Red Sox’s Garrett Crochet Downplays Dominance Vs. Aaron Judge

Boston Red Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet didn’t have his typically dominant kind of outing on Saturday, but he did throw the ball well.

Crochet struck out nine batters in a series-tying victory over the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium, but watched five runs to cross the plate as he allowed a handful of pitches to hurt him. It’s weird, though, because in atypical fashion, the offense showed up and helped him earn a win in what was statistically his worst start of the season.

Even weirder?

Crochet really only looked his best when facing off against Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, who he struck out three separate times.

Judge had two such performances against a single starter thus far this season, with the San Diego Padres’ Dylan Cease and the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Zac Gallen accomplishing the feat. Crochet, despite becoming the third, downplayed the whole thing.

“It felt good,” Crochet said, per Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic. “The time is going to come. I face him again next Friday (in Boston), I believe, so I’ve got to do it again. That’s the great thing about this game. Just had his number today, that’s all.”

Red Sox manager Alex Cora had a different outlook on the night, totally separate of the individual matchups.

“He gave us what we needed — forget the line,” Cora said. “There were some plays defensively that we didn’t make that put him in a bad spot. We needed six (innings), regardless. We’ll take it.”

Crochet clearly didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, though. The Red Sox still have to go out and win the series, and for the man himself, there’s another date with the reigning American League MVP on the docket.