Boston Red Sox fans didn't want to see Chad Tracy emerge from the dugout in the bottom of the fifth inning. He should've learned from his Game 1 mistake.
But in Wild Card Game 2, Tracy pulled Sonny Gray after 4.2 frames to swap him for Erik Miller, just as he did with Payton Tolle the day before. Gray was having a better night than Tolle, though — he collected five strikeouts and allowed two runs on six hits. He was living on the edges and racked up swing-and-miss through 70 pitches.
Miller entered the game and immediately let up a single to Cody Bellinger. The Yankees took a 2-0 lead. The run was charged to Gray, but it didn't have to be that way. Miller posted a brutal September and struggled similarly in his first Wild Card outing. The choice to turn to him again, especially with the season on the line, is inexplicable.
Tracy's bullpen management didn't get any better. Garrett Crochet entered the game in the sixth inning and immediately got unlucky. Spencer Jones struck out swinging at a pitch in the dirt and Adley Rutschman couldn't get a good block on it, which allowed Jones to take first base. Crochet pitched decently well, avoiding the middle of the plate, but he couldn't collect an out before New York plated another run and loaded the bases.
Sonny Gray on the early hook: “I would have liked to be trusted in that moment.”
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) October 1, 2026
Chad Tracy pulling Sonny Gray early led to the Red Sox's downfall in Wild Card Game 2, as it did in Game 1 with Payton Tolle
Going to Crochet while the game was still within reach was another strange choice by Tracy. Crochet hadn't pitched in the big leagues since April 25 due to two different shoulder injuries — the Red Sox had no idea how he would fare in a game, but went to him anyway despite having Jake Bennett available.
Tracy's bullpen management choices certainly didn't make the Red Sox any better this series, but their offense deserves some blame for the way the Wild Card series went. Willson Contreras and Nick Sogard contributed solo home runs to prevent another shutout, but no one else gave them any help. Four hits, seven strikeouts and 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position won't cut it against any playoff team, let alone the Yankees' utterly dominant pitching staff.
Even so, Boston got more offense in the win-or-go-home game than it did in Game 1, and bad bullpen management did the Red Sox in again. Had Tracy kept Gray in the game, the score could've stayed closer and the game might've actually been winnable. Instead, an incredible, memorable season came to an end without ever reaching October, and the Red Sox did it to themselves.
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