Red Sox Surprisingly Lead American League In Key Pitching Category
As one of the best pitchers in baseball, it’s not surprising that Boston Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet has a high number of quality starts. Of his 29 starts this season, 19 have counted as quality starts, meaning he pitched at least six innings and allowed three or fewer earned runs.
Crochet’s 19th quality start came on Monday, when he fired seven scoreless innings and racked up 10 strikeouts against the Athletics. He now has four quality starts in his last five outings and eight in his last 10.
With Crochet’s latest gem, the Red Sox have amassed 67 quality starts in 145 games this year. That’s the most in the American League and the second-most in baseball, behind only the Philadelphia Phillies (78).
It’s an impressive stat for a Boston team that wasn’t expected to have one of the best rotations in baseball. But thanks to Crochet, Brayan Bello and Lucas Giolito, the Red Sox’s starting pitching has been outstanding.
While Grochet leads Boston with 19 quality starts, Bello has 16 and Giolito has 14. Together, they’ve combined for 49 quality starts, accounting for 73.1% of the team’s total.
The back of the rotation has been a different story, as the Red Sox have struggled to find stability and consistency there. However, the top three of their rotation have been so good that it hasn’t mattered much.
Quality starts, a dominant bullpen and a potent offense have been a recipe for success for Boston, which owns the fourth-best record in the AL and is poised to make the postseason for the first time since 2021. Getting length and quality innings from their starters has been huge for the Red Sox, helping them preserve the bullpen and avoid the kind of second-half collapse that has plagued them in recent years.
Boston’s rotation may not be the deepest or most talented, but it’s playoff-caliber and gives the team a chance to win more often than not.