Falefa said, as transcribed by Starr.

Trevor Story, who is on the Injured List right now, even weighed in, as transcribed by Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com.

"It’s hard to believe that this is where we’re at. It’s hard to put into words that this is where we’re at. I wouldn’t believe it at all if you told me this at the beginning of the year. Obviously, a lot of things play into that."

Boston entered the 2026 season with hope and the expectation that it could potentially even be the best team in the American League, thanks in large part to its high-octane rotation. But we've quickly seen that the club needs more. Thursday is a perfect example. Gray gave Boston seven innings of three-run ball on 89 pitches. If your starter is going to give you that type of performance, you need more than five base hits and zero walks. The pitching is great, but the lineup needs some sort of significant overhaul to spark it. Nothing else has worked.

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