Red Sox’s Power Rankings Rise Comes With Garrett Crochet Concern

Time for some good news and not-so-good news for the red-hot Boston Red Sox, who have won five straight following a weekend sweep of the Houston Astros.

On the plus side, the Red Sox moved up one spot to No. 11 in the latest MLB.com power rankings.

“Remember when we were all a little worried about Roman Anthony? I swear, this happened. The rookie has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball for the past month, slashing .340/.444/.481 over his past 29 games,” MLB.com’s Will Leitch wrote Monday.

“And guess what? The Red Sox have the best record in baseball over that very stretch,” Leitch added.

Another big part of Boston’s recent success is ace Garrett Crochet. The All-Star left-hander made four starts in July, going 4-0 with a 1.73 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 26 innings pitched.

But the Red Sox are keeping a close eye on Crochet’s workload and pushed back his next start to Tuesday against the Kansas City Royals.

“The Red Sox are giving him an extended rest from his start last Saturday. Alex Cora said this was pre planned,” MLB.com’s Ian Browne reported last week.

Crochet leads the American League with 141 1/3 innings pitched this year. His career high is the 146 innings he threw last year for the Chicago White Sox. And that’s not all.

“Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet has pitched 66 ⅓ innings since June 1, already exceeding his entire total of 64 innings in August and September in his career,” USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported Sunday.

The way the Red Sox are playing, qualifying for the postseason looks like a real possibility. But Boston’s title chances will ride or die on Crochet’s shoulder, so keeping him fresh for the stretch run makes sense, even if it costs him a chance at winning the American League Cy Young Award.

Crochet is second in the AL to Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal in strikeouts and WAR.