Best On Best: How Chris Sale, Garrett Crochet Lead Crossover Of Red Sox Aces

BOSTON — Garrett Crochet and Chris Sale are constantly linked for their similar paths to the Red Sox.

Tall frames. Electric stuff. Acquired in blockbuster trades from the Chicago White Sox.

They now square off on the mound at Fenway Park Friday night in one of the more energizing pitching matchups in recent memory in Boston.

“Should be fun tonight,” Alex Cora said. “Obviously, with everything that is going on, City Connect (uniforms), hopefully it’s a fun night here. Those two guys, obviously, they’re not facing each other, but there’s a lot of things there that they have in common. The most important one is when they go out there, they want to win bad. There’s going to be a lot of ‘M-F’ fastball today.”

Both starters led by example at the top of the rotation and came to Boston with major expectations. Sale already answered the call when he struck out over 300 batters in 2017 and closed out the last championship for the Red Sox in 2018. Now, Crochet looks to follow in those footsteps. He’s doing his part thus far as he takes the mound for his 10th start with an ERA under 2.00.

“When you know the guy might go seven (innings), there might be a good chance they go seven, a lot of 97-98 up there,” Cora added. “It’s always exciting.”

Sale makes his first start back at Fenway since Boston dealt him to the Atlanta Braves in December 2023 for Vaughn Grissom. The lefty already faced the Red Sox since then with 10 strikeouts in six innings in a Braves victory in Atlanta last May. Cora knows the lineup has its hands full Friday night.

“He’s special, he’s good,” Cora explained. “The slider is unique. The fastball is really good. We just have to be disciplined.”

Cora actively roots for Sale outside of this matchup, which helps with Sale in the National League. The Red Sox manager took immense pride in Sale taking home Cy Young and Gold Glove honors last season and commended his personal relationship in a group with other former Red Sox champions in Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Christian Vazquez and Nathan Eovaldi.

“They watch what we’re doing,” Cora said. “They care about me, which is the most important thing to me. They saw me on top of the world. They saw me on my knee when I got suspended. They were still there for me. I appreciate that.”

Friday’s pitching matchup is marquee worthy with two talented teams in need of a mid-May spark. Expect high velocity and elite stuff in the ultimate crossover of Red Sox aces of the past and present.