FORT MYERS, Fla. — In the grand scheme of things, Garrett Crochet’s spring debut went perfectly fine. The Red Sox ace threw two scoreless innings in Thursday’s 7-5 win over the Tampa Bay Rays and came away healthy, which is the most important thing at this stage of camp.

And yet, there’s one thing the big lefty said would stick with him.

“I don’t know the last time I had an outing without a strikeout, it’s probably been four or five years, so I’m going to not probably sleep that well tonight,” Crochet said. “But all’s well that ends well, good outing, feel good, really the main thing.”

Crochet allowed one hit and one walk over two solid but unspectacular innings. The first frame was a little shaky, with Crochet allowing a leadoff single and a four-pitch walk that also included a passed ball thrown straight to the backstop. But the second was much better, and Crochet finished with 23 pitches (14 strikes) while topping out at 97.4 mph.

“Just trying to treat it as game-like as I can and just go ahead and get into that mind space of collecting outs efficiently, however those come,” Crochet said. “Obviously the four-pitch walk (stunk), I kind of fell out of my rhythm there but I was able to get it back and had a pretty efficient second.”

Coming off a brilliant season in which he finished as runner-up for the AL Cy Young Award, Crochet spent the offseason working to refine his arsenal in hopes of taking another step forward in 2026. One project was adding a new splitter, which he debuted in game action for the first time Thursday.

“It felt good out of my hand,” Crochet said. “It’s not a pitch that I want to throw when I’m behind in the count by any means, it’s not going to be something I feel like I fully rely on, but when I’m facing fairly right-handed heavy lineups I think it’s a good weapon for me.”

Though Crochet already ranks among the game’s top arms, he acknowledged that right now reigning Cy Young Award winners Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes wear the crown and that while supplanting them isn’t his goal, he hopes to become more efficient in hopes of taking his game to an even higher level.

“I feel like after last year I kind of put myself in that conversation. The two guys that I feel like are ahead of me, obviously have the hardware,” Crochet said. “It’s not like I’m looking to dethrone those guys because at the end of the day it’s a team game, but I feel like already when I step on the mound there’s a little bit of extra game planning going on for me, so I’m not too worried about that.”

Durbin flashes leather

If Thursday was any indication, the Red Sox will be in good hands if Alex Cora decides to roll with Caleb Durbin as the club’s starting second baseman.

The second-year infielder made a handful of impressive defensive plays at second, his first game action at the position this spring. In the first inning Durbin turned an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play, which came after he nearly turned another but was able to recover for the put out after the ball initially popped out of his glove.

Then in the second, Durbin made a terrific glove-hand flip to first on a softly hit grounder that Crochet couldn’t quite get to.

“Sometimes those are the best plays to get you tested, those do-or-dies because you can’t really think, you just got to act,” Durbin said. “I like those all-instinct plays and I’m glad we were able to get the out there.”

Marcelo Mayer will get his first game action at second base on Friday, and Cora indicated Durbin will play at least one more game at the position over the weekend.

Tolle erratic

After starting the club’s Grapefruit League opener last Saturday, Payton Tolle piggybacked with Crochet on Thursday and pitched 1 2/3 innings out of the bullpen in what was effectively his second start of the spring.

Tolle entered the game in the sixth but did not have his best performance, allowing two runs on three hits with no walks and no strikeouts. He allowed a leadoff double and an RBI single to Ben Williamson, and then hit Tatum Levins with a pitch before getting out of the sixth inning.

Then coming back for the seventh, Tolle hit another batter and allowed a ground rule double to Marshall Toole, putting men at second and third. Tolle finished his outing by drawing a run-scoring groundout, after which he was pulled for minor leaguer Calvin Bickerstaff.

“Just couldn’t really get anything going other than the fastball and cutter and they were putting enough on it to get hits with it,” Tolle said. “It’s part of it, just got to get back to work.”

Story mashes, Chapman debuts

Trevor Story had a standout day at the plate, going 2 for 3 with two doubles and two RBI to pace the Red Sox offense. Durbin (1 for 2) had a two-run double, and Braiden Ward, Andruw Monasterio and Connor Wong all drove in runs as part of a seven-run fourth inning.

Aroldis Chapman made his first appearance of the spring, tossing a scoreless inning with three strikeouts, and Greg Weissert had a scoreless frame with no hits and one walk.

Gonzales flashes potential

Justin Gonzales, a towering 19-year-old and one of Boston’s top hitting prospects, got a look at right field late in Thursday’s game. The mammoth 6-foot-7 outfielder went 0 for 1 but showed off some serious power when he smoked a lineout 110 mph to the shortstop.

Cora suggested fans will get to see plenty more of Gonzales once the rest of the club’s outfielders head out to the World Baseball Classic.

“He’s going to get a lot of opportunities starting after Sunday,” Cora said.

Up next

Brayan Bello will take the mound for the Red Sox on Friday when the club heads up to North Port to play the Atlanta Braves. Zack Kelly, Kyle Keller, Seth Martinez, Noah Song and Jeremy Wu-Yelland are all scheduled to pitch as well.

Former Red Sox ace Chris Sale is expected to start for the Braves. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.