Sonny Gray was dealing well enough to keep the Red Sox alive, and that made Chad Tracy’s decision to go to the bullpen all the more damaging.
Gray had worked 4.2 innings, struck out five and allowed two runs on six hits when Tracy came out of the dugout in the bottom of the fifth. It was the same basic script as Game 1, when Payton Tolle got yanked early, and this time the move backfired fast.
Erik Miller came on and immediately gave up a single to Cody Bellinger, pushing the Yankees ahead 2-0. The run landed on Gray’s line, but the momentum shift belonged to the decision.
Miller’s track record didn’t inspire confidence, either. He had a rough September and looked shaky again in his first Wild Card appearance, which is why the choice to trust him with the season hanging in the balance stood out so sharply.
Tracy kept reaching for the bullpen, and the next call was just as hard to justify. Garrett Crochet entered in the sixth and caught a bad break right away when Spencer Jones struck out swinging on a pitch in the dirt and Adley Rutschman couldn’t secure the block, allowing Jones to reach first. Crochet was around the zone and stayed away from the middle, but he still couldn’t record an out before New York added another run and loaded the bases.
That decision was especially curious because Crochet hadn’t pitched in the big leagues since April 25 after dealing with two different shoulder injuries, while Jake Bennett was available. Boston was asking a lot from a pitcher it didn’t really know in a game that was still within reach.
The Red Sox offense did a little more than it had in Game 1, but not nearly enough to rescue the night. Willson Contreras and Nick Sogard each hit solo homers to keep Boston from being blanked, yet the rest of the lineup offered almost nothing. The Red Sox finished with four hits, seven strikeouts and went 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position.
In the end, the series turned on the same issue twice: Boston’s bullpen management. If Gray had been allowed to keep going, the game might have stayed tight enough to matter. Instead, the Red Sox ran out of runway in another game they helped lose themselves, and a memorable season ended before October ever truly began.
In Other News...
Willson Contreras Just Sparked A New Red Sox Debate
After the Red Sox dropped Game 2 of the AL Wild Card series, catcher Willson Contreras offered a blunt critique of the way the team has been managed in big moments. His frustration centered on Boston's heavy reliance on data and analytics, a philosophy that has shaped plenty of decisions but also left room for questions when the margin gets tight and the postseason pressure rises.
Contreras pushed the idea that experience and veteran leadership still matter just as much as the numbers, especially in a series like this one against the Yankees. For a Red Sox team already trying to sort through the disappointment of the loss, his comments add another layer to the conversation about how much trust should be placed in the process when the stakes are highest. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox Season Ended In The Worst Way Against The Yankees
The Red Sox season came to a halt in the most familiar kind of October pain, two losses to the Yankees in the Wild Card series ending Bostons postseason before it had a chance to build any momentum. For a club that spent the year trying to put itself in position for a deeper run, the short stay in the bracket made the disappointment immediate and hard to soften, even as manager Chad Tracy spoke openly about how much the defeat stung.
Roman Anthony and Garrett Crochet both were dealing with injuries during the series, adding another layer of frustration to a matchup that already carried plenty of history. With the Yankees moving on to the American League Division Series, the Red Sox are left to sort through not just the final score of their season, but the feeling that their October ended in the worst possible way. [Read more 🡒]
Sonny Gray Just Made Bostons Offseason A Lot More Complicated
Sonny Grays first October cameo with the Red Sox gave Boston plenty to weigh going forward, even before the offseason conversations really begin. He worked 4.2 innings in the Wild Card series against the Yankees, allowed two runs and struck out five, then came out early at the decision of manager Chad Tracy.
After the series, Gray did not sound like someone assuming he would be back in Boston next season. The veteran right-hander said he was disappointed by the early removal and signaled uncertainty about returning, even after a season in which he posted a 2.72 ERA and led the league with 18 wins. For a team that just got a close-up look at what he can still provide, the question now is whether it gets another one. [Read more 🡒]