Sonny Gray walked off the mound with Boston’s season still within reach, then walked through the Red Sox clubhouse after it was gone. The 36-year-old right-hander embraced every teammate following Wednesday night’s 9-2 loss to the Yankees in Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series in New York, offering encouragement while weighing the end of a 14th major league season.
Gray is headed for free agency, and retirement has been part of his recent public thinking. For now, though, the sharper feeling was frustration. He believed he had more to give when manager Chad Tracy took the ball with two outs in the fifth inning and Boston behind 1-0.
Quick facts
- The Yankees eliminated Boston with a 9-2 victory in Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series.
- Gray was removed in the fifth with two runners aboard and two outs.
- Left-hander Erik Miller replaced Gray and allowed an RBI single to Cody Bellinger.
- Gray led qualified American League pitchers by holding opponents to a .180 average the third time through the lineup.
- The 36-year-old is entering free agency after his 14th season and is considering what comes next.
Gray had kept a struggling Boston lineup close, working with a one-run deficit as the fifth inning tightened. He expected to face Bellinger, but Tracy went to Miller instead. Bellinger delivered a run-scoring single, the second consecutive night a Boston reliever surrendered a key RBI hit after Tracy made that kind of move.
Gray’s case was not merely veteran confidence. He had been especially effective late in starts all season, leading qualified AL arms with that .180 opponent average on a third look through the order.
“I believe I’m the American League’s best pitcher the third time through,” Gray said. “That’s a fact in my mind. I wanted the chance to win or lose that spot myself. That’s the competitor in me. I felt good, confident and fully convinced I should have been out there.”
Tracy made a similar fifth-inning call in the previous game, lifting one of his top starters while Boston was down by a run. His explanation centered on the club’s offensive troubles and the urgency created by playing from behind.
“We’re trailing, and we’re having trouble putting runs on the board,” Tracy said. “When you are in that position, you feel you have to act aggressively.”
Gray did not hide his disappointment. “I’m definitely frustrated,” he said. “I wasn’t ready for it to be over. There are a lot of emotions, but frustration is certainly one of them.”
Decision waiting at home
The offseason question will follow Gray beyond the Wild Card loss. He waived his no-trade protection last November to accept a move from the Cardinals to Boston, but he did not commit to returning if he chooses to continue pitching. His Tennessee home, and the time he spends with his two sons around the clubhouse, have added weight to the family side of the decision.
Gray said elimination-night emotions were no time for a final call. He compared the sudden stop after a season to a train being halted on the tracks and said his immediate priorities were simple: pack, shower, eat, see his family at the hotel and return to Boston.
Asked whether he could be proud of his outing even with the abrupt exit, Gray said he left the field with “my chest out and my chin up.” He added that he had emptied the tank until the baseball was removed from his hand.
Garrett Crochet, Boston’s planned ace entering 2026, watched Gray take over that role after Crochet lost most of the year to a left shoulder injury. The left-hander said Gray had answered the bell all season and deserved another opportunity in the fifth.
“He showed up for us all year and did it again tonight,” Crochet said. “I wish we could have given him a better effort and one more chance, because he earned that.”
Crochet believes Gray still has plenty left as a pitcher, while recognizing that the veteran has earned the right to make the choice on his own terms. Whatever Gray and his family decide, Crochet said, the Red Sox will support it.
The hugs after the final loss were not rehearsed or intended as a farewell announcement. Gray said he simply acted on what the moment called for. After a year in which he carried Boston’s rotation, that was enough for one long night in October.
