The Red Sox went into Monday night’s game against the Twins having won two straight and looking to build some momentum in what has been a rough start to the regular season so far for Boston. With ace Garrett Crochet taking the mound, it seemed like a perfect opportunity keep things moving in the right direction.
And then, well, disaster struck as Crochet quickly gave up 11 runs and was pulled from the game with two outs in the bottom of the second.
It was Crochet’s worst start in his brief tenure with the Red Sox. He gave up nine hits to go with those 11 runs (10 earned) and Boston ended up losing the game, 13-6, to fall to 6-10 on the year.
While Crochet’s short outing was one he will want to forget as quickly as possible, how he handled himself after the loss was something that he should be proud of, and something all pitchers at every level should study. Instead of hiding behind cliches or dodging tough questions from reporters, the 26-year-old lefty stood tall in the Red Sox clubhouse and addressed his struggles directly.
“I don’t really have one thing to point to I just feel like they had a good approach,” Crochet said of the Twins. “It was all pitch types that I think they were absolutely smothering and laying off the sweeper so there was really no point for me to even throw it. I wasn’t getting to kill counts. It was just three variations of hard, that’s my game, that’s how I pitch. Tip your cap, they hit them all.”
That’s pretty classy of Crochet, who handled himself extremely well after becoming the first Red Sox pitcher to ever allow 10 runs in less than two innings. He didn’t hide from what went wrong and he didn’t get upset over the probing questions that came just a few hours after his dismal performance.
Here are his postgame comments:
"It's tough... I'm just gonna flush it as best as I can, move onto the next one."
— NESN (@NESN) April 14, 2026
Garrett Crochet spoke after his start in Minnesota
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Crochet had a funny line about his brief start
Crochet was able to have a light moment during his postgame media scrum. When asked if there was any difference for him between the first and the second inning, he said:
“The first was a little bit better, I got three outs and in the second I only got two.”
The Twins scored four runs in the first and then added seven more in the second inning to jump out to a commanding 11-0 lead.
Crochet was open about his struggles so far this year
Crochet is now 2-2 on the season and he said after the loss to the Twins that he hasn’t been as sharp as he would like to be, which led to his brutal start in Minnesota.
"My command as a whole has been spotty," he said. "I've gotten away with it a little this early in the year, but tonight they made me pay. It was weak contact, hard contact, walks, hit by pitch—a little bit of everything."
Crochet has a simple mindset on moving past this game and getting ready for his next start.
“I’m just going to flush it as best as I can and move on to the next one,” he said. “They had a good approach.”
The Red Sox have two more games against the Twins and then they will head home to Fenway Park where they will host the Tigers in a four-game series.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Garrett Crochet Said What Every Pitcher Should Say After Giving Up 11 Runs in First Two Innings vs. Twins.
