How Sonny Gray manned up calling Yankees ‘best team 4 out of 5 days’

Yankees right-hander Sonny Gray ripped himself Saturday night after allowing six runs over 2 1/3 innings in an 11-0 to the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium.

NEW YORK — Yankees manager Aaron Boone typically goes all out talking up his players after their bad games because, well, that’s what his boss wants.

We’ve seen it again and again every time Gary Sanchez gets into one of his passed-ball kicks or when Giancarlo Stanton was whiffing up a storm.

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We’ve also had a lot of that on nights Sonny Gray pitches, and there was more Saturday night when the skipper put his spin on an 11-0 loss to the Boston Red Sox that was all but over after two innings.

After sitting through Gray stinking it up good allowing a first-inning grand slam and two second-inning runs in a six-run, 2 1/3-inning disaster, Boone again threw out a lot of public confidence. He talked about how good Gray’s stuff is and how the Yankees truly know that the righty has it in him to be a frontline starter … yada, yada, yada.

Gray frequently has spun many of his bad starts as a Yankee off the same way, and there now have been enough of them that his 7.10 ERA pitching at Yankee Stadium has surpassed Carl Pavano as the highest of any pitcher in franchise history with at least 13 home starts.

And so, realizing he was terrible again in front of the Yankee faithful when he needed to be a great with stud lefty Chris Sale going for Boston, Gray ripped himself for almost five minutes in his post-game presser.

Here’s a sample:

“That was embarrassing for me and I think for everybody in here. To play like we did (after beating Boston 8-1 on Friday night) and then come out and kind of just spot them six runs in the first two innings, that’s just disappointing.”

Gray continued when he was asked about now having an 0-4 record against the Red Sox (with a 9.34 ERA) since becoming a Yankee in a July 2017 trade.

“I haven’t beat a lot of teams since I’ve been here,” Gray responded. “I’ve been bad against the Red Sox, I’ve been bad against a lot of teams. I don’t think one particular team you can say has my number or whatever. I’ve been bad against multiple teams.”

True, but because this was against the Red Sox, it seemed like the boos that Gray received after the first inning, after the second and when he was pulled in the third were a little louder this time.

“I get it,” Gray said. “If I was out there, I probably would have booed me louder. I under how important these games are and I understand how important every game is, especially here with the Yankees. We expect to win. To go out and perform the way I did … Like I said, I probably would have booed a little louder.”

It was nice hearing Gray spill some truth.

He needed to do this.

But this isn’t enough.

They need Gray to stop talking about what he can do – or in Saturday’s case, what he hasn’t done – and do it.

Consistently.

Gray was 2-0 with a 2.89 ERA in his first four June starts, then he was mediocre at best last weekend when allowing four runs over 6 2/3 innings in a loss at Tampa Bay and that led into Saturday night’s atrocity.

The Yankees gave up a lot to get him last summer – three top-tier prospects – because they expected Gray, who is just 28, at least to be was he was in his Oakland heyday, hopefully better. He won 14 games, pitched 2.73 ERA over 208 innings and was an All-Star in 2015. His 3.43 ERA with Oakland last year wasn’t bad, either.

Thus far as a Yankee, he’s 9-13 in 27 starts with a 4.68 ERA, including 5-5 with a 5.44 this year as the biggest Achilles on an American League power. The Yanks are 7-9 when Gray starts, 46-18 when anyone else starts.

“I feel like we’re the best team in baseball four out of five days,” Gray said. “To come out and do that … it just sucks.”

Randy Miller may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook.