MIAMI – Garrett Crochet labored and worked up a sweat, an unusual happenstance for the White Sox left-hander who is expected to be named to the American League All-Star team Sunday.
After breezing through two innings against the Marlins Saturday, with 19 of 22 pitches poured into the strike zone, Crochet threw 25 pitches in the third, then an all-time high 45 in the fourth. He managed to keep the damage at one run in each inning, and left after four with a 3-2 lead.
Michael Soroka took over in the fifth as the Sox tried to win for the sixth time in their last nine games. Following a leadoff walk to Jake Burger in the seventh, Dane Myers tagged Soroka with a 420-foot two-run homer that put the Marlins in front, 4-3.
Continuing his first experience as a starter with a flourish, Crochet looked ready to breeze through another start but things got wonky in a third inning that included Dane Myers’ RBI single following a walk and hit batsman. Vidal Brujan took a pitch off his padded elbow that may have been in the strike zone.
He faced seven batters in a fourth inning that took 26 minutes, saw the Marlins foul off 17 pitches and finally ended with Jake Burger popping out on a 10-pitch at-bat with the bases loaded. Brujan’s RBI single had trimmed the Sox lead to one run.
The four innings was Crochet’s shortest outing in more than two months. In his last 12 starts, Crochet went at least five, and he pitched six or more in nine of those.
Crochet gave up five hits, walked three and struck out five. The three walks were the most in his last 10 starts.
One more for Garrett
There was speculation that Crochet would get a long rest going into the All-Star break but Grifol said Crochet will likely start Friday against the Pirates, three days before the break begins, then be on the back end of the rotation coming out of the break for an extended rest.
“It might be a short start, but he will pitch one more time,” Grifol said. “The one thing we are keeping in mind is if he’s in that game, we want him to be available for it.”