Garrett Crochet leads Red Sox to 7-0 shutout of Athletics in commanding bounce-back
A needed reset on the mound
Seven days after his worst outing of the year, Garrett Crochet looked like a different pitcher. The Boston left-hander struck out 10 over seven crisp, scoreless innings and didn’t walk a batter, guiding the Red Sox to a 7-0 win over the Oakland Athletics on Monday night in West Sacramento.
This was a clean, no-drama answer to a messy start in Cleveland, where he was tagged for seven runs and four homers. Against Oakland, Crochet set the tone from his first few pitches. He lived in the zone, moved the fastball to both sides, and paired it with a cutter and sweeper that kept right-handed hitters from getting comfortable. He also flashed a sinker to get weak contact and mixed in an occasional changeup just to give the A’s another speed to guess at.
By the time his night ended at 101 pitches, the numbers told the story: three hits allowed, 10 strikeouts, zero walks. That kind of command after a rocky outing is exactly what Boston needed in a September road game against a team they should beat. Crochet improved to 15-5 and, more than that, showed he can shake off a bad night without carrying it into the next one.
Part of what stood out was the way he worked ahead. Oakland didn’t see many hitter’s counts. Crochet stayed aggressive, and when he did miss, he missed to spots where damage was unlikely. The sweeper played late and tight, the cutter bored in on righties, and the fastball—whether four-seam up or two-seam running—set the table for everything else. The Athletics had only a handful of clean swings and spent most of the night guessing.
The defense didn’t have to do much heavy lifting. With no free passes and steady tempo, Crochet kept traffic off the bases and let the game breathe. That matters in September, when every pitch feels heavier and every inning can snowball if a starter falls behind. Instead, he controlled the pace, and the Red Sox lineup took advantage.
Trevor Story got Boston going in the first inning with a 404-foot solo homer to left, a no-doubt shot that put the Athletics on their heels right away. Carlos Narvaez added another jolt in the fifth, launching a 422-foot drive to left-center. Those were the loudest swings, but the Red Sox did damage in a steady drumbeat. Jarren Duran, Alex Bregman, and Masataka Yoshida all turned in two-hit, one-RBI nights, stacking base runners and forcing Oakland’s pitchers to work from the stretch.
It wasn’t one of those nights where Boston needed a crooked number in a single inning. It was a simple formula: an early lead, constant pressure, and a starter in full command. When Crochet handed it off, Zack Kelly and Chris Murphy each delivered perfect frames to finish the three-hit combined shutout.
Oakland didn’t get much going. Darell Hernaiz legged out a double, while Max Schuemann and Jack Wilson added singles. That was the offensive tally. No walks, no extra chances, no sustained threats. It was the A’s second straight loss and their seventh in their last 10, a reminder of how thin the margin is when the lineup can’t grind out at-bats or flip an inning with a walk or a bloop.
What it means for Boston’s race
This one mattered for more than just the box score. The win moved Boston to 80-65, keeping them within a game of the Yankees (80-63) in the American League wild-card chase. The division is still there in the distance too, with the Red Sox three games back of the Blue Jays (82-61). It’s a tight rope: don’t drop the winnable games, and stack nights where your starter gives you length and zeros.
That’s why Crochet’s rebound is bigger than the seven shutout innings. It nudges the rotation back in line and eases the bullpen’s workload with September rolling. No walks and double-digit strikeouts tend to travel, and it gives Boston a template down the stretch: attack early in counts, lean on pitch diversity, and trust the lineup’s balance to do the rest.
The Red Sox and A’s hadn’t faced each other before Monday, and they’ll see plenty of each other now. Five more meetings are on the slate for September, finishing up on September 18 in Boston. That cluster of games is the kind of stretch that can steady a playoff push if you take care of business—or complicate it if you don’t.
There were also small but useful signs for Boston’s offense. Story’s timing looks sharper, and Narvaez’s lift gives the bottom of the order some teeth. Duran’s ability to spray line drives keeps sparks alive, Bregman’s at-bats remain measured and tough, and Yoshida’s contact skills fit perfectly on nights when the ball needs to be moved rather than crushed. When the top and middle carry the power and the supporting cast stacks singles, it’s the exact blend that turns a two-run lead into a six- or seven-run cushion without any fireworks.
Oakland, meanwhile, is searching for traction. The pitching staff couldn’t flip counts, and the lineup didn’t draw a single walk. That’s a tough way to beat anyone, let alone a contender that just smelled an opening in the standings. Hernaiz’s double and a couple of singles won’t change much if there aren’t base runners ahead of them.
For Boston, there isn’t a lot of mystery left in the formula. Keep getting disciplined starts like this, protect the ball late, and capitalize on the softer edges of the schedule. Crochet’s night was the blueprint: fill the zone, keep hitters off balance with all four primary pitches, and avoid the one swing that lets a team back into the game.
If you’re looking for a turning point in his recent arc, consider the composure. After Cleveland, it would’ve been easy to nibble. Instead, Crochet pitched with intent. He trusted his four-seam up in the zone when he needed whiffs, used the cutter to jam righties, ran the sinker to the edges for weak contact, and dropped the sweeper when hitters started hunting fastballs. That’s maturity as much as it is stuff.
September baseball rewards that kind of clarity. The Red Sox didn’t overcomplicate anything Monday. They got an early lead, rode their starter, and let the bullpen land the plane. It added up to a road shutout, a confidence reboot for their lefty, and another step in a race that doesn’t leave much room for missteps.