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Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet confirms he’s healthy after worst career start; ‘It’s tough’
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- Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet confirms he’s healthy after worst career start; ‘It’s tough’
MINNEAPOLIS — Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet confirmed he's healthy after the worst start of his major league career .
The 26-year-old left-hander allowed 11 runs (10 earned) while recording just five outs. The Red Sox lost 13-6 to the Twins at Target Field on Monday.
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Crochet's 13 four-seam fastballs averaged 94.9 mph compared to his 96.1 mph yearly average. The spin on all his pitches was down as well. His cutter, for example, averaged 2,510 revolutions per minute compared to his 2,629 season average.
"The stuff was down," manager Alex Cora said. "That's the reality of it."
When Crochet was asked if he's totally fine physically, he replied, "Yep."
He's not concerned his fastball velocity was down by an average of 1.2 mph.
"I don't think that's anything to fret over," he said.
Cora and pitching coach Andrew Bailey had no theories on why Crochet's velocity was down.
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"No. He's healthy so that's the most important thing," Cora said.
Crochet couldn't pinpoint exactly why this start went so bad. He gave up nine hits, including two home runs, and three walks. He also hit a batter. Meanwhile, he recorded just three swings and misses.
"It's tough to say," Crochet said. "I mean, command as a whole has been spotty. Gotten away with it a little this early in the year, but tonight they made me pay. It was weak contact, hard contact, walks, hit by pitch, a little bit of everything."
Crochet entered Monday having pitched at least five innings in 34 of his 35 starts as a member of the Red Sox . His previous shortest start with the club came Aug. 11, 2025, at Houston when he allowed five runs in four innings.
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It was the shortest start of his career, excluding a rain-shortened outing on Aug. 27, 2024. In that game for the White Sox against the Rangers, he threw just four pitches before the weather intervened.
Monday also marked Crochet's first appearance without a strikeout since a relief outing for the White Sox against the Diamondbacks on Sept. 27, 2023. His rain-shortened start in 2024 is the only exception.
"It's tough," Crochet said. "I mean, I don't really have anything to say. I'm just gonna flush it, I mean, as best I can. Move on to the next one. Yeah, they had a good approach."
Crochet gave up a couple of weak hits in the first inning, allowing an 80.2 mph double and 79.1 mph single. But the second inning was all hard contact, including a 108.9 mph home run, a 106.5 mph single, a 106 mph home run and a 102.8 mph double.
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"In the second inning, I felt like I was throwing the ball better and the results were worse," Crochet said. "I don't really have one thing to point to. I just feel like they had a good approach. It was all pitch types that I felt like they were absolutely smothering — and laying off the sweeper. So there was really no point for me to even throw it (the sweeper). I wasn't getting to kill counts. So it was just three variations of hard. That's my game. That's how I pitch. And tip your cap, they hit them all."
Of the hits Crochet allowed, three came against his four-seam fastball, three against his cutter, two against his sinker and one against his sweeper.
"It felt like he had nothing going away from righties," Cora said. "Everything was in. And they did an outstanding job covering pitches in that part.
Bailey said the Red Sox need to learn from the start and move on.
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"It's a little eye opening, obviously," Bailey said. "I think there's a little frustration and curiosity, but like for me, there's a couple balls on the line, jam shot to the left, a couple walks mixed there and then obviously they were able to step on some pitches in zone and hit him out of the yard. And it happened really quickly. So just got to move past it."
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