Everybody seems to be concerned about Garrett Crochet’s workload as the calendar nears mid-September.
The All-Star left-hander of the Boston Red Sox is more worried about the results.
Crochet looks to bounce back from his roughest outing of the season when he takes the mound against the Athletics on Monday night in the opener of a three-game series at West Sacramento, Calif.
Crochet (14-5, 2.67 ERA) served up four homers while being tagged for seven runs and nine hits in six innings against the Cleveland Guardians last Tuesday. He received a no-decision because the Boston offense scored the last six runs of the game for an 11-7 victory.
It marked the second time in five starts that the 26-year-old Crochet allowed five or more runs.
Naturally, any subpar outing leads to conversation about his innings count, now at 178 1/3. Last year’s 146 with the Chicago White Sox was his previous high.
“I feel really good. Velocity, not that tells the whole story, but it tells a lot of it. And it’s in a really good spot,” Crochet told reporters. “… I truly do feel really good, taking care of my body in between starts and just doing everything I can to be prepared to help this team out down the stretch.”
Another factor for the observation of Crochet is that earlier in his career he underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the 2022 season.
Of course, keeping track of innings becomes more important with Boston’s intent on reaching the postseason.
Boston (79-65) stands 3 1/2 games out in third place in the American League East race and holds the second wild-card spot.
The Red Sox halted a three-game losing streak with Sunday’s 7-4 road victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Closer Aroldis Chapman had the rare four-strikeout inning while recording his 29th save, and he didn’t allow a hit for the 17th consecutive appearance, spanning 14 2/3 innings and dating to July 26.
Nick Sogard hit a pinch-hit, two-run tiebreaking double in a three-run ninth inning.
The Athletics (66-78) fell 4-3 to the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday after scoring 27 runs while winning the first two games of the road series. Overall, the A’s have dropped six of their past nine games.
Tyler Soderstrom went 2-for-3 with a homer for his third multi-hit game of the month.
Soderstrom, 23, has solidified himself as one of the team’s building blocks for the future. He’s batting .276 with 24 homers and a team-leading 86 RBIs.
He is fourth on the team in homers behind Nick Kurtz (29), Shea Langeliers (29) and All-Star Brent Rooker (27).
“I’ve had a pretty consistent year,” Soderstrom told reporters Sunday. “I’m just looking to keep doing what I’ve been doing. Go out there and finish strong but not trying to force it. Just go out there, put good at-bats together and keep building on what I’ve been doing.”
A’s manager Mark Kotsay has been impressed with Soderstrom, a first-round pick out of high school in 2020.
“This is a continuation of how he’s been performing all season,” Kotsay told reporters. “The mindset for Tyler is that he was going to come in here and take the next step forward, and he has. It’s a great sign. For him to be the guy on the team that’s driving in runs and hitting in the middle of the order, the progression has been nice to watch.”
Promising right-hander Luis Morales (3-0, 1.59) will be on the mound for the Athletics.
The 22-year-old has allowed just 17 hits while notching 30 strikeouts in 28 1/3 innings. He made his major league debut on Aug. 1.
Morales defeated the St. Louis Cardinals on Sept. 1. He struck out a career-best eight and gave up two runs and five hits over 5 2/3 innings.
Crochet is 1-1 with a 1.35 ERA in three career appearances (one start) against the Athletics.
–Field Level Media
