6 hours Ago By Colin McCarthy
By Colin McCarthy Garrett Crochet has had a start to the season that the Red Sox haven’t seen from their ace in quite some time. In his first five starts, Crochet holds a 1.13 ERA — fourth in the MLB and first among pitchers with 30 or more innings pitched.
He’s also eighth in the league in strikeouts (35). Boston traded a haul of prospects to acquire Crochet from the White Sox this offseason, and then inked him to a lengthy contract extension. And the early returns have been promising.
Yet, Crochet isn’t particularly happy with his performance thus far, particularly Saturday’s outing. Despite tossing seven strikeouts and not allowing a run, the ace was critical of himself speaking to reporters postgame. “I feel like I’m getting away with murder and it’s only a matter of time until I get caught,” Crochet said postgame.
“I feel like the way I’m throwing the ball isn’t up to my par. ..
. But the sixth inning, started getting the cutter glove side, threw a couple 92, 93. So I’m glad to see that’s trending back.
” Despite another strong start, Garrett Crochet still expects to get better. "I feel like the way I'm throwing the ball isn't up to my par." Crochet's line tonight was 6.
0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K pic.twitter.com/TBINQX9mjO Cora shared that sentiment when assessing Crochet’s most recent outing.
“The stuff was good. Erratic. some deep counts, some two strike hits,” Cora said.
“But in a ‘bad’ (with air quotes) — a night that he was OK — that’s what we get. He gave us a chance to win the game.” If Boston isn’t getting the best version of Crochet, it’d be difficult for most to tell.
The Red Sox haven’t had a starter as effective as Crochet has been statistically since Chris Sale’s near Cy Young-winning season in 2017. Even last season, when Boston’s entire starting rotation was red hot, neither Kutter Crawford (1.35) nor Tanner Houck (1.
65) possessed an ERA as low as Crochet’s through five starts. So, while Crochet might be critical of the finer details, he’s still undoubtedly proving Boston right for making an aggressive push to land the 25-year-old starter. Sign up for Red Sox updates⚾ Get breaking news and analysis delivered to your inbox during baseball season.
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