Kutter Crawford made his first Triple-A start in Worcester on Thursday, and he made a solid first impression with the WooSox.
The 26-year-old pitcher was optioned to Worcester by the Boston Red Sox on May 14. The move was seen as a way to give the right-hander more experience, having only played in eight games with the big-league club.
Crawford pitched four innings against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. He did not allow a hit, struck out two batters and only gave up one run off a hit-by-pitch in the third inning. According to Joe McDonald of the Worcester Telegram and Gazette, Crawford was only expected to pitch three innings but played well enough to earn an extra inning of work, tossing a total of 35 pitches.
Crawford did not earn a win as the game went down to the wire. Robert Ramos blasted a two-run home run in the ninth inning for a walk-off win for the WooSox by a final score of 3-2 at Polar Park.
After starting his WooSox tenure on a good note, Crawford will look to build more consistency going forward as he gets more opportunities.
