All-Star snubs make strong statements as Red Sox top Angels again

Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald on Jul 5, 2026

Published in Baseball

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Several hours before the Red Sox took the field against the Los Angeles Angels, MLB announced its rosters for the 2026 All-Star Game in Philadelphia.

Two Red Sox standouts — Aroldis Chapman and Ranger Suarez — made the cut, but two others were among the most notable snubs from the initial American League roster.

That pair, Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras, made a strong case for their inclusion on Saturday night.

Gray and Contreras led the way for the Red Sox as the club beat the Angels 8-1 in Anaheim. Contreras got the offense going with a three-run home run in the top of the first, and Gray held the Angels at bay by allowing one run over six strong innings to improve to 10-1 on the season.

A four-run fifth inning capped off by Romy Gonzalez’s two-run home run sealed the deal, and the Red Sox have now won two straight and will have a chance to complete the sweep on Sunday.

After Anthony Seigler and Wilyer Abreu each walked in their first at bats, Contreras stepped up and brought them both home with a towering three-run shot to put the Red Sox up 3-0 right away.

Contreras is now up to 19 home runs before the All-Star break, only five shy of his career-high of 24. With Toronto first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. announcing he won’t play in the All-Star Game, Contreras will be among the favorites to earn his spot as a replacement.

Gonzalez nearly followed Contreras with his first home run of the season, but Angels right fielder Jo Adell robbed him at the right field wall to end the inning.

Meanwhile, Gray sent the Angels down 1-2-3 in the first but ran into trouble in the second. The right-hander gave up a solo home run to Josh Lowe and then allowed a walk and a hit to put two men on with one out, but Gray bounced back with two straight strikeouts to minimize the damage.

He then sent the Angels down in the third on six pitches, getting a quick double play to erase a Denzer Guzman single, and struck out two more in a scoreless fourth.

Heading into the fifth the Red Sox only had one hit — the Contreras home run — with all of their other base runners coming on walks or errors. That changed in a hurry when Seigler hit a leadoff double, Ceddanne Rafaela drew Boston’s fifth walk of the day and Abreu drove both in with a two-run double.

Abreu initially held up at first and could have been thrown out at second with a more decisive throw back to the infield, and Rafaela went home on an aggressive send but the throw to the plate was off line.

Then, after he was robbed at the wall in his first at bat, Gonzalez made sure no one could deny him his first homer this time around. The infielder sent a deep fly ball to left that kept on carrying and found the stands for a two-run shot to extend the lead to 7-1.

A six-run cushion was plenty for Gray, who cruised the rest of the way and finished with one run allowed over six innings on only 70 pitches. He allowed four hits with two walks and struck out seven to record his seventh consecutive quality start, and his 12th of the season overall.

The Red Sox extended their lead further with an RBI double by Rafaela in the eighth, and Jovani Moran, Greg Weissert and Alec Gamboa closed out the win with three scoreless innings of relief.

With the win Boston is 39-48 and once again nine games under .500 after briefly dipping back into double-digits. Suarez (4-3, 2.94) will look to help the Red Sox complete the sweep when he faces off against Angels right-hander Ryan Johnson (1-3, 7.40).

First pitch Sunday is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET.

Sandoval’s strong finish

In what is expected to be his final rehab start before a return to the majors, Red Sox left-hander Patrick Sandoval threw five scoreless innings for Double-A Portland on Saturday, allowing one hit with one walk while striking out seven.

Sandoval threw 68 pitches, which is the most he’s thrown in any of his rehab outings so far this season. With his rehab assignment due to expire in the coming days the expectation is he’ll soon be activated.

Sandoval has not pitched in the big leagues in more than two years. The 29-year-old left-hander underwent Tommy John surgery in June 2024 and after signing with the Red Sox on a two-year deal the following offseason he spent the entire 2025 season rehabbing.

Originally the hope was Sandoval could return to the mound in April before a setback slowed his progress. Now with Connelly Early on the injured list Sandoval stands as an obvious candidate to fill his spot, though Brayan Bello could conceivably be called up again as well.