Here we go again, baseball fans. Another day, and another masterpiece from Garrett Crochet was flushed down the drain by a Boston Red Sox offense that seems to vanish the second he steps on the mound.
Let’s call it what it is; this is not why you cash in four high-end prospects — including your top catcher of the future, a blue-chip outfielder, a promising infielder, and a power arm — for a frontline starter. You do it to compete. You do it to win now. You do not do it to hang your shiny new ace out to dry with ghost bats and cold lumber. But here we are.
Crochet’s Dominance Deserves More
Crochet was surgical on Monday against the Brewers. Six and two-thirds, 11 punchouts, two runs. That’s elite stuff. That’s “Cy Young buzz” kind of stuff. But Boston? They offered him all of two runs. Again. One for nine with runners in scoring position, a .218 average for the game, and another chapter in the growing novel titled “Wasted Starts: The Garrett Crochet Story.”
Let’s zoom out. So far this month, the guy put up a 2.03 ERA and fanned 39 hitters in 31 innings. He’s faced 124 batters this month and sent 31.5% of them walking back to the dugout shaking their heads. He’s been dominant. Lights-out. And the Sox? They went 1-4 in his starts. One and four. That’s not just bad luck; it’s a case of offensive negligence.
Offense Missing When It Matters Most
And it’s not like this is an isolated trend. Boston has given Crochet just 48 runs of support in 12 starts. That’s an average of four runs per game, but even that’s misleading — two of those games account for 20 of those runs. You take those out, and it’s more like 2.8 runs per start in the other ten. You’re not beating anyone by scoring under three a night. You’re just wasting golden outings and burning a frontline arm.
This isn’t a case of a starter needing to “grind through” or “limit damage.” No. This is a guy carving up lineups and getting zero help. He’s throwing like a postseason ace, and the offense is swinging like it’s a spring training scrimmage.
Time to Step Up or Shut It Down
No one expected Boston to chase down the Yankees overnight. But sitting at 27-29, losers of three straight, and already seven games back? That’s not the upward trajectory fans were promised when they pushed in those chips for Crochet. That’s spinning tires in May, not hunting banners in October.
So, what now? The Red Sox can keep wasting starts and hoping for miracles, or they can start giving Crochet some backup because this dude didn’t sign up to be the lone bright spot on a .500 team. And fans didn’t sign up to watch dominance die on the hill every fifth day.
Light up the bats, Boston before it’s too late.
