Red Sox recap: Slumping Triston Casas delivers walk-off winner defeating the White Sox extra innings

The Red Sox needed a big hit from Triston Casas, and the first baseman delivered in extra innings. After going hitless in three at-bats with a walk on Saturday afternoon, Casas came to the plate with the bases loaded in the 10th inning and tattooed the top of the Green Monster, giving the Red Sox a 4-3 win over the White Sox.

“I thought it was gonna get caught, but I thought it was deep enough for Breg (Alex Bregman) to tag,“ Casas said after the game. "That is what I was concerned about. The fact I got a hit, even better, but I barely even got that because K.C. (Kristian Campbell) was right next to the bag, and if they would have thrown to second base and got me a fielder’s choice, he would have heard from me."

With Bregman on second as the ghost runner, the White Sox intentionally walked Wilyer Abreu and Campbell set up the moment for Casas. The Sox first base dug into the batter's box in the 10th inning ready to face Mike Vasil, who had not allowed a run in 12 innings for the White Sox. 

Vasil threw a high first-pitch changeup that was called a ball. Ahead in the count quickly, Casas knew that the righty would throw a strike to avoid falling 2-0, and he cashed in on an 85.6 mph changeup over the heart of the plate for the game winner.

It was Casas’ first career walk-off hit, and it sent home the Fenway Faithful home happy, and Boston has now won four in a row.

“He doubled up on the changeup. Threw one high, then threw one a little lower,” Casas said. “Probably wasn’t in the spot he wanted to put it and made a mistake. I was able to capitalize. It felt good.

“There’s infielders close enough that a hard ground ball might get through, too. I was just looking for that hard contact somewhere. Thankfully, the pitch location allowed for the elevation to happen naturally. I didn’t have to force it. The likelihood of a run scoring on a fly ball to the outfield is a lot better than finding a hole with a ground ball. 

"I just let the pitch dictate it.”

Casas has gotten off to an atrocious start offensively, entering Saturday’s game with Chicago with a homer and three RBI in 21 games.

"He has been actually swinging the bat well, more aggressive with more conviction,“ said Alex Cora.

"He took a walk today, which is important. In that situation, just put the ball in play. He has that (the Green Monster) that way. He did a good job staying with the pitch and got the W."

WHY THE SOX ENDED UP IN EXTRA INNINGS

In his last outing, Garrett Crochet flirted with throwing a no-hitter against his former team. Crochet wasn’t as dominant as he was in last weekend’s game with the ChiSox, with his command shaky through his outing. Crochet still tossed six shutout innings, striking out seven while giving up just four hits and two walks. He retired 18 of his 24 batters faced in the outing.

Crochet owns an impressive 1.13 ERA with 35 strikeouts over 32 innings this season. He became the seventh Red Sox pitcher in the Live Ball era to record a 1.13 ERA or lower in his first five starts with the Sox.

The lefty threw 96 pitches, the same amount he threw last week in Chicago, getting a no-decision due to a rough inning from Greg Weissert and an error from Trevor Story that could have easily gone to Casas.

Weissert came in relief and quickly got the first out of the inning, a ground ball back to the mound off the bat of catcher Edgar Quero. He walked Joshua Palacios on five pitches, which set up a sequence of events that spoiled Crochet’s outing.

Nick Maton hit a bouncer to first, where Casas fielded it cleanly and tagged the bag to get the out, and then threw down to second, attempting a double play. Instead of throwing to the inside part of the bag, he threw to the outside, Story tried to make the catch and tag the runner at the same time. The ball would come out of his glove as he tried to tag Palacios, and the official scorer ruled the play an error and charged it to Story.

Chase Meidroth singled to score Palacios, and White Sox slugger Luis Robert Jr. followed with a two-run homer into the Monster seats to tie it.

The Red Sox have committed 23 errors this season, which is the most in Major League Baseball.

CROCHET’S REACTION TO OUTING

Crochet wasn’t happy with his outing on Saturday, citing that he needs to make better adjustments.

“Bad counts,” said Crochet. “I need to get back to throwing through the target instead of to the target. That’s probably my third time saying that this year, so it sucks that I haven’t made that adjustment yet. It’s easy for me to find the adjustment in my tempo in mid-week bullpens; when the game happens, things speed up a little bit.

“But I feel like I was able to find it again in the sixth and get a shutdown inning, which was huge.”

Since the start of the season, Crochet has been critical of his performances on the mound. Even though he shut out the White Sox over six innings, he expects to have his “best stuff every time out.”

His pitch count haunted him early in the game, resulting in him throwing 85 pitches through five innings. Crochet threw an efficient 11-pitch sixth inning, but Cora wasn’t going to let his ace go out for the seventh at 96 pitches.

“I think I said in the spring: last year, six innings was the goal; this year it’s the floor,” he said. “I want to be going seven every time out, similar to my last outing. It’s my job as a starter. It’s the bullpen’s job as well to eat innings, but I’d rather not make them have to eat three innings or go into extras like this.

“That leads to the team digging a hole, and with the role that I’m trying to carry on this team, I need to be someone that’s more efficient and going deeper into games.”

BULLPEN REBOUNDED

Following Weissert's challenging seventh inning, Cora turned to Justin Slaten in the eighth inning, and he dominated. He retired the White Sox in order and has sat down 18 of the last 19 hitters he’s faced.

Aroldis Chapman pitched the ninth inning and completely overmatched the White Sox lineup, topping out at 102.3 mph in the frame. Chapman threw 12 pitches; eight were fastballs, and five of them were over 100 mph.

His 102.3 mph heater was blown past Meidroth, and according to the team, it was the fastest pitch by a Red Sox pitcher in the Statcast era.

Garrett Whitlock held the White Sox scoreless in the 10th thanks to two strikeouts and an impressive running catch by Abreu in right field to end the inning.

BAD BASE RUNNING

Carlos Narvaez led off the ninth inning with a high line drive off the Green Monster, giving the Red Sox a great opportunity to win it.

Narvaez was held to a loud single, but thanks to an errant throw, the Sox catcher was able to advance to second base, setting up a runner in scoring position.

Cora went to his bench, calling on David Hamilton to pinch-run at second with no outs. Ceddanne Rafaela hit a chopper back to the pitcher, Jordan Leasure, who quickly turned to third base and gunned down Hamilton, who was running on contact.

Boston again had a chance to win the game in the ninth after Rafaela advanced to second on a wild pitch, but Alex Bregman struck out to send the game to extra innings.

DEVERS GOES DEEP

Boston’s offense had been silent up to that point following the three-run homer off the bat of Rafael Devers that struck the top of a sign on the Green Monster in the fifth. The blast was Devers’ second of the season, both coming at home, and his first since homering against the Cardinals.

In nine home games, Devers is batting .400 with a 1.190 OPS, going 14-for-35 with nine runs, five doubles, two homers, 10 RBI, and six walks.

RED SOX NOTABLES

White Sox starter Shane Smith drilled a pitch into Rafaela's hand in the second inning. The Sox outfielder would slam his bat down in frustration, crouching down for several minutes, but he would remain in the game. If Rafaela had come out of the game, it would have caused speculation to run wild over a potential promotion for Roman Anthony.

Rafaela appears to be emerging from his slump at the plate. He doubled in the fifth inning one day after hammering his first home run of the season.

Campbell was on base three times; he went 1-for-3 with two walks.

With the win, the Red Sox have also won five of the last six games following a 1-5 stretch. The Sox also improved to 6-3 at home, compared to 6-7 on the road; they’ve won six of their first nine home games for the first time since 2018 (eight wins).

The series will continue on Easter Sunday with Tanner Houck (0-2, 9.16). Both Houck and the Red Sox hope he can erase his dreadful last start, where he was embarrassed by the Rays, allowing 12 runs in just 2 1/3 innings. He will be opposed by Massachusetts native Sean Burke (1-3, 7.56 ERA).