SAN DIEGO — With one more start to go after facing the Padres in his 31st one of the season Friday at Petco Park, Garrett Crochet did his best to forestall the inevitable – an upcoming 120th Sox loss that will tie the 1962 Mets record for futility.
Crochet dominated a good Padres lineup, striking out eight batters and walking none over four innings of one-hit ball. He touched 100 mph and finished the outing fanning Fernando Tatis Jr., Juickson Profar and Manny Machado in order in the fourth before turning over a scoreless tie to Prelander Berroa and the bullpen.
With his pitch counts (he threw 52) monitored since the All-Star break, Crochet’s night was done.
The Sox (36-117), who have been done for months, needed to go 7-2 beginning Friday to elude those Mets.
Crochet, who is slated to make his last start against the Angels at home Thursday to finish a wire-to-wire season of starts in his first as a starter while coming off Tommy John surgery, surpassed 200 strikeouts.
Chris Sale was the last Sox left-hander to notch 200 strikeouts, doing it from 2013-16. Gary Peters (1964, ’67) and Wilbur Wood (1971) also reached 200.
“It’s been a great year for him, a breakout year,” interim manager Grady Sizemore said of Crochet, who entered with 6-12 record, 3.63 ERA and 203 strikeouts, fourth in the American League. “He came back and is going to finish the year healthy and showed everybody he could be a starter and can be one of the best starters in the game.”
Although listed as probable by the Sox, Sizemore didn’t say definitively that Crochet would start again but it seemed more than likely.
“We’ll be mindful of just what today looks like,” Sizemore said.
Moncada wants to play — “Yeah, I’m here”
Third baseman Yoan Moncada wasn’t in the lineup a fourth straight game since finishing his rehab assignment and he’s not sure when he’ll start in the final eight games.
“I don’t know what the plan is,” Moncada said Friday. “They don’t talk to me. I don’t know anything, really.”
Asked if he’s unhappy about not playing, Moncada said, “yeah, I’m here.”
“I know it’s hard it. It is what it is.”
“It’s not easy,” Sizemore. “And it’s not an indication of him as a player or anything like that. It’s just where we are at as an organization, what the priorities are.”
Moncada entered as a pinch runner in extra innings of a 4-3 loss at the Angels Wednesday, then struck out in his only at-bat. On Friday, Sizemore reiterated the team’s priority to play Bryan Ramos and Miguel Vargas knowing Moncada likely won’t be with the Sox next season.
“He’s taking it well,” Sizemore said. “I should probably still be talking about him more what the plan is. But at the same time, we have to see what these guys have. We have limited games left to really evaluate them.”
Grady Sizemore on Moncada not playing. Basically what he said 2 days ago. pic.twitter.com/Upr2ISMkoX
— Daryl Van Schouwen (@CST_soxvan) September 20, 2024
This and that
Catcher Korey Lee was hitless in his last 20 at-bats after striking out against Padres righty Joe Musgrove in the third and was 4-for-50 with one RBI over his last 17 games, and catcher Chuckie Robinson had no extra-base hits or RBI in his 19 starts at catcher.
*Former Sox Dylan Cease met the Sox when they arrived in San Diego Wednesday night and had dinner with Sox pitching coach Ethan Katz.