Overview
- The Red Sox were eliminated in a two‑game Wild Card sweep by the Yankees after a 9-2 loss that hinged on a big fifth inning when relievers allowed the game to unravel.
- Manager Chad Tracy removed starter Sonny Gray in the fifth with two on and one out and replaced him with Erik Miller, who yielded a two‑RBI single that began the inning's damage.
- Tracy then turned to Garrett Crochet and Garrett Whitlock, and the three relievers combined to allow multiple runs that finished the decisive frame and ended Boston's postseason.
- After the game, Willson Contreras homered for one of Boston's only two runs across the series and privately mimed zipping his lips before publicly saying "you have computers telling you what to do," criticizing the team's reliance on data.
- Contreras's remarks and the bullpen collapse put renewed scrutiny on Tracy — who earned a three‑year extension after replacing Alex Cora — and will likely push the Red Sox this offseason to reassess in‑game decision making, bullpen depth, and how analytics and veteran judgment are balanced.