Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras spark Boston after All-Star snubs in 8-1 Fourth of July win over the Angels

On a Fourth of July stage in Anaheim, the Red Sox turned an uncomfortable few hours into early momentum. Sonny Gray, left off the initial American League All-Star Game roster, went to the mound with a point to prove and pitched six innings of one-run ball as Boston defeated the Los Angeles Angels 8-1.

Gray’s outing was built around control and miss-hit stuff rather than volume of damage. He limited the Angels to four hits, including one mistake that left the yard. Josh Lowe hit a solo home run in the second inning, but after that Gray kept the Angels from stringing anything together. He finished with seven strikeouts and two walks, and the performance lowered his season ERA to 2.61.

The response did not come only from the pitcher’s side of the game. Willson Contreras, also omitted from the initial AL All-Star selections, took his first at-bat of the night as a statement. In the top of the first inning, Contreras hit a three-run home run to put Boston ahead 3-0 early, and the homer was his 19th of the season. Boston’s front end of the lineup never stopped applying pressure after that opening swing.

Boston’s offense stayed attached to that early lead, finishing with seven hits and adding more damage as the game stretched. In the fifth inning, the Red Sox broke things open against reliever Samy Natera Jr., when Wilyer Abreu hit a two-run double to right field and Romy Gonzalez followed with a two-run home run to push the score to 7-1.

By the time the late innings arrived, the result was no longer in question. Ceddanne Rafaela added an RBI double in the eighth inning to complete the scoring at 8-1, giving Boston a comfortable margin while avoiding any late dramatics.

What made the win notable beyond the scoreboard was the timing. Gray and Contreras were both addressed in advance as All-Star omissions, and both players made those omissions feel smaller in the early innings against an Angels club that was trying to make its own case for momentum heading into the summer stretch. Contreras also publicly framed his omission in terms of performance merit before the game, saying he believed his season warranted selection.

For Boston, the immediate takeaway is that the club can manufacture impact even when the spotlight goes elsewhere on paper. The longer view is that this kind of two-pronged response, pitching stability plus early extra-base damage from a key bat, can matter in a tight American League race where form can swing quickly after the All-Star break.

For the Angels, the game offered a clearer problem to solve than a single batter or a single inning. They had trouble turning the first sequence of at-bats into anything that resembled sustained offense, and once Gray settled after the second inning, they were left chasing the score rather than dictating it.