This is why these guys are so important to the Red Sox

The obvious payoff of having both Sonny Gray and Isiah Kiner-Falefa wasn't difficult to decipher.

As far as the starting pitcher went, the 5-0 Red Sox win over the Orioles marked the moment they got their no-doubt-about-it ace back, with Gray pitching seven shutout innings after skipping his last start for rest and recovery purposes. Certainly, if the Sox were told they would be landing on Sept. 6 with a pitcher who is 17-4 with a 2.69 ERA, they would sign up for that.

"The layoff helped him," Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy told reporters after his team continued to basically bury the O's in the wild card race, winning their third straight against Baltimore. "He looked good. Pitched deep. He was awesome. Second night in a row we got a starter out there through seven innings."

Kiner-Falefa's contribution was also obvious, coming through with a two-out, two-run double in the seventh inning while helping Caleb Durbin get some rest with a day off. It was just the latest boost given by the three returning players - Kiner-Falefa, Roman Anthony and Trevor Story, who are hitting a combined .354 since the trio's reintroduction started a week ago.

"The one thing that’s being stressed now is everybody can eat," the veteran infielder said, having rejoined the team on Sept. 1 after spending the previous couple of months on the injured list with a stress fracture in his left forearm. “There's enough food on the table for everybody. So I think that's why our team's having so much success.”

But it was more than the box score bullet points.

This was the perfect example of how important it is to integrate the 30-somethings who have been there and done that.

In the game before, the teams engaged in something of a kerfuffle because of the chirping from Orioles infielder Blaze Alexander. The need to send a message after the Friday night back-and-forth wasn't lost on either Gray or Kiner-Falefa, who each sent messages in their own way.

For the infielder, it was not only getting on second but then proceeding to mock Alexander's celebration.

"You know what that was," Kiner-Falefa told NESN after the game regarding the celebration.

This is a player who knows what's what when it comes to being dropped back onto a roster and understanding the impact that can be made for the final two months. A year ago, he did it when joining the Blue Jays on Sept. 1 after being designated for assignment by the Pirates, going on to have a positive impact for Toronto all the way until November.

His existence was the epitome of a veteran player understanding what his role is and how impactful it can be.

The same can be said for Gray, the 36-year-old who made sure there was little room for interpretation when it came to the Red Sox feeling of superiority over their American League East counterparts.

Previously, talking to WEEI.com, Gray articulated his view of what leadership on this team might look like.

"I think just you know we've been through a lot," he said on the Baseball Isn't Boring podcast. "Whose voice is heard in those moments, you know? Is that is that voice the correct voice at the at that time, and also does that voice or those voices, do they make every everyone else feel comfortable in those moments and other moments to also have their voice be heard."

Saturday, Gray's voice was (and right arm) once again the perfect one.

"We wanted to bury these guys, especially, especially after whatever that dude (Alexander) was trying t do last night," Gray told reporters.

Mission accomplished.