‘Pretty Pissed’ Red Sox Ace Garrett Crochet’s Fix To Regain Cy Young Form

Keep calm and carry on, Boston Red Sox fans. Ace Garrett Crochet returned to his Cy Young form on Monday, throwing seven shutout innings in the 7-0 win over the Athletics.

Crochet struck out 10 batters, boosting his MLB-leading total to 228.

His performance was a far cry from his previous appearance, giving up a season-high seven earned runs in six innings of work with just four strikeouts against the Cleveland Guardians.

So how did the left-hander go from his worst start of the year to perhaps his best?

“I was pretty pissed,” Crochet said, according to MLB.com’s Theo DeRosa.

Some people speculated that Crochet hit the wall against the Guardians, having already set a career high in innings pitched. But according to DeRosa, Crochet’s turnaround is a result of some advice he received from catcher Connor Wong.

“Last weekend, Wong worked with Crochet to refine the pitcher’s front hip movement on his fastball, allowing Crochet to reach more extension and locate the pitch to the glove side — inside to right-handed batters and away to lefties,” DeRosa reported. “The change not only benefited Crochet’s four-seam fastball but his cutter and sinker as well.”

As a result, Crochet once again looks like a Cy Young contender.

“It got my four-seam back dialed in,” Crochet said, per DeRosa. “It even allowed the front-door two-seam to become a weapon. … I felt like each pitch looked very deliberate tonight. I never felt like I was really exerting, and that I had a lot of energy left in the tank.”

The 26-year-old leads the majors in innings pitched (185 and one-third). He’s third in the American League in wins (15) and ERA (2.57).

“Every win counts here down the stretch, so for me it’s just trying to help the team put our best foot forward every game,” Crochet said, according to DeRosa. “I think I’ve got three or four left. I’m losing track at this point. Every start ‘til the finish line and the ones that are following that, just really doing the best thing I can to help the team.”