Garrett Crochet hurls eight shutout innings, Rafael Devers snaps out of slump in the Red Sox win over Orioles

An early off-day on the Red Sox schedule provided a much-needed reset for a team that has been scuffling since their 5-2 win over the Rangers on Opening Day. For the first time in a long time, the Red Sox had an ace on the mound who put his team on his back and delivered.

Crochet performed exceptionally well, striking out eight and walking one in eight scoreless frames. The lefty threw 68 of his 102 pitches for strikes, and he generated 14 swing-and-misses. His dominant performance is just one day removed from signing a six-year, $170 million deal to remain with the Red Sox through 2032. Facing the prospect of five consecutive losses, the Sox deployed their newly extended ace, Garrett Crochet, as the stopper to help break their losing streak. 

“That’s the reason he’s here, that’s the reason why we committed to him,‘’ said Alex Cora following the Red Sox’ 3-0 win over the Orioles in Charm City. “Like I told him after the Texas [start], ‘I have to take care of you so you can take care of us.’ A little bit aggressive for me, so early, but the pitch count was in check and his stuff was so good, so he’s the guy that we wanted out there.”

Crochet featured his fastball during his outing, averaging 96.2 mph and topping out at 98.1 mph, according to Baseball Savant. He also mixed in 30 cutters, 11 changeups, six sinkers, and four sweepers. On Opening Day, Crochet was cutter heavy, throwing 43, topping out at 94.2 mph.

“He’s a complete pitcher; he’s not just a thrower,’" Cora said. “He’s a big guy; we know that. He has a presence out there, but he knows how to pitch.”

Wednesday night marked the first time Crochet worked into the eighth inning in his career. Prior to this season, he had only worked into the seventh inning three times, most recently last summer on June 30. The 25-year-old had never pitched more than 7 innings in any other 33 big league starts before Wednesday.

“My first start in college I went eight and I haven’t sniffed it since,” Crochet said. “So it’s funny. But yeah, it felt really good.” 

Cora called the move to have his ace pitch into the eighth inning “aggressive.”

“It was easy,” Cora said.

"YOU COULD SMELL IT"

Crochet celebrated his new extension by dominating the Orioles lineup over eight innings.

“I know that I’ve got good stuff. Not in an arrogant way,” Crochet said after the game. “It’s just I’ve got a lot of trust in it.”

The 6-foot-6 lefty had set an Opening Day deadline to get an extension completed with the Red Sox. The two parties failed to get a deal done but remained in contact to try and reach an agreement that worked for both sides.

Crochet said a deal was so close with the Red Sox that “you could smell it.”

“Going back to when the trade went through, we knew Boston was a place where we would love to be long-term,” Crochet said. “Credit to the front office for staying diligent and my agency as well. There was really good dialogue leading up to Opening Day, which kind of led us to the point where we felt like pushing past the deadline was the right call.”

With his new deal in the books, Crochet can now just focus on pitching and get wins, leading the Red Sox rotation.

“In college you’re playing to get drafted,” Crochet said. “And once you’re in the big leagues, you’re playing to stay in the big leagues. So to have the security ... I’m playing to truly just win ball games.”

DEVERS SNAPS HITLESS STREAK

It finally happened: Rafael Devers snapped his 0-for-19 hitless streak with 15 strikeouts.

The Sox’ slumping slugger came into Wednesday night’s game owning a .375 batting average (6-for-16) against Zach Eflin with two homers and five strikeouts. After going 0-for-2 to start the game, Devers had a chance to deliver with Ceddanne Rafaela in scoring position. He connected on a thigh-high curveball from Eflin, dumping it into the right field corner for an RBI double.

“Whew, we all needed that one,’ Cora said. “The at-bats are getting better. He walked twice the other day. The foul ball he hit — that one caught my attention. He put some good swings on it. Got a breaking ball in the zone, put a good swing, and then the line drive we’ve been looking for in five days. … Hit it hard and did an outstanding job.”

Devers would get to second and immediately took a deep breath and had a huge smile on his face. With one swing of the bat, he erased a historically disastrous start to the 2025 season. His first hit of the season gave the Sox a 3-0 lead.

The Red Sox’ fans on hand at Camden Yards gave Devers a standing ovation following his first hit.

“I enjoy it a lot,” Devers said. “It makes me happy, seeing that reaction, because that makes me see that they’re paying attention to my at-bat and they’re supporting me. And it makes me feel very, very happy about that.”

He would later add single-off lefty reliever Gregory Soto in the eighth to finish the night 2-for-4.

“I always felt comfortable,” Devers told reporters through Red Sox translator Carlos Villoria-Benítez. “I never pressured myself or anything like that. Obviously, things weren’t going my way, and things were bigger than they really were, so for me, it was just to stay simple. I know the type of hitter that I am, and everything was going to be normal sooner rather than later.”

CAMPBELL REMAINS HOT

Fresh off an extension of his own, Red Sox rookie Kristian Campbell doubled in his first two at-bats, both sent to the opposite field in right. He would later score off Rafaela’s RBI single into center field, which made the game 2-0.

Prior to the game, the Red Sox announced they signed Campbell to an eight-year, $60 million contract extension that will also include two options that could keep him in Boston for 10 years.

 “It definitely is crazy,” Campbell said about the past year. “It is fast ... but it’s a good thing. My family’s super excited. I’m super excited to be here. And like I said, they developed me. They turned me into what it is. They put their trust in me and developed me and helped me become a great player. And yeah, so as long as I continue to work hard, everything should be fine."

THE TORPEDO BAT MAKES AN APPEARANCE

Alex Bregman posted a picture of a torpedo bat on his Instagram story Tuesday night, teasing that he could use the popular bat that everyone is talking about around the game.

“Maybe. We’ll see,” Bregman said. “It depends on how the BP goes. We’ll see."

Bregman went 1-for-4 with a single, not giving much credit to his new bat for his lone hit in the game.

“I don’t really think it’s the bat. It’s not like anybody using it [is going to hit homers]. It’s the guy,” said Bregman.

Torpedo bats have been the talk of baseball since the Yankees’ offensive outburst, crushing the Brewers 20-9 on Sunday, largely in part to a franchise-record nine-homer performance.

The bats differ from traditional models due to their torpedo shape, which comes from redistributing their weight so that the most dense part, or the “sweet spot,” is closer to the handle. Major League Baseball has said the bats are completely within the game’s rules.

RED SOX NOTABLES

Trevor Story who was off to a slow start this season entered Wednesday just 2-for-15 with one walk, six strikeouts and no extra-base hits. He opened the scoring with a 394-foot homer in the second inning and finished the night 3-for-4. 

Rafaela delivered a two-out RBI single in the fifth that scored Campbell. It made the game 2-0 at the time, and it snapped a 1-for-15 streak at the plate for the young hitter.

Aroldis Chapman earned his first save in a Red Sox uniform. He pitched a scoreless eighth in his Red Sox debut last Thursday on Opening Day in Texas, where he gave up a hit and struck out one. The veteran closer now has at least one save for each of the seven big league clubs he’s played for over the course of his 16-year Major League career.

Out of the leadoff position, Jarren Duran went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts. After Orioles' Soto walked three batters, Duran had an opportunity to break the game wide open with one out and the bases loaded in the ninth. He wound up hitting into an inning-ending double play.

LUCAS GIOLITO REHAB

Lucas Giolito made his first rehab start, pitching 2 1/3 scoreless innings for the WooSox on Wednesday night in Jacksonville.

Giolito averaged 93.2 mph with his 26 four-seam fastballs and topped out at 94.7 mph. He also threw 13 changeups, 11 sliders, and one curveball, according to Baseball Savant.

The Sox placed the righty on the IL at the end of spring training with a left hamstring strain. Cora did not say whether or not Giolito would need another rehab start before joining the Red Sox. 

Once he’s activated, the Red Sox could send Cooper Criswell back to the WooSox and use left-hander Sean Newcomb out of the bullpen, or they could try and send him to the minors; however, the southpaw is out of minor league options and would need to clear waivers.

BRAYAN BELLO'S ROUGH REHAB OUTING

Red Sox starter Brayan Bello began his rehab assignment with the WooSox on the road in Jacksonville on Tuesday night. The righty looked excellent to begin the game, tossing two scoreless innings with a walk and one hit and then the wheels came off, quick. 

Bello went out for the third inning, giving up a leadoff single to left to Ronny Simon. He would advance to second following a groundout and then the flood gates opened. Jumbo Shrimps’ Agustin Ramírez hit a sharp double into center field scoring Simon, followed by Maximo Acosta single and a Deyvison Los Santos walk. 

WooSox manager Chad Tracy would remove Bello from the game and replaced him with Hunter Dobbins who promptly gave up a grand slam to Heriberto Hernandez, leading to a five run third inning. 

In total, Bello allowed four runs on four hits with two walks while striking out five in the WooSox’ 10-5 loss to Jacksonville. His fastball topped out at 97.3 mph, throwing 68.1 % of his pitches for strikes (47 pitches, 32 strikes). 

Bello was shutdown at the beginning of camp due to right shoulder soreness. He will make a second rehab start on Sunday afternoon, in the series finale from Jacksonville. 

Dobbins tossed 3 2/3 innings off relief for Bello, giving up five runs off three hits, all three hits were homers, while walking three and striking out two batters. The hard-throwing right-handed hurler hit 98 mph twice in his outing on Tuesday night and 99.3 and 99.4 mph. 

It looks as if Bello will get three rehab outings before potentially rejoining the Sox' rotation. 

“We’ll talk about it, but I don’t think it’s next week,” Cora said about when Bello might be activated from the IL.