The Red Sox’ second game of the season was a roller coaster ride of emotions from start to finish. By the final out, three storylines rose above the rest and defined the entire game.
The first storyline centered on Sonny Gray, who made his Red Sox debut but never found a rhythm. He struggled with command from the outset and lasted just four innings in an uneven outing.
The second revolved around home plate umpire CB Bucknor, whose inconsistent strike zone drew plenty of frustration, none bigger than a controversial third strike call on a check swing from Trevor Story that led to Alex Cora being ejected.
And finally, the Red Sox offense clawed its way back into the game, tying it 5-5 in the ninth inning on a clutch solo home run from Wilyer Abreu.
Despite the Red Sox chipping away and battling back against a pesky young Reds lineup, it ultimately wasn’t enough, as Boston fell in 11 innings, 6-5. Dane Myers delivered the decisive blow, singling off Justin Slaten to walk it off for Cincinnati at Great American Ball Park.
Circling back to Gray, he struggled from the jump, needing 35 pitches to get through the first inning while facing seven batters and allowing two runs. He ultimately lasted just four innings, finishing with three earned runs, one walk, and five strikeouts. The 36-year-old threw 80 pitches, 51 for strikes.
“They kind of jumped me early, and overall I just don’t feel like I put us in a good position to win the game,” Gray said. “I was just proud to see how everyone continued to fight, and the bullpen did an incredible job. They gave us a chance.”
Exceptionally bad day for Gray. A mental mistake leads to the run, his pitches are either bad misses or down the middle, and everything hit is a rocket. pic.twitter.com/hsDLazesKt
— Stats (@redsoxstats) March 28, 2026
Story didn’t help matters early on, committing a costly error in the second inning that led to another Cincinnati run. But the veteran shortstop responded in the very next frame, launching his, and Boston’s, first home run of the season.
Story’s solo shot traveled 402 feet off the bat at 109.6 mph, a no-doubt blast that would have left the yard in every ballpark.
Roman Anthony added an RBI single in the fourth inning to cut the deficit to 4–2, and Boston later capitalized on a wild pitch to make it a one-run game at 4–3. Anthony’s early impact has been loud, too—three of his four hits through the first two games have come off the bat at over 100 mph: 112.3 mph, 110.2 mph, and 106.5 mph.
With the Red Sox attempting to claw their way back into the game, Bucknor became a major storyline.
Boston lost its ability to use ABS challenges as early as the third inning after Roman Anthony challenged back-to-back calls and came up empty on the second.
“Just not a good time to challenge; 3-1. I just got too aggressive with it. Can’t happen,” Anthony said.
Earlier, catcher Carlos Narváez had also unsuccessfully used a challenge in an attempt to flip a ball into a strike.
“I think it just goes back to me kind of wasting that second one,” Anthony said. “Can’t happen. And unfortunately you just lose them. And we saw how that worked out. So it’s a lesson. We’ll take it as a lesson. At least I will. Rather it happen now than down the road. But kind of just take that and learn from that and learn from what followed that and hold onto those.”
The Reds also leaned heavily on the ABS system, with Bucknor having six pitches overturned over seven innings.
Bucknor’s inconsistent strike zone came back to
