The Boston Red Sox offense woke up Monday to help salvage their four-game series against the Detroit Tigers with an 8-6 victory.
Boston mustered only four runs across the first three games of the series. Left-hander Ranger Suarez carried the load in Friday’s 1-0 win with eight scoreless innings, but Brayan Bello and Garrett Crochet failed to make up for the lack of offense in Games 2 and 3. The Red Sox finally broke through with timely hitting — despite a glaring lack of power — in the series finale.
Now 9-13 on the season, the Red Sox will welcome the first-place New York Yankees (13-9) to Fenway Park for a pivotal three-game set. First, let’s get into our instant takeaways from the series split with Detroit:
Garrett Crochet’s struggles continue
After allowing 11 runs (10 earned) in just 1.2 IP in a nightmare start vs. the Minnesota Twins, Crochet had another rough outing against Detroit. The left-handed ace allowed five earned runs on seven hits, including two homers, in his third loss of the season. His ERA climbed to 7.88, effectively killing his American League Cy Young hopes after his runner-up finish last year.
Michael Holley, Chris Gasper and Tom Giles react to Garrett Crochet’s brutal start against the Twins in the Red Sox 13-6 loss.
A disastrous fifth inning spoiled what appeared to be a bounce-back start for Crochet on Sunday. He let up a Jahmai Jones solo homer before walking Gleyber Torres, allowing a single to Matt Vierling, and giving up a three-run homer to Dillon Dingler.
“Last one, it was so bad that you can’t really even have any emotion about it,” Crochet said after Sunday’s 6-2 loss, via The Boston Globe. “This one, I felt like I was just dominating until I wasn’t.”
The good news is Crochet is fully healthy. His velocity returned to normal on Sunday as his 35 fastballs averaged 95.8 mph, up from his 94.9 mph on 13 fastballs in Minnesota. He’ll hope to rebound when Boston heads to Baltimore after its three-game series against the Yankees at Fenway Park.
Ranger Suarez has returned to form
Suarez has settled in after struggling through spring training, the World Baseball Classic, and his first two starts of the campaign. After tossing six scoreless innings against the St. Louis Cardinals, Boston’s prized offseason acquisition didn’t allow a run in eight innings of work vs. Detroit.
With Crochet going through a rough patch, the Red Sox needed Suarez to step up and perform like the No. 2 starter he was expected to be when he signed a five-year, $130 million deal in free agency. He has done just that in his last two starts, and he’ll be counted on to continue that trend when he takes the hill against the Yankees on Wednesday.
Still no pop in the lineup
The Red Sox hit just one homer — a solo shot by Willson Contreras — in the four-game series against Detroit. They’re tied with the San Francisco Giants for the fewest homers (13) in MLB.
This was the expected consequence of failing to add another slugger to the lineup over the winter. Contreras, their lone significant offensive addition, leads the group with four homers this season. Wilyer Abreu (three) and Trevor Story (two) are the only other Sox hitters with more than one homer thus far.
Ceddanne Rafaela stepping up
Rafaela was the hero in the series finale, coming through with a pinch-hit two-run single to put the Red Sox ahead in the seventh inning. It was a nice piece of hitting as he poked an 0-2 pitch down the right field line.
Rafaela has quietly been one of Boston’s most consistent bats. He ranks second among qualified Red Sox hitters in batting average (.286) and on-base percentage (.366), and third in OPS (.747).
It might be Payton Tolle time
Red Sox right-hander Sonny Gray exited Monday’s start in the third inning due to right hamstring tightness. Manager Alex Cora stated after the game that the veteran will undergo an MRI on Tuesday to determine the severity of the injury, but it isn’t expected to be serious.
Even if it’s a minor issue, Gray could miss at least one start. That may open the door for top Red Sox prospect Payton Tolle to rejoin the rotation. The hard-throwing left-hander already joined the club after being scratched from his scheduled Triple-A start on Saturday, in case a weather postponement forced Boston to play a doubleheader on Monday.
It’s unclear how Tolle would fit into the Red Sox’ plans once Gray returns (if he’s even placed on the IL), but he has to be considered the clear frontrunner to replace Gray for a spot start if necessary.
