What happened: Across the four-game series at Yankee Stadium, Boston Red Sox starters Connelly Early, Payton Tolle, Jake Bennett and Sonny Gray combined for 26.2 innings of work. The group allowed just three earned runs on 10 hits while walking six and striking out 28, per beat reporter Bob Nightengale.
Why it matters: A rotation holding any lineup to a 1.01 ERA over a full series is a rare stretch of run prevention, and doing it inside Yankee Stadium against a contending New York club underscores how the Boston staff is rounding into form. The performance reflects a starting group leaning on strikeouts, with 28 punchouts against only six walks.
By the numbers: Series line for the four starters: 26.2 IP, 1.01 ERA, 10 H, 3 ER, 6 BB, 28 K. That works out to a strikeout-to-walk ratio better than 4-to-1 and fewer than four baserunners allowed per nine innings via hits and walks combined.
What to watch: Watch whether Boston's rotation can carry this run prevention into its next series, and how the workload is managed for Early, Tolle, Bennett and Gray on regular rest.