The Boston Red Sox were eliminated by the New York Yankees after a brutal sweep in New York this postseason, dropping both games in major blowouts.
Their bullpen was a massive liability, while the starting pitchers weren’t all that bad. But for Willson Contreras, there’s one overarching problem worth blaming for the Wild Card loss.
According to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com, Contreras seemingly indicated that advanced analytics, specifically with Sonny Gray being pulled early in the game, were to blame for the Red Sox’s loss Wednesday night.
Willson Contreras blames advanced analytics for Red Sox loss
“Willson Contreras just heavily insinuated there is too much data being used in the Red Sox organization,” Cotillo shared. “Asked if Red Sox pulled Sonny Gray too early, he twice did the ‘lips sealed’ motion.”
The Red Sox lost 9-2 on Wednesday night, and in the loss, Gray was pulled in the fifth inning at 70 pitches. While he allowed two runs to score, it wasn’t an unbearable lead.
Considering that the bullpen, mainly Garrett Crochet and Garrett Whitlock, blew the game just an inning later, it might’ve been a better decision to keep Gray on the mound to navigate the lineup one more time.
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Gray himself expressed his wish that the team had kept him in the game. But Chad Tracy used a quick hook, pulling Gray from the game and turning over to a bullpen that struggled in Game 1 and struggled in Game 2.
This decision wasn’t the sole reason the Red Sox lost, as their offense did disappear for the postseason. But, Contreras believes, as likely many others do as well, that the quick pull of Gray was a mistake.
He’s putting some of the blame for the Wild Card loss on the Red Sox’s decision-making, specifically on the advanced analytics that likely pointed towards pulling Gray when the Red Sox did.
This was an ugly end to a roller coaster of a 2026 season for the Red Sox, and Contreras’ blaming the reliance on advanced analytics is an even worse way to end the season.
