Through the first two-plus weeks of the MLB season, things have not gone as planned for the Boston Red Sox. After taking two out of three games over the St. Louis Cardinals over the weekend, they opened a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins to close out their six-game road trip.
After winning the last two games over the Cardinals after dropping the opener, Boston was looking to make it a three-game winning streak in the opener against the Twins. They were sending ace Garrett Crochet to the mound. The odds were in their favor to pick up a third straight victory.
Then the game started. Crochet was shelled by Minnesota and didn’t get out of the second inning, and was down 11-0. That’s right, 11 runs in an inning plus is not what manager Alex Cora and Crochet were banking on. After his outing, one former MLB pitcher slammed the Red Sox and Crochet.
Former MLB Pitcher Dontrelle Willis Rips Garrett Crochet and Boston Red Sox
It was an ugly outing from the first pitch for Crochet. He allowed four runs in the first inning, where the Twins batted around. In the second inning, Minnesota plated seven more runs. Victor Caratini launched a deep three-run home run to left field. Furthermore, Ryan Kreidler added a solo home run that was crushed to left. Just like that, it was 11-0 en route to a 13-6 Minnesota win.
Crochet lasted 1.2 innings, the shortest outing of his career (except for a four-pitch rain-shortened 2024 outing). Minnesota scored 11 runs on nine hits, 10 earned runs, and three walks. Crochet did not strike out anyone. After his outing, Dontrelle Willis ripped Crochet and the Red Sox on FOX.
“The velocity was not there, the command was not there,” Willis said about Crochet. “You have a bunch of guys already that are struggling, hitting below the Mendoza line. (We) talk about (Caleb) Durbin, (Jarren) Duran…. You needed your ace to step up in a big game. Not only does he come out of the game short, but now you put the bullpen taxed. They don’t look inspired to me.
“This is the first time since I’ve been covering the Red Sox that have not looked like they want to go out there and win the division. A lot of ballgame, don’t get me wrong, but (Crochet)’s body language being the captain and the leader in that locker room was very poor coming off that mound and put a ton of pressure on that offense.”
Willis isn’t wrong, but this has been an issue for the Red Sox over the last couple of seasons. This is not really anything new.
Red Sox Need Sonny Gray To Step Up in Game 2
Every pitcher is going to go through one of those starts throughout a 162-game schedule. However, Crochet has been very good for Boston since arriving, and when he has an outing like that, it opens some eyes.
All eyes will shift to Sonny Gray Tuesday night in the second game of the three-game series. It’s the middle of April. Division races are not one in April, but you can bury yourself in the standings. The good news for the Red Sox is that the rest of the American League East is in the same boat. Willis is right about one thing: There is a lot of baseball left in 2026.
Be the first to comment