Red Sox Exit After 9-2 Loss as Tracy's 5th-Inning Bullpen Plan Backfires

Q: After Cam Schlittler’s statement opener, does Sonny Gray have enough to force a Game 3, or is New York’s pitching edge too much?

Sonny Gray gives Boston a real chance to force Game 3, but the Yankees still hold the series edge because their pitching depth and Boston’s unreliable offense remain the bigger story. Gray’s case is strong on its own. He went 18-5 with a 2.72 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 169 innings in the regular season, and he has been sharp lately, posting a 2.49 ERA over his last seven starts. He also handled New York well in one of his two 2026 meetings, throwing 7 1/3 scoreless innings while allowing just one hit. For a must-win game, Boston could ask for a much steadier arm. The problem is that Gray may need to be nearly perfect. Boston produced only three hits in the 9-0 Game 1 loss, and that fits the broader concern around this club: the offense has been uneven for much of the season and looked overmatched by Cam Schlittler’s power stuff. Even if Gray limits damage, the Red Sox still have to solve Max Fried, and Fried has largely done that this year. Across two starts against Boston, he allowed only one run in nearly 12 innings. That is why New York’s edge still feels larger than one pitching matchup. Schlittler set the tone, Fried follows in Game 2, and Gerrit Cole is lined up for a possible Game 3. Boston can absolutely extend the series if Gray controls the game early and the lineup finally produces traffic, but based on current form and rotation depth, the Yankees remain the safer pick to finish it Wednesday.

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Oct 1

Boston’s season ended with a 9-2 loss in New York after Chad Tracy again pulled his starter with two outs in the fifth inning and trailing 1-0, a move that immediately preceded another Yankees run.
Erik Miller was summoned for the same left-on-left matchup in both games; Ben Rice homered off him in Game 1, and Cody Bellinger singled home a run in Game 2.
Sonny Gray, lifted after 70 pitches despite holding hitters to a .180/.235/.280 line the third time through this season, said he wanted to be “trusted in that moment.”
The strategy drew broader criticism from veterans including Willson Contreras, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, who argued postseason managers rely too rigidly on matchup-driven bullpen scripts.
The Yankees swept the Wild Card Series 18-2 and now face Tampa Bay, while Boston’s exit reinforced a wider October debate over whether teams are undermining their own best starters.