The runs came on back-to-back homers from Matt Olson and Sean Murphy in the second. Crochet was terrific afterwards, and he finished the game with eight strikeouts and no walks. The loss left him 4-3 with a 2.00 ERA after 10 starts. Through 10 starts last season, he was 4-4 in spite of a 4.18 ERA for the lowly White Sox.

Crochet had some of his best stuff tonight, particularly when it came to his cutter; he averaged 92.5 mph with the pitch, up from 90.3 mph on average this season. He wound up getting 18 missed swings, and all but one of the seven hits he allowed was a single. Crochet is now 4-2 with a 1.93 ERA. He’ll face the Braves next, and he’ll probably be matched up with Chris Sale, which should be fun.

After racking up nearly 100 pitches in each of the last two games, the Red Sox opted to limit Crochet to 89 pitches in five innings here with a fully rested bullpen. It did not work out in the end. Crochet himself struck out six and walked two, posting a 31 percent whiff rate and 26 percent CSW. He struggled to find the zone with a few of his offers today and only had nine called strikes in total. He still has a stellar 2.02 ERA, but he has not been as crisp as we’re used to seeing early in the season. He’ll be back on the mound next week against the Royals.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s missile to center in the third supplied the damage in the form of a two-run homer. Crochet allowed only three other hits and struck out six in a 94-pitch outing. Boston’s ace is due to face the Twins on Sunday, unless maybe the Red Sox opt for a spot starter before then. As is, it’d be a third straight start on four days’ rest of him.