The Red Sox’s postseason exit did not just end with a loss to the Yankees. It also left behind a pointed moment between Sonny Gray and the team’s decision-making in Game 2, one that manager Chad Tracy addressed for the first time on Monday.
Gray made it clear after being lifted in the fifth inning that he wanted to stay on the mound. Following Boston’s Game 2 loss, he said, “I think I'm the best pitcher in the American League going through the order the third time.
I think that's a fact,” and added, “I would have liked to live or die with me in that moment, but that's the competitor I am. I think you can probably ask the guys, and they felt the same way.
I felt strong. I felt confident.
I felt convicted. But what can you do?
"I would have liked to been trusted in that moment.”
He also said, “I’m the best pitcher in the American League third time through the order. I think that’s a fact. I would have liked to have been trusted in that moment.”
Tracy, speaking at the Red Sox’s end-of-season press conference, said he understood why a starter would be unhappy in that spot. He also said he had already spoken with Gray.
“Didn't suspect most starters, especially in that case, that guys are gonna be happy with being pulled,” Tracy said. “Was able to talk to him, it's in a fine place, while also understanding his feelings on it.”
Tracy added that he and Gray have “a very good working relationship.”
Asked about the pitching call itself, Tracy pushed back on Gray’s view that he should have kept going against the Yankees.
“It’s a combination of what matchups can you create, who's in the bullpen, what am I thinking here, are we winning or losing,” Tracy said. “You're factoring all those things.”
Gray’s situation matters beyond one October night. He carries a mutual option for the 2027 season, and after a 2026 campaign in which he was one of the best starters in the American League, keeping him around is expected to be a major offseason priority for Boston.
For now, though, the tone sounds settled. After a tense finish to the series, Tracy and Gray have apparently moved past the frustration from that early exit in Game 2.
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