While Garrett Crochet didn’t flirt with a no-hitter against his former team this time around, the lefty managed to make history once again.
Crochet tossed 6.0 scoreless innings for the Boston Red Sox on Saturday, limiting the Chicago White Sox to just four hits. He racked up seven strikeouts and issued just two walks in his team’s eventual 4-3 extra-inning win.
Through five starts this season, Crochet is 2-1 with a 1.13 ERA, 0.906 WHIP and 9.8 strikeouts per nine innings. That kind of production matches the high expectations attached to the 25-year-old, who inked a $170 million extension with Boston in March after they pried him away from the White Sox in December.
According to J.P. Long, Crochet’s ERA is the third-lowest by a pitcher in their first five games as a member of the Red Sox in the live ball era, minimum 30.0 innings.
The record still belongs to Dave Ferris, who had a 0.60 ERA through his first five outings of the 1945 season. Tim Wakefield is the only other pitcher above Crochet on the list, posting a 1.12 ERA upon joining the Red Sox in 1995.
Crochet is now one spot ahead of Chris Sale, another ace who Boston picked up in a blockbuster trade with Chicago. His ERA through five starts in a Red Sox uniform was 1.19.
Crochet set the stage for the Red Sox to win their fourth game in a row. They can make it five and clinch their series with the White Sox by notching another victory Sunday.
First pitch for that contest is on the books for 1:35 p.m. ET. Tanner Houck will be on the mound for Boston.
