The Boston Red Sox took a chance.
Garrett Crochet has been an All-Star in the major leagues, and so with him back from injury after a long absence and Boston’s backs against the wall, they tried him out at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night.
It didn’t work.
He allowed a run while on the mound and exited with the bases loaded and no out — three more runners his responsibility as Garrett Whitlock trotted in to try and rescue things.
Crochet had been “worth the gamble,” NBC’s broadcasters agreed. It didn’t pay off, though.
Garrett Crochet Faces 4 Batters
The irony here is incredible: It looked like Crochet got the first batter he faced out.
He struck out Spencer Jones swinging. It should’ve been one up, one down.
But the ball got away from catcher Adley Rutschman, and on the dropped third strike, Jones could try and beat a throw to first.
Rutschman’s throw initially got Jones called out, but a replay review overturned it and called Jones safe.
So Crochet had a strikeout, but not an out.
Jones then stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by Rutschman.
That’s when George Lombard Jr. delivered an RBI single for a 3-1 Yankees lead.
After Lombard, Jazz Chisholm Jr. singled through the right side, and then Trent Grisham bunted for a single.
It wasn’t really a bunch of bad stuff done by Crochet by any means.
But after four batters, Crochet was out of the baseball game.
Adley Rutschman Troubles
Rutschman had never caught Crochet in a game before.
The Red Sox traded for Rutschman in the middle of the season, in a long stretch when Crochet was away from the mound with an injury.
Rutschman was a big gamble by the Red Sox to improve their catcher position, and in general, it has worked.
But it’s fair to wonder if his unfamiliarity with Crochet hurt him on his miscues while Crochet was on the mound.
Everything happens very fast, and so it’s not even to say Rutschman should’ve made the plays that were there for him. But it’s clear that he played a role in the inning being rough for Crochet.
And it was the kind of inning that might decide Boston’s season. Maybe they weren’t going to score again anyway, and if that was the case, they weren’t going to win anyway.
But when you add these Yankees runs, and in this manner against Crochet, it certainly made everything a bit tougher.
Red Sox’s Garrett Crochet Decision Backfires; Adley Rutschman Doesn’t Help