BOSTON ¨C Getaway day with Garrett Crochet on the mound. Confidence beamed throughout the clubhouse that a happy flight to Cleveland loomed for the Red Sox.
But something unexpected happened on Thursday afternoon: Boston¡¯s new ace lefty had a complete struggle with command, particularly in the first two innings.
Though Crochet did stay in the battle long enough to throw five innings, he needed a career-high 110 pitches to do so, and also issued a career-high five walks. While giving up four runs on five hits and striking out nine, Crochet was on the losing end as the Red Sox fell to the Mariners, 4-3, in the rubber match of a three-game series.
The old adage taught by coaches to players at a very young age is ¡°be a pitcher, not a thrower.¡±
However, that¡¯s not how Crochet rolls. And he thinks that falling into that trap cost him the game on Thursday.
¡°I think just pitching passively,¡± said Crochet. ¡°I've been talking in my past couple pressers about getting to the glove side. It became something where I was trying to pitch instead of just throw. I¡¯ve always been a bit of a thrower, which is just who I am. Once I started getting back to my roots and being a power pitcher later in the game, the walks were still there. But, I was at least able to get guys out.¡±
Over Crochet¡¯s first two innings, he threw 54 pitches. The Mariners capitalized, building an early 4-1 lead.
¡°He throws hard, everything moves and he¡¯s tall, so you¡¯re feeling like he¡¯s throwing the ball five feet from you,¡± said Mariners second baseman Leo Rivas. ¡°Tough pitcher, but he wasn¡¯t commanding that well today, and we just took advantage of it.¡±
Crochet, who has a 1.95 ERA in his first six starts for Boston, is eager for a shot at redemption in his next start in Toronto next week.
¡°I put the team in a bad spot, and I had to get us out of it,¡± said Crochet. ¡°With the innings I left on the table, the bullpen did a really good job. Hopefully I can make it up to them on the next turn.¡±
One thing you can be sure of for that next start: Crochet won¡¯t be doing any Picasso imitations.
How does he look at the art of pitching versus throwing?
¡°For me, pitching is hitting your spots, and painting,¡± Crochet said. ¡°For the most part, I do a lot of my work in the heart of the zone, and I think that I was getting away from that, because I was having success. So it was like, ¡®What's the next thing that I could work on then?¡¯ I¡¯m always trying to work on something, as opposed to, you get to a point where you¡¯ve just got to continue what you¡¯re doing.¡±
Bregman¡¯s big day
While it was generally a tough day for the Red Sox, the exception was third baseman Alex Bregman. Boston¡¯s big offensive acquisition hammered a home run over everything in left in his first at-bat and smashed an RBI single to the base of the Green Monster in the third inning. In the top of the second, Bregman made a sensational barehanded play down the line to take a hit away from Donovan Solano.
¡°This is the player I expected,¡± said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. ¡°I¡¯m not surprised. He controls the strike zone. He doesn¡¯t swing and miss. He doesn¡¯t panic with two strikes. He has a consistent approach throughout the week, and the series, and he¡¯s in a good spot. A great start.¡±
Not a great start for Devers
Rafael Devers had a historically bad start to his season, becoming the first MLB player to strike out 15 times in the first five games of the season. For a while, he found it, slashing .429/.488/.657 over a nine-game, 35 at-bat stretch from April 2-10.
But Devers finished the homestand in the depths of another rough patch. He has four hits in his last 44 at-bats. The only bright spot during that time? Twelve walks to bring his American League-leading total to 21. For the season, Devers has a line of .194/.331/.327 with two homers and 14 RBIs.
¡°Dominating in the strike zone but swinging and missing in the strike zone, and that¡¯s something we have to work on, mechanics-wise,¡± said Cora. ¡°The group is grinding, he is grinding. He knows it. Hopefully we find it in Cleveland.¡±