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Boston Red Sox’ Garrett Crochet: ‘It’s embarrassing’
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- Boston Red Sox’ Garrett Crochet: ‘It’s embarrassing’
HOUSTON — Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet embraced the role of stopper last year.
Crochet ended a four-game losing streak in the sixth game of Boston 's 2025 opening road trip, tossing 8 scoreless innings in a win against the Orioles
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He had the chance to do the same thing Wednesday against the Astros with Boston entering the sixth game of their 2026 season on a four-game losing streak. But he couldn't stop the slide this time.
The lefty allowed five runs (four earned) on six hits while striking out seven in Boston's 6-4 loss to Houston at Daikin Park .
"It's embarrassing," Crochet said. "And typically in the past, I've played that stopper role. And today I just let the guys down, especially when we scratched one (run) early in the first."
The offense gave the ace a 1-0 lead before he took the mound, but he allowed two runs in the bottom of the first inning on three hits (two doubles) and a Trevor Story error.
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"For me to give it right back and then ultimately give them the lead at the bottom of the first, it's not acceptable," Crochet said.
The Red Sox had a brutal opening road trip, finishing 1-5 after winning on Opening Day in Cincinnati .
Entering the season, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow called the Red Sox' identity and strength their pitching and ability to prevent runs. But the starting rotation is 1-3 with a 5.22 ERA. The defense has made six errors, including two on Wednesday.
"We're about to go home, and I expect us to have a better response once we get there, especially with an off day to really sit on this, sit on these tough times," Crochet said. "But today I felt like we made the adjustment. Ultimately, it was me that kind of screwed the game up for us."
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The Astros outscored the Red Sox 23-7 in their three-game sweep. The Sox have been outscored 32-17 in six games.
"It's tough. It doesn't matter whether it's early or not," Crochet said. "At some point, we've gotta make our own breaks."
Crochet got beat by Carlos Correa in the fifth inning. With two outs and two runners on base, Correa connected on a 1-2 sweeper that Crochet placed near the bottom of the strike zone. Correa crushed it 402 feet to left field for a three-run home run, putting the Astros ahead 5-2.
"I didn't have my best stuff, but I was making do until I wasn't," Crochet said. "Got Correa on the sweeper in his first at-bat. He just seemed to be keyed in there late. I feel like the whole outing really boiled down to two bad pitches."
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He said the other bad pitch was a sweeper he left up in the zone to Yordan Álvarez during the first inning. Álvarez doubled to begin the Astros' two-run rally.
Crochet also took a loss here last August, allowing five runs in four innings.
"They're a good team," he said. "They're a smart team. There's a lot of veterans throughout that lineup. You've got to make them uncomfortable and keep them there. And ultimately, I felt like in that last at-bat, I did what I always do in that situation. And Correa's a really smart player and put a good swing."
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