The Red Sox finished the sweep and returned to over.500 for the first time since June 22 with a 6-4 victory against the Washington Nationals on Sunday afternoon, despite the fact that it was neither tidy nor attractive.
The Nationals equaled their visitors in hits (12) and had at least one base runner in each inning during the nearly three-hour grind, but they only finished 4 for 11 with runners in scoring position and left 15 men on base.
Garrett Crochet wasn’t at his best on Sunday; he had too many pitches outside the zone, not enough swing-and-miss, fell behind in the count, and had more over 50 pitches before recording an out in the third. This might have been caused in part by the brief rain delay in the top of the second.
According to manager Alex Cora, he grinded. They bent but did not shatter in the bullpen.
Less than an hour after the Sox completed their sweep, Crochet was selected an All-Star. Despite giving up two earned runs on nine hits, walking two, and striking out seven, he managed to win his ninth game of the season (9-4).
For a brief minute, it appeared if Crochet’s season-long streak of pitching at least five innings in each start was coming to an end since the third was so risky. Amed Rosario singled first, then Paul DeJong’s RBI double with one out gave Washington the lead. Back-to-back singles from Josh Bell and Brady House followed, the latter of which brought DeJong home. Riley Adams was looking for the second out when Crochet got him to strike out, but a wild pitch put House on second base before Jacob Young grounded out to cut down the damage.
However, the Sox southpaw accomplished something that only three other players in the team’s history have ever done in the fourth inning. He became the fourth Red Sox pitcher to hit the milestone prior to the All-Star break with his 150th strikeout of the season. The others are Pedro Martinez (99, 01), Chris Sale (17, 18, 19), and Roger Clemens (1988).
Last season, was he the only major league pitcher to do so? Make a crochet.
Crochet did a great job, back out for the fifth. Since Sale in 2017, he is the only Red Sox pitcher to start 19 straight games with five or more innings pitched. Before the All-Star break, the two former White Sox pitchers were the only Red Sox pitchers to make 19 or more starts, strike out at least 150 men, and record an ERA of 2.40 or better (Sale, 2018).
When the Boston bats produced a seven-run inning in back-to-back games in the series, they weren’t exactly the offensive powerhouse they had been. On Friday and Saturday, they scored seven or more runs in a single inning back-to-back for the first time since May 2019.
The Red Sox took an early 4-0 lead against left-hander Shinnosuke Ogasawara in his Major League Baseball debut. Nate Eaton swiped second after leading off with a line-drive single to right. Rob Refsnyder hit a line-drive double to bring the rookie outfielder home after he scored on Roman Anthony’s one-out single.
The huge knock came from Trevor Story, as is so often these days. At 108 mph, his 14th home run of the year flew 429 feet out of Nationals Park. He was 15 for his final 29 after that. He is hitting.469 with a 1.375 OPS, four doubles, three home runs, and twelve RBI during an eight-game hitting streak.
“Man,” Cora exclaimed, “I’m proud of him.” Over the past few years, he has experienced a great deal.
With at least eight more runs than any other American League team, the Red Sox have amassed an MLB-high 70 first-inning runs.
Boston didn’t score again until the seventh inning, though, when Romy Gonzalez’s sac fly scored an additional run, in contrast to the previous two games played in Washington. Despite having chances, they left seven men on base and went just two out of seven with runners in scoring position.
The Boston bullpen pitched in and out of difficulty, just like Crochet. Things fell apart in the seventh inning, but Garrett Whitlock managed to finish a four-batter sixth inning by working around a two-out hit-by-pitch to rookie sensation James Wood. Justin Wilson, a seasoned left-hander, recorded two flyouts but also left Josh Bell (one-out single) and Nathaniel Lowe (leadoff walk) behind.
Greg Weissert walked pinch-hitter Luis Garcia Jr. to force in a run and Adams to load the diamond with two on and two out; the Red Sox lead the MLB in bases-loaded walks with 11.
Boston’s second bases-loaded escape of the afternoon came when Weissert got centerfielder Alex Call to pop-out on a 3-1 four-seamer.
There was a chess match at the top of the eighth. Righty Mason Thompson, making his first appearance since 2023, let up a double to Jarren Duran after recording two fast outs. Thompson purposefully walked Abraham Toro to put two on for Connor Wong, who went into Sunday 0-for-25 with one RBI in 29 plate appearances with runners in scoring position. Thompson was obviously aware of Wong’s difficulties at the plate.
In response, Cora gave Wilyer Abreu a pinch hit.
In response, left-hander Andrew Chafin was called in from the bullpen by Nats manager Davey Martinez.
With Wong out of the game, Cora turned to Carlos Narv oz, whom he had to capture nonetheless. Chafin got the youngster swinging on three consecutive pitches to end the inning after throwing a first-pitch ball.
However, Washington’s victory was fleeting. Chafin faced the fiery Ceddanne Rafaela, who started Sunday batting, after Aroldis Chapman pitched a scoreless eighth.306 with a.927 OPS, having already had two hits in the game, and having hit 11 doubles, eight home runs, 19 runs, and 18 RBI in his last 34 games (since May 27).
Rafaela’s opening home run, which he launched 407 feet at 109.7 mph to left-center, was his third hit of the day.
According to Cora, Trevor is currently the league’s greatest offensive shortstop since that Milwaukee series. And Ceddanne, who is arguably the league’s top offensive centerfielder.
Jordan Hicks failed to pitch a clean bottom of the ninth, but Rafaela’s bomb kept the game from getting too close. Like the bottom of the second, House advanced on a wild pitch after drawing a one-out walk. Before Hicks finally got pinch hitter CJ Abrams to fly out, Daylen Lile’s RBI single brought the Nationals within two runs once more.
“We’re performing well,” Cora stated.
To complete the first half, the Red Sox head back to Fenway Park. After hosting the Colorado Rockies for three games (Monday through Wednesday), they will play the Tampa Bay Rays for a long weekend of four games.
The All-Star break, the trade deadline, and everything else follow.
