Red Sox quickly downplay health concerns after Garrett Crochet gets rocked by Twins

For the Red Sox, it’s been one step forward, two steps back.

Boston entered Monday night’s series opener in Minnesota riding a two-game win streak, sitting three games under .500 with a chance to build momentum behind ace Garrett Crochet.

Then came the bottom of the first. The wheels came off quickly as Minnesota pounced on Crochet, who struggled to locate his pitches while showing a noticeable dip in velocity.

Crochet retired Twins leadoff hitter Byron Buxton on a flyout to center, but things quickly unraveled from there. The left-hander needed 31 pitches to get through the first inning, surrendering four runs and putting Boston in an early 4-0 hole.

The second inning wasn’t any better. Crochet loaded the bases, and the Twins made him pay, spraying hits around Target Field and launching two balls into the seats. His nightmare outing mercifully came to an end soon after.

"As a manager, it's hard to watch. It was kind of like, OK, when are we going to take him out, you know?" Alex Cora said. "At the same time, you still have to cover innings and keep the bullpen quote-unquote fresh, knowing that there's two more games in the series."

The American League Cy Young runner-up allowed 11 runs while recording just five outs. He threw 55 pitches, only 30 for strikes, and saw his ERA balloon to 7.58.

“It’s tough. I guess, I don’t really have anything to say,” Crochet said.

Boston’s offense tried to mount a comeback, but it wasn’t enough; the Twins capitalized early and often, defeating the Red Sox 13-6. In the process, the Sox dropped to 6-10 on the season. 

What went wrong? 

“The stuff was down,” said Cora. “That's the reality of it. But they've been doing that to a lot of lefties lately. Like I said before the game, [Tarik] Skubal and Framber [Valdez], plus two lefties in Toronto, and now Garrett.”

The Twins have been scoring in bunches to open the season, ranking second in the American League with 92 runs.

Minnesota has consistently handled left-handed pitching early this season, something Cora alluded to postgame.

They've now faced 10 left-handed starters and have done damage against several top arms. Valdez allowed eight earned runs on 10 hits over five innings with just two strikeouts. The Twins also got to reigning AL Cy Young winner in Skubal in that same series, tagging him for four runs on eight hits in 4 2/3 innings.

Prior to facing Boston, Minnesota knocked around Patrick Corbin for four runs on six hits in four innings and followed that up by scoring seven earned runs against Eric Lauer over 5 1/3 frames.

It’s a trend and one that showed up again Monday night.

Crochet’s underlying metrics reflected the struggles. His 13 four-seam fastballs averaged 94.9 mph, down from his 96.1 mph season average, and the spin rates across his arsenal dipped as well. His cutter, for example, averaged