Red Sox drop series to the Blue Jays as Garrett Crochet injury adds concern

The Red Sox closed out their three-game series against the Blue Jays with a 7-1 loss on Wednesday afternoon, dropping the final two games.

After taking the opener in Toronto, Boston lost the next two to finish the road trip at 3-3 and fall to 12-19 on the season, firmly in last place in the American League East.

Brayan Bello was hit hard, allowing four earned runs on six hits while walking two and striking out four.

The losses were compounded by more bad news, as the Red Sox placed left-handed ace Garrett Crochet on the 15-day injured list with left shoulder inflammation, retroactive to April 26.

The Crochet injury is just another ugly chapter in a season already defined by turmoil, including the firing of Alex Cora and five members of his coaching staff over the weekend.

Bello, meanwhile, has struggled on the mound dating back to spring training. Entering the finale with a 9.00 ERA, he saw it climb to 9.12 after failing to contain the Blue Jays lineup. The right-hander was visibly upset, shaking his head about coming out of the game in the fourth inning after throwing 63 pitches, but interim manager Chad Tracy had seen enough.

“Most pitchers I know don’t like to come out in the fourth inning, so that’s OK,” Tracy said of Bello’s reaction. Asked if he’d addressed it, Tracy answered, “not yet.”

“Brayan knows, like when the manager comes, that’s it,” Tracy added, “but again, he doesn’t want to come out of the game, and I expect that with a pitcher.”

So far this season, Bello has allowed 26 earned runs on 43 hits with 15 walks over 25 2/3 innings, while striking out 25. Opposing hitters are batting .374 against him, the worst mark among pitchers with more than 10 innings pitched.

“Obviously I was upset,” Bello said via the team translator. “I haven’t been able to pitch well in the past few. I haven’t been able to pitch deep into games.”

Bello clarified that his reaction wasn’t targeted at Tracy. “I was very upset with myself,” the righty said.

The Red Sox rotation has been a major factor in the team’s last-place standing, posting a 4.85 ERA while allowing 85 runs over 156 innings.

“The weird thing was, I felt like the first three innings our at-bats were awesome, we hit like, eight or nine balls really hard for outs,” Tracy said. “We had some opportunities … but we didn’t cash in those spots.”

Willson Contreras gave Boston an early 1-0 lead with a solo homer in the first, his seventh of the season. After that, the Blue Jays teed off on Bello.

In the third inning, after striking out Andrés Giménez to open the frame, Bello allowed a single to Brandon Valenzuela, followed by another from Jesús Sánchez and a base hit by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to load the bases. With nowhere to put him, Kazuma Okamoto delivered, ripping a two-run single down the left-field line at 108.2 mph to give Toronto the lead.

Okamoto has been red-hot, with three homers and 10 RBI over his last 10 games.

Following a wild pitch, Bello walked Daulton Varsho and then surrendered an RBI single to Yohendrick Pinango, extending Toronto’s lead to 3-1.

One highlight from the Sox' loss came on that Pinango single, Roman Anthony threw the runner out at the plate, trying to tack on another run. 

After recording two groundouts in the fourth inning, Bello walked Valenzuela, prompting a call to the bullpen for Greg Weissert. The right-hander didn’t stop the damage, surrendering a two-run homer to Ernie Clement. Weissert has now allowed four home runs in 12 1/3 innings this season after giving up six in 67 innings last year.

Boston had a chance to climb back into the game in the fifth, loading the bases with one out while trailing 5-1. But Contreras lined into a double play, with shortstop Giménez quickly doubling off Caleb Durbin at second.

The Red Sox threatened again in the eighth, loading the bases with one out down 7-1, but couldn’t capitalize. Jarren Duran struck out swinging, and Connor Wong grounded out to end the inning.

With an off day on Thursday, Boston will regroup before returning home Friday to open a three-game series against the Astros. With Crochet on the injured list, left-hander Jake Bennett is expected to be promoted to make the start.

Bennett was scratched from his scheduled outing for Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday.

“Obviously, with him not pitching, he’s an option, but we’re going to talk about it after the game going in tomorrow and decide what we’re going to do there,” Tracy said before Wednesday’s game against the Blue Jays. “So we have not decided yet.”

Bennett owns a 0.86 ERA through five starts at Worcester, allowing two earned runs on 12 hits with three walks while striking out 16 over 21 innings.

He features a six-pitch mix. four-seam and two-seam fastballs, a changeup, cutter, sweeper, and curveball, with his fastball sitting around 94 mph.

“Big-time strike thrower,” Tracy said about Bennett on Tuesday. “The velocity and the fastball have obviously ticked up. He was coming off an arm injury when he was with Washington. But when he’s sitting there 94, another guy kind of like Tolle, doesn’t throw as hard, but big guy that really gets down the mound with big extension. So he tends to get in on hitters, too, because the fastball plays up.

“He’s in the zone a lot,” Tracy added. “Does a good job of holding runners. He can go from a slide step, he can use a leg kick, lands all stuff. But he’s really, really good, at least down there has been, of getting the ball in the strike zone. And he gets a lot of weak contact.”

Boston’s pitching depth is thinning quickly. If Bennett makes Friday’s start, the next options in Worcester could be Eduardo Rivera and Jack Anderson.

The loss of Crochet is a significant blow, but if it proves to be short-term, it could also provide a needed reset for the left-hander.

Crochet told reporters he began feeling fatigue in his throwing shoulder during his start Saturday in Baltimore and said he’s “pretty confident, in this moment,” that he’ll be back in the rotation when eligible in about two weeks.

“Just some fatigue I was feeling in my last start,” Crochet said at Rogers Centre. “Was able to grind through it there at the end. It just makes more sense to get ahead of it now so I’m not playing catch-up the rest of the season.

“It’s tough. Talked to Bres (Craig Breslow) and Brandon (head athletic trainer Brandon Henry) yesterday about trying to push through and ultimately, what good is that doing for the team if I’m just kicking the can down the road?”

Crochet’s shoulder has improved over the past few days, and his stint on the injured list appears to be more precautionary than anything.

“We saw some pretty good development over the course of the past three days,” Crochet said. “The plan is just to continue to challenge it while also giving it time to recover.”

Crochet said he did not feel any