Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet outduels flamethrowing Jacob Misiorowski as Boston snaps losing streak

It was a cold night at Fenway Park, but that didn’t stop Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet and Brewers flamethrower Jacob Misiorowski from bringing the heat all night long.

The Fenway Faithful were treated to a premier pitching matchup that lived up to the billing, featuring two of the game’s most electric young arms. In the end, it was Crochet who outdueled Misiorowski, as Boston snapped its three-game losing streak with a 3-2 win.

Misiorowski came out overpowering, striking out the first five Red Sox hitters he faced to open the game.

In the first inning, Roman Anthony and Jarren Duran had no answer for his triple-digit velocity. Misiorowski kept Anthony off balance with a sharp curveball for the punchout, then blew Duran away with a 101 mph four-seamer. He threw four fastballs to Duran in the at-bat, all of them over 100 mph. The righty threw 11 pitches in the first inning that was over 100 mph. 

Willson Contreras, Wilyer Abreu, and Trevor Story followed as strikeout victims, as Misiorowski carved through the lineup to set the tone early. 

The second time through the order, Misiorowski retired Anthony and Duran before Contreras sliced a base hit into right field, Boston’s first hit of the night against the hard-throwing righty.

With a full count against Abreu, Misiorowski dotted the zone for a called third strike. Abreu challenged the call, but the ABS upheld it, costing the Red Sox a challenge.

Boston threatened in the fifth when Ceddanne Rafaela singled to left with two outs. Connor Wong was then hit by an 83.3 mph curveball, putting runners on first and second, but Kiner-Falefa couldn’t come through, grounding out to David Hamilton at second to end the inning.

The hard-throwing righty carved through Boston’s lineup before running into trouble in the sixth, as his pitch count climbed and his command wavered. He finished with 10 strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings, allowing two hits, three earned runs, and four walks while generating 16 swings and misses.

As the strikeouts piled up for Misiorowski, so did his pitch count. The right-hander issued a one-out walk to Duran in the sixth, prompting movement in the Brewers’ bullpen. Contreras, who has long had a bone to pick with Milwaukee after being hit 24 times in 131 career games, followed with a four-pitch walk, reaching base for the second time.

Pat Murphy stuck with his young ace, but Misiorowski lost the zone, walking Abreu on five pitches to load the bases. That was the end of his night.

Milwaukee turned to left-hander DL Hall with the bases juiced to face Story, who entered coming off a two-RBI performance in the series opener. Story wasted no time, ripping a changeup down the left-field line for a two-run double, giving Boston a 2-0 lead.

Crochet was solid, but largely overshadowed by Misiorowski’s electric Fenway Park debut. The Red Sox ace opened the game by striking out Brandon Lockridge swinging on a 91.2 mph cutter, then set the Brewers down in order in the first, aided by a lunging play at third base from Isiah Kiner-Falefa.

Milwaukee scratched across pressure in the third with a bit of small ball. Blake Perkins led off with a base hit to center, then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from David Hamilton. Perkins later advanced to third on a Crochet wild pitch, but the left-hander locked back in, punching out Willson Contreras to end the inning and escape the jam.

To open the fourth, Crochet issued a one-out walk to Gary Sánchez before Joey Ortiz chopped a grounder to Story. The Red Sox looked to turn two, but after Story flipped to Marcelo Mayer, he missed the bag at second. The call was overturned on review, and Mayer was charged with an error.

With runners on first and second and one out, Crochet regrouped. He got Brewers outfielder Luis Matos to roll into a 6-4-3 double play, erasing the threat and keeping the game scoreless.

In the sixth, with two outs and a runner on first, Crochet snapped off a nasty 83.4 mph sweeper down and away that was called strike three. Sánchez tapped his helmet to challenge, but the call stood, giving Crochet his sixth strikeout of the night.

With the lefty still on the mound, Alex Cora countered by sending up Caleb Durbin to pinch-hit for Mayer. Durbin put the ball in play, grounding out to second, but it was enough to bring home another run and extend the lead to 3-0.

It marked the third straight game in which the Red Sox jumped out to a lead of three runs or more. 

Working with a three-run lead, Crochet returned for the seventh but wasn’t as