Skipper Chad Tracy pulled Sonny Gray after 4.2 innings, just like he did with Payton Tolle on Tuesday. He couldn’t trust Gray fully despite tasking him with keeping the Boston Red Sox’s playoff run alive. His decision to pull Gray early culminated in the club’s postseason ending with a series sweep by the New York Yankees. As an incredible 32-5 mid-season turnaround ended with an AL Wild Card Series rout, the veteran pitcher expressed his disappointment with the manager.
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“I think I’m the best pitcher in the American League, the third time through the order. I think that’s a fact. I would have liked to be trusted in that moment,” Gray told the reporters, per Julian McWilliams of CBS Sports.
After the Boston Red Sox fired former manager Alex Cora and other coaches following their dismal 10-17 start, Chad Tracy took the helm in late April. Under Tracy, the Red Sox pulled a mid-season turnaround to secure a postseason berth with an 87-75 record. A four-game sweep of the New York Yankees in late June sparked the change. A rebounding Red Sox went on a fifteen-game winning streak, tying a franchise record, to get back into contention. In June, posted a 2.15 ERA.
Through the highs and lows, Sonny Gray remained consistent. He posted a stellar 18-5 record with a 2.72 ERA in 29 starts. Gray ranks fifth among the pitchers in the American League in terms of ERA. As Gray and Ranger Suarez anchored the rotation, Willson Contreras led the lineup.
The 36-year-old pitched against the Yankees twice during the regular season. The Red Sox won both times. At Yankee Stadium, Gray allowed 3 runs in 6.1 innings, while at Fenway Park, he kept the Yankees scoreless through 7 innings. Despite his impressive record, Tracy pulled Gray early in Game 2 of the ALWCS.
On Wednesday, the veteran starter kept the Yankees scoreless until Luis Garcia Jr. homered in the fourth inning. In the next frame, Gray allowed a leadoff single to Trent Grisham. With two outs in the fifth, he gave up a single to Ben Rice, putting runners on base. Then Tracy decided to pull him from the mound and send Erik Miller. With left-handed Cody Bellinger coming up next, Tracy decided to send southpaw Miller, going for a left-vs.-left combination.
“We’re trailing. We’re struggling to score runs,” Tracy said, per MassLive. “And when you get in spots where you’re struggling to score runs, and you’re already trailing, you feel like you’ve got to be aggressive and go.”
Bellinger holds a .274 batting average against left-handed pitching this season. Hence, Tracy’s plan to be aggressive clearly backfired.
During Game 1 of the Wild Card Series, Tracy pulled Payton Tolle after 4.2 innings. He had allowed one run to the Yankees. Miller, who inherited the runner from Tolle, surrendered a home run to Ben Rice. The Yankees lineup crushed the Red Sox relievers with a five-run eighth, including a grand slam by Rice. Meanwhile, Cam Schlittler and the relief pitching staff silenced Boston’s bat. The Yankees shut the Red Sox down 9-0 in the series opener.
Game 2 went the same way after Tracy pulled Gray, and Miller inherited the runner. The reliever allowed a bases-loaded single to Cody Bellinger, giving the Yankees a 2-0 lead. From there, the game spiraled for the Red Sox.
The Yankees pounded Garrett Crochet and Garrett Whitlock for six runs in the sixth. George Lombard Jr. singled to score Spencer Jones, who stole third on a wild pitch. Crochet allowed back-to-back singles to load the bases before he was pulled. Whitlock relieved Crochet but surrendered five more runs to the Yankees, including Cody Bellinger’s three-run homer. Austin Wells drove in a run in the next frame to make it 9-2. Nick Sogard homered the Red Sox’s final run.
With that, the New York Yankees cut short the Red Sox’s postseason run for two years straight. Sonny Gray exited the mound as a chorus of boos followed him.
Following their defeat, Willson Contreras raised concerns about the Red Sox’s heavy reliance on technology.
Willson Contreras on the Red Sox’s elimination
In 2026, Willson Contreras was one of the most reliable lineup pieces on the Red Sox. He batted .275 with 27 home runs and 81 RBIs in the regular season. During the Wild Card Series, Contreras stepped up again. The first baseman’s sixth-inning home run on Wednesday was the first scoring play by the Red Sox during their brief postseason run. It also marked the first run the Red Sox scored in 26.2 postseason innings, counting from the seventh inning of Game 2 of the 2025 Wild Card Series. However, Contreras’ homer was not enough to secure a win for his team. As the Red Sox’s playoff bid ended, the 1B pointed to his team’s data-driven approach.
“It’s not enough when you have talent or you have data or you have computers that’s telling you what to do. Because this is baseball,” Contreras said, per MassLive.com. “And the data is here to help us. But at the end of the day, you’re gonna have to need experience and veteran guys to win games.”
Sonny Gray is one of the veterans on the Red Sox team. Contreras was asked if he was pulled too early. According to Chris Cotillo of MassLive on X, Contreras did not use words to reply. Rather, he chose to do the “lips sealed” motion, choosing not to get involved in any controversy.
Contreras’ current contract runs through the 2027 season with a club option in 2028. If the Red Sox do not trade him, Contreras will be back in the Red Sox camp come Spring. The Red Sox acquired him via trade from the St. Louis Cardinals ahead of the 2026 season.