Here is the latest injury update on Boston Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet: he’s fine. That’s the good news coming out of Monday night’s 13-6 loss to the Minnesota Twins, which produced the worst start of Crochet’s career and immediate questions about whether something is physically wrong with the $170 million left-hander.
“He’s healthy, so that’s the most important thing,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said after the game, as quoted by Yahoo Sports.
Crochet was equally direct.
“Command as a whole has been spotty,” he said, according to an account by MLB.com‘s Ian Browne. “I’ve gotten away with it a little this early in the year, but tonight, they made me pay. It was weak contact, hard contact, walks, hit by pitch â a little bit of everything.”
The result was a seven-run loss at Target Field that raised immediate alarms about Boston’s franchise arm. Crochet’s season ERA spiked drastically after the outing, ballooning from 3.12 to 7.58. Cora left his ace in for 55 pitches even as the Red Sox fell behind 11-0 before the second inning was out.
“You still have to cover innings and keep the bullpen fresh, knowing that there’s two more games in the series,” Cora said, per ESPN.
Twins Pile On in Ugliest Start of Crochet’s Career
Crochet’s pitching line was historically bad: 1 2/3 innings, nine hits, 11 runs (10 earned), three walks and perhaps more significantly, zero strikeouts. Crochet became the first Red Sox pitcher ever to allow 10 runs in fewer than two innings, and the first pitcher to reach that threshold in two or fewer innings after finishing top-two in Cy Young voting the prior season, according to ESPN research.
Minnesota put up four in the first on 31 Crochet pitches. The second inning was even worse, if that seems possible. The first six Twins hitters reached, Victor Caratini launched a three-run homer off the face of the third deck at Target Field, and Ryan Kreidler finished Crochet off with a solo shot. Boston trailed 11-0 when Cora came to yank his ace pitcher.
The defeat stings for a Red Sox club (6-10) that had gone 4-1 in its previous five games after a brutal 2-8 start. Crochet had been excellent in his prior start, holding Milwaukee to two runs over 6 1/3 innings.
“I don’t really have one thing to point to,” he reflected afterward, as quoted by ESPN.
Pitch Count Pattern May Hold the Clue
Neither Crochet nor pitching coach Andrew Bailey pinpointed a specific cause for the velocity dip, but recent history offers a clue. Crochet threw 107 pitches in his prior start â his longest of the 2026 season, and more than the club planned, according to NESN reporter Jake Roy. Last year he threw 102 pitches in his second start, then saw velocity dip in the very next outing before bouncing back, Roy recounted.
Bailey cleared Crochet medically.
“All the work has been very consistent between starts. He’s been able to post, throw his bullpens, get all his good work in,” Bailey said, per MLB.com.
Crochet averaged 94.5 mph on his fastball Monday, second-lowest of his career. He induced just three swings and misses. Eight of 14 batted balls left the bat at 95-plus mph.
“I’m just going to flush it as best I can and move on to the next one,” Crochet said, per NESN.
Crochet is scheduled to start Sunday against the Tigers at Fenway Park. If last year’s pattern holds, the Red Sox have reason to expect vintage Crochet in that one.
On the other hand, how a pitcher wakes up in the morning following a difficult start often reveals more about his condition than any postgame statements, so Red Sox Nation will likely spend another day on edge.
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