Red Sox Ace ‘Won’t Sleep Well’ After Spring Training Outing originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Boston Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet fired two shutout innings against the Tampa Bay Rays in his Spring Training debut on Thursday. He allowed one hit and walked one batter over two innings, throwing 23 pitches in the process.
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Notably, Crochet didn’t record a strikeout in the outing. According to MassLive’s Christopher Smith, it was his first “true” outing without a strikeout since September 2023. Smith clarified that he had one rain-shortened outing without a strikeout in 2024 in which he only threw four pitches.
After the start, Crochet was very aware of the fact that he didn’t punch anyone out.
“I don’t know the last time I had an outing without a strikeout,” Crochet said. “It’s probably been four or five years. So I’m going to not probably sleep that well tonight.”
Most Red Sox fans will be happy that Crochet made it through the outing healthy, regardless of the broken “streak.” While Crochet remarked on his strikeout-free outing, he was okay with how it went.
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“All’s well that ends well. Good outing, feel good,” Crochet said.
Crochet’s fastball averaged 96.1 mph, just 0.3 mph below his 2025 season average. He also debuted a new splitter that showed separation in both movement and velocity from his fastball. While his arsenal is dangerous as is, the splitter could provide a pitch to throw away from right-handed hitters.
Unlike the other pitchers at his level, such as Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes, Crochet will remain with the Red Sox during the World Baseball Classic. He’s slated to start the season opener in Cincinnati, where he’ll square off with Hunter Greene. Until then, he’ll continue to work on his craft in Florida and get back to punching out hitters.
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