Sonny Gray’s neck became a strange little subplot in the Red Sox’s Wild Card loss to the Yankees on Wednesday night.
Gray, who had been Boston’s most reliable starter for much of the 2026 season, delivered a decent outing in Game 2. He gave up two runs over 4.2 innings and struck out five, but the Red Sox still came up short against New York.
The focus afterward shifted away from the box score and onto a patch of mystery on the right side of Gray’s neck. Throughout the game, he could be seen reaching up and swiping at the area, which set off a wave of speculation online that he may have been using something to help his pitches.
That chatter picked up quickly on social media, where one post noted, “Sonny Gray asks for a new ball and then immediately touches his neck. He was doing this all game 🕵️♀️”
Jomboy later weighed in with a breakdown of the clip, writing, “Sonny Gray obviously had sticky stuff on his neck, a breakdown”
Still, there was no firm proof that anything improper was going on. Officials believed Gray’s performance was legitimate, and one social media user pointed out that Gray has been seen wiping at his neck before. He also made the same motion several times early in the game, including in the first inning, before any visible residue appeared on his neck.
Another post tried to push back on the pine tar theory, saying, “This video is for anyone who thinks Sonny Gray used pine tar tonight”
Even so, the rumor mill kept spinning, with social media flooded by claims that Gray had used pine tar to make his pitches tougher to hit. Some, including Jomboy, also suggested Red Sox manager Chad Tracy may have taken Gray out early to keep him from getting tangled up in cheating accusations.
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