Red Sox Notes: Garrett Crochet Embraces Irony Behind No-Hit Bid

Garrett Crochet nearly made history upon returning to Rate Field on Sunday afternoon for the first time since joining the Boston Red Sox this past offseason.

Crochet, formerly of the Chicago White Sox, was treated to a warm welcome back from those in Chi-town. But in return, Crochet treated his old friends to a showcase of dominance that began with five perfect innings and a no-hit bid that entered the eighth inning, only to come up short when rookie Chase Meidroth stepped into the batter’s box.

Ironically enough, Meidroth was one of the four prospects Boston packaged to acquire Crochet from Chicago in December. And in his third at-bat against Crochet, the 23-year-old infielder shattered the Red Sox left-hander’s chase at history with a single to left field.

“I thought that was pretty funny, too,” Crochet told reporters after Boston’s 3-1 win over Chicago, per NESN. “Yeah, I don’t really have anything to say about it. You know, put a good swing on the ball. That’s about it.”

Crochet continued: “Looking back at the swing, I think that I did fool him a little bit. But he’s a good bat-to-ball guy. Doesn’t swing and miss a ton. I got him with the sweeper in his second at-bat, and I didn’t really love the idea of going back to the sweeper and just playing the sinker game all day with him. I felt like the cutter was the pitch to go to.”

Everything was working to Crochet’s advantage. When he left the dugout and took the mound for the bottom of the eighth inning, Crochet’s pitch count stood at a feasible 76 total. Boston’s offense didn’t do a whole lot of damage, but it’s proven to be enough for Crochet’s standards, and Red Sox manager Alex Cora was willing to budge.

Crochet didn’t need to say a word to Cora, and his new skipper made an honest admission once Meidroth reached base and broke up the no-no.

“I kept looking at the scoreboard like, ‘Oh, shoot. It’s gonna be tough,'” Cora told reporters, per NESN. “Honestly, I’ve never been so happy for the opponent to get a hit. Chase got a hit and I was like, ‘OK, we can move on.'”

Crochet made it 7 1/3 innings, charged with zero earned runs off one hit and a walk alongside a season-high 11 strikeouts. The 25-year-old’s poise stood by Crochet from start to finish, which came as no surprise to Cora either.

“The whole weekend, he was very calm,” Cora revealed. “He didn’t make a big deal out of coming here. He just wanted to pitch. So he faced them today and I think he’ll face them either Friday or Saturday (at Fenway Park). I think he appreciates the fact that they gave him a chance to become a big league player. They did a lot of good things with him, not only physically but as far as using his repertoire.”

Crochet took home his second win in a Red Sox uniform and improved to 2-1 on the season. He’s now recorded a 1.38 ERA with 28 strikeouts, holding opponents to a .165 batting average across four starts with Boston thus far.

“That’s what he’s here for, right?” Cora said. “It happened early in the season along the losing streak, and he pitched a great game, and we played better after that. Today was a big day for us as to get a (win) and move on. He was really good — really good. The stuff, halfway through the game, kind of took off and that’s what we expected.”

Here are more notes from Sunday’s Red Sox-White Sox game:

— Three-time World Series champion Jon Lester was the last Red Sox pitcher to throw a no-hitter. The Boston legend no-hit the Kansas City Royals on May 19, 2008, at Fenway Park, and it ended a 52-year drought from the last time a left-handed Red Sox pitcher achieved one of professional sports’ most difficult feats.

— Crochet’s not-hit bid was the second-longest since the expansion era by a pitcher going up against his former team. To further inflate an already ironic outing for Crochet, he’s runner-up to ex-Red Sox pitcher Corey Kluber, who tossed a no-hitter against the Texas Rangers as a member of the New York Yankees in 2021.

— Boston avoided the sweep and improved to 8-9 with the series finale win.

— The Red Sox are back to work Monday night as they’ll open up a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays to conclude their road trip. First pitch from George M. Steinbrenner Field is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET, and you can catch the game, plus a full hour of pregame coverage, live on NESN.