Red Sox’s Kutter Crawford Underwent ‘Battle’ In Loss Vs. Royals

Red Sox starting pitcher Kutter Crawford came up short Tuesday night and it kept Boston in last place in the American League East.

Crawford took the mound for Boston, going up against the 78-loss Royals. But Kansas City’s offense was ready to unload, toppling the Red Sox, 9-3. The right-hander was pulled after just 3 1/3 innings, charged with three earned runs off seven hits while striking out six before giving way to the bullpen.

“It was shaky. Some at-bats I felt like I was in control and another at-bat I felt like I had no control,” Crawford told reporters, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “So it was definitely a battle. Just gonna get back to work and fine-tune all that.”

That extended an ongoing trend that’s haunted both Crawford and the Red Sox.

Crawford’s numbers on the road as opposed to at Fenway Park have been night and day. The 27-year-old has gone 0-3 with a 6.23 ERA, pitching 34 2/3 innings to a 1.44 WHIP in Boston. Yet, when throwing on the road, Crawford’s gone 5-3 with a 2.13 ERA in his last 12 games pitched.

It’s been 12 starts and 18 games in total since Crawford last made it past the fourth inning at Fenway Park, last doing so on April 17 against the Los Angeles Angels.

“When you fall behind, it forces you to be a little bit finer on the edges and I wasn’t able to do that tonight,” Crawford said. “I left some pitches over the middle of the plate — even in the (Matt) Beaty at-bat. I had him 0-2, 1-2 and tried bouncing a curveball and I pulled it middle-in and he hooked it down into the corner for a double. So, you know, just execution.”