Throughout the history of baseball’s bitterest rivalry, the Boston Red Sox have countered the Yankees’ high-powered offenses with their share of prolific aces.
For more than a decade, it was Roger Clemens.
Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling came after that.
More recently, Chris Sale battled with the likes of Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.
And now there’s Garrett Crochet.
Crochet is in the midst of a dominant first season with Boston, pitching to a 2.43 ERA and 196 strikeouts in 159.1 innings — all of which rank third or better in the American League.
And while he still has a ways to go to join the ranks of Clemens, Martinez, Schilling and Sale, the left-handed Crochet gets another chance to make his mark on the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry when he starts Saturday afternoon in the Bronx.
“When [the Yankees] came to Fenway, it was sold out for three days straight,” Crochet told the Daily News. “Even the day game was sold out, which is incredible. Last time that we were here, I’m pretty sure it was about the same. The environments tend to get a little bit hostile, which I feel like helps you take your game to the next level.”
Saturday’s start is set to be Crochet’s third against the Yankees this season.
The Yankees tagged the hard-throwing 26-year-old for five runs in six innings on June 7 in the Bronx, but Crochet still picked up the win in Boston’s 10-7 victory.
Six days later, Crochet held the Yankees scoreless for 8.1 innings at Fenway Park, until Judge drilled a game-tying solo home run over the Green Monster on a 99-mph fastball. Crochet took a no-decision, but Boston won that game, 2-1, in 10 innings.
“It’s been a slugfest, that’s for sure,” Crochet said. “I was telling Dustin [May], because [Sunday night] will be his first time being part of the rivalry, ‘The last time we were here, it was an absolute slugfest.’ He was like, ‘Thanks for the vote of confidence.’”
The Red Sox traded a haul of prospects — including prized young catcher Kyle Teel — to the Chicago White Sox in December to acquire Crochet, then signed him to a six-year, $170 million contract extension.
It was a big swing at the time for an ascending but relatively unproven arm, considering Crochet debuted in 2020 as a reliever and only became a full-time starter last year.
But the addition of Crochet has been perhaps the biggest reason the Red Sox are in contention for a playoff spot after three consecutive seasons of missing the postseason — a stretch that included last-place AL East finishes in 2022 and 2023.
“He’s a guy that, no matter what happens in his outing, the next day he shows up and he’s getting ready for the next one,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “Great teammate. He’s always in the dugout, helping the guys. … He loves the city. He loves the environment, and I’m happy he’s with us.”
Crochet represents the biggest competition in the AL Cy Young Award race to Detroit’s Tarik Skubal, who is 11-3 with a 2.32 ERA and 200 strikeouts in 159.1 innings.
Now in his fifth MLB season, Crochet totaled four playoff appearances as a reliever with the White Sox in 2020 and 2021, but he was part of the Chicago team that lost an MLB-record 121 games last year.
“This is the time of year where it’s nice to have the games matter,” Crochet said. “Obviously, last year was a little bit different, but I feel like, just who I am, I’ve been feeling this way since April, because those games matter just as much as these.”
Boston’s rough recent seasons had taken much of the luster out of the Yankees and Red Sox’s head-to-head meetings.
But Crochet has helped elevate the Red Sox, and thus, the rivalry, with the century-old foes jockeying for position in the AL East and wild card standings during this crucial four-game series in the Bronx.
Rookie right-hander Will Warren (7-5, 4.25 ERA) is set to start Saturday for the Yankees.
“I feel like it’s one of those things that’s more so for the fans. On our side of the ball here, in the clubhouse, anyone in the division is a big game for us. Obviously, you look at the wild card standings and it’s even bigger,” Crochet said.
“I say ‘for the fans’ because their bragging rights are a little bit stronger,” Crochet later added. “For us, it’s trying to keep ourselves in contention within the division, but the environment is electric.”
LO LATEST
Yankees reliever Jonathan Loáisiga is set to meet with orthopedic surgeon Dr. Keith Meister on Tuesday, manager Aaron Boone said Friday.
The update came two days after Boone said Loáisiga “probably” has a flexor strain in his right arm.
Loáisiga experienced soreness in his elbow/triceps area after he made a rehab appearance on Sunday for back tightness.
The 30-year-old right-hander missed most of last season and the start of this one after undergoing elbow surgery in April 2024.
SLATER PROGRESS
Austin Slater is making progress with his left hamstring strain.
While a rehab assignment is not imminent, the Yankees outfielder was seen running and throwing in the outfield before Friday’s game.
“He’s starting baseball activities,” Boone said. “Talking to him yesterday about it, I feel like he’s starting to turn a corner here.”
Slater has been on the injured list since Aug. 5, less than a week after the Yankees acquired him from the White Sox.
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