Red Sox Have Unexpected Tutor To Thank For Garrett Crochet's Bounceback

Or maybe we should be expecting this from now on...

Sep 8, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet (35) throws a pitch against the Athletics during the first inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images | Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images

There was no more welcome sight possible for the Boston Red Sox than Garrett Crochet's performance on Monday night.

Coming off a rough week for the entire roster, the scent Crochet's bad outing against the Cleveland Guardians lingered in the air. It seemed like he could be tiring out, and Boston would be in massive trouble if it could no longer trust its ace to dominate for the season's final three weeks.

Thankfully, Crochet delivered a vintage Crochet performance against the Athletics on Monday night. And in addition to an extra day's rest, he got a tip that paid major dividends.

Crochet credits Connor Wong for mechanical fix

Monday night was vintage Crochet. He had five pitches working in harmony, dialing up 10 strikeouts against a very respectable A's lineup across seven shutout innings. He picked up his 15th win and once again leads all of baseball in innings pitched (185 1/3) and strikeouts (228). His season ERA sits at 2.57.

According to a report from MLB.com's Ian Browne, it was catcher Connor Wong who noticed Crochet's front hip not staying on target throughout his delivery, and over the weekend, the backup catcher worked with the ace to fine-tune his mechanics.

“It got my four-seam back dialed in,” Crochet said, per Browne. “It even allowed the front-door two-seam to become a weapon.”

Another fantastic sign for the Red Sox, which may or may not have been brought on by the mechanical fix: Crochet said he still felt like he had a ton of energy left in the tank after the seventh, and was surprised to learn he was at 101 pitches on the night.

"I felt like each pitch looked very deliberate tonight,” Crochet said, per Browne. “I never felt like I was really exerting, and that I had a lot of energy left in the tank.”

The ace is going to need everything he has left in the tank both in the regular season and playoffs. But year one in Boston is going exactly according to plan so far, and it's the bouncebacks that prove who you are every bit as much as the hot streaks.

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