BOSTON — Days after being traded to the Red Sox in December, Garrett Crochet said he was hopeful that by the second half, he’d be off the leash and able to work without any innings restrictions down the stretch. After a nine-day layoff proved fruitful with a successful return to the mound Tuesday, it appears Crochet’s self-dubbed “collar” is off.
Crochet, who hadn’t taken the mound in 10 days due to the Sox trying to manage his workload by pushing back his next scheduled start, picked up right where he left off Tuesday against the Royals lineup, which he limited to two runs on four hits while striking out eight batters in seven innings. In front of an electric sell-out crowd of 37,013 at Fenway, the lefty looked unbothered by the extra rest.
“The past eight days, I’ve been pretty hungry for this next one,” said Crochet. “Hopefully, that’s the last time that we feel as though I need a breather and that come October, I’m still feeling good and going full-bore.”
Crochet struck out 10 batters in six innings against a potent Dodgers lineup on July 26, then was informed by the club that they intended to manipulate the schedule to give him an added breather. Back-to-back Thursday off days and a spot start from call-up Cooper Criswell allowed the club to shut down Crochet for a full rotation turn. Between starts, he threw two bullpen sessions to stay sharp.
Crochet, who finished off the first half of his season with a complete game against the Rays, entered the All-Star break leading the majors with 129 ⅓ innings. By holding him out of the All-Star Game, starting him in the third game after the break and then skipping him this week, the Sox have limited their ace to just 12 innings in a 23-day span.
The Red Sox hope that carefulness, plus planned “de-load” starts like Crochet’s abbreviated 85-pitch outing against the Mets on May 21, will pay dividends if the club keeps surging and qualifies for the postseason.
“I think this is the last time we’re going to skip a start from now on,” said manager Alex Cora. “Obviously, if he stays healthy. From now on, we’ll use the off days to our advantage.
“This is something we talked about before the All-Star Game. Overall, we’ve stayed very disciplined, including himself, because it’s hard, right? He wants to pitch, he wants to contribute.
“For everybody now, we’re good. (We can) shake hands: this is what we’re going to do. Now, we’re gonna let him go.”
Crochet, who said he typically feels rusty when given extended rest, didn’t look it early. He started his outing with three perfect innings while striking out five of the first Royals he faced.
After Boston broke a 1-1 tie with a two-run, two-out rally in the sixth, Crochet, approaching the 100-pitch mark, got off to a shaky start in the seventh. He walked Maikel Garcia, then nearly allowed a homer to Salvador Perez on a fly ball near Pesky’s Pole. Randal Grichuk doubled to make it 3-2 with one out but Crochet battled back to strike out Nick Loftin and Luke Maile and punctuate his outing with an animated fist pump after getting to Maile to chase with his 105th and final pitch.
“It felt really good,” Crochet said. “For that at bat, I felt like I was fairly in control and I just didn’t want to give up the lead again. I had already given up one that inning, so it shortened the lead pretty quickly. I just wanted that strikeout pretty bad.”
Crochet walked off the field in line for his MLB-leading 13th win of the season and got it when the Sox added on and won, 6-2. The moment represented a much-different reality than the one Crochet faced last August when a historically bad White Sox team was barreling toward an 121-loss total and limiting Crochet’s workload significantly. Even after the layoff, Crochet leads baseball in innings (148 ⅓) and strikeouts (183).
“Think about his season last year, as a team and for him,” said Cora. “It was up and down and with innings limits and all that stuff. Now, this is what he wanted to do: just pitch. We’re gonna let him do that.”
The Red Sox went 6-6 in Crochet’s first 12 starts of the year but have since won 10 of his last 11, dating back to June 1. It was Boston’s sixth straight win in a game started by Crochet and the club’s seventh straight win overall.
“Aces stop the losing streaks, and they keep the winning streaks going,” Cora said. “That’s what he’s doing right now.”
With 48 games left to go, Crochet will get about 10 more starts as the Red Sox fight their way through a pennant race. With the leash off, expect him to make every start.
“Winning, just in the clubhouse, is very contagious,” Crochet said. “I think in our city right now, it’s very contagious. I just wanted to do everything I could to extend that.
“It’s a fun atmosphere right now,” he said. “I can only imagine what it’s going to be in a couple months.”
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