Coming off the worst start of his career, Garrett Crochet surrendered five runs over five innings on Sunday. Is it time to worry? Yes, but also no.
Crochet got off to a rocky start. After two quick outs, he gave up back to back doubles to open the scoring. I was driving during the top of the first so I listened on the radio and can’t confidently say if there were any red flags during the inning. He got out of the jam with a run allowed and 25 pitches thrown. The Red Sox tied the game in bottom of the first and gave Crochet a breather,
allowing him to bear down when he retook the mound in the second inning.
From the second inning to the fifth, he looked like Garrett Crochet. He kept his sinker on the arm side, the cutter on the glove side, and used the four-seam to split the difference. The sweeper command still wasn’t quite there, and that’s an area to monitor, but it wasn’t the primary cause of all his issues. He threw a few good ones in the fourth inning that returned whiffs, evidence that the stuff isn’t the issue, as well. It was a dominant strikeout pitch for Crochet in 2025 but hasn’t been the same early in 2026. He isn’t landing it on the glove side as frequently, and several pitches have stayed up in the zone. That’s the pitch to watch going forward. More on this later this week.
Moving along, he struck out the first two hitters in the fifth inning, and that’s when things went awry. He left a sinker over the plate that Jahmai Jones took over the monster. He then walked Gleyber Torres on four straight pitches and Matt Vierling flicked a sweeper into left field. With two runners on in a 3-1 count, he threw a four-seam over the plate that Dillon Dingler hit into center field, and Crochet’s evening ended after five innings.
I should mention that it was pouring rain in the fifth inning when he lost control. It was definitely the rain that led to blow-up inning, right? Sure, Framber Valdez and every other pitcher dealt with the rain fine, but it was the rain. Jokes aside, every inning counts the same, but one bad inning shouldn’t send you into a complete panic. The velocity is still there and the shapes are the same. Once he starts spotting his sweeper, and maybe mixing in a few more changeups for called strikes, it will all come together. His next start will come in Baltimore, and I’m expecting him to turn in a better performance.
So if Crochet isn’t the reason to panic, what is? The offense, you silly geese. They’ve scored three runs over the last three games. Regardless of what the rotation does, you’re not going to win many games that way. Framber Valdez absolutely shredded the lineup and was ahead of nearly every hitter he faced. He threw 19 first pitch strikes to the 23 batters he saw and was in complete control for most of the game.
Before the season, there was a lot of chatter about how some projection models didn’t have the Red Sox rostering a single 20 home run hitter. Through 21 games, the Red Sox have the fewest home runs in baseball. Wilyer Abreu started red hot, and Willson Contreras has hit the ball out of the park a few times lately, including once today. Outside of that, Trevor Story is the only hitter on the roster with more than one home run. While I don’t think the offense is as bad as it right now, maybe the projection models were right. Of course, you don’t need to hit home runs to score runs, but when you strike at a high clip, like the Red Sox have, it’s nearly impossible to put together rallies.
We go again against the Tigers on Marathon Monday morning. It’s a great day to be great.
Two Studs
Jack Anderson
He saved the bullpen. It’s hilarious how many times the bullpen has needed saving this early in the season.
Anyone who stayed for all nine innings
It looked truly miserable out there. Credit to those who stayed for the Fenway Experience™ that was used as justification for high ticket prices.
Three Duds
Garrett Crochet
As I mentioned, I’m confident he’ll right the ship. While there are positive signs, the results are what they are, and that makes him a dud.
Andruw Monasterio
0-4 with two strikeouts at the top of the lineup against the lefty. Not his day.
Me
I’m going to buy one of those stupid Fenway Cooler cups for way too much money tomorrow. I’m part of the problem.
