A new chapter of the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox’s rivalry was inked on Wednesday night as fans began to hurl around cheating allegations.
The Pinstripes sealed their spot in the American League Divisional Series with a 9-1 win over the Red Sox in Game 2 of the best-of-three Wild Card Series.
However, Boston pitcher Sonny Gray gave his all on the mound in the Bronx in a desperate attempt to keep his team’s postseason hopes alive – yet some Yankees fans believed it wasn’t all entirely above board.
Before he was pulled in the fifth inning with the score at 1-0, fans on social media accused the right-hander of cheating.
Many shared clips from the broadcast of the game that appeared to show Gray repeatedly touching the side and the back of neck.
They claimed that the starting pitcher appeared to have a dark substance or discoloration on a certain part of his neck that he kept touching before pitching.
The New York Yankees vs Boston Red Sox clash stirred cheating controversy on Wednesday
Yankees fans claimed that Red Sox starting pitcher Sonny Gray repeatedly touched his neck
The use of ‘sticky’ substances such as Spider Tack, pine tar, and sunscreen-rosin mixtures to artificially increase spin rates, improve ball movement, and make pitches significantly harder to hit is illegal in Major League Baseball.
There was, of course, no evidence to suggest Gray was actually trying to give himself an advantage against his former team. The umpires did not appear to have an issue with his performance either.
However, it was seemingly enough of a smoking gun for Yankees fans to begin throwing around allegations amid baseball’s fiercest rivalry.
‘Sonny Gray went to his neck on live national television 31 times. How can this be allowed and not mentioned?’ one fan account questioned.
‘It’s almost insulting how open and notorious Sonny Gray was with all the sticky stuff all over his neck tonight, does he think we’re all blind? It’s literally on the big screen in high def,’ another claimed.
‘Sonny Gray asks for a new ball and then immediately touches his neck. He was doing this all game,’ a third alleged, to which another replied: ‘Red Sox cheating again.’
‘Completely normal to have on your neck when you pitch,’ another replied alongside a photo of the apparent discoloration on Gray’s neck.
‘Man the Red Sox are down bad they have to resort to cheating,’ another claimed in response. ‘Ain’t that a shame.’
Social media users alleged that he was touching an area of his neck that appeared discolored
The right-hander was pulled from the mound during the fifth inning with the score 1-0
Needing a victory to extend their season, the Red Sox sent 18-game winner Gray to the mound and he certainly gave them a chance. Boston trailed 1-0 in the fifth when the right-hander allowed a two-out single to Ben Rice that put runners at the corners.
Red Sox rookie manager Chad Tracy then yanked Gray after only 70 pitches, eager to hand the ball to baseball’s best bullpen during the regular season.
The decision backfired.
Tracy then summoned Miller to face a different left-handed batter, Cody Bellinger – who batted.274 against lefties this season and .259 versus right-handers. In fact, his.310 batting average against left-handers over the past two years was the best of any left-handed hitter in the majors.
Bellinger made Tracy and the Red Sox pay, lining an RBI single to right field.
Back from a shoulder injury, ace starter Garrett Crochet entered in the sixth for his first outing since April 25 and first relief appearance since 2023 with the Chicago White Sox. The left-hander opened with a strikeout, but Spencer Jones reached safely on a wild pitch, and Crochet never got an out.
Bellinger’s three-run homer off right-hander Garrett Whitlock capped a six-run inning that made it 8-1, and the Red Sox were finished.
For the second consecutive season, the Red Sox were sent home for the winter by their biggest rivals as the New York Yankees rolled to a two-game sweep of their Wild Card Series.
The Red Sox were outscored 18-2 overall and left to lament a miserable finish to this roller-coaster ride of a season.
