Garrett Crochet twirls absolute gem as Red Sox take Game 1 vs. Yankees
Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet was beyond electric in a Game 1 win over the Yankees on Tuesday night.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 30: Garrett Crochet #35 of the Boston Red Sox pitches against the New York Yankees during the second inning of game one of the American League Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium on September 30, 2025 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Ishika Samant/Getty Images)
Last December, Craig Breslow and the Red Sox went out and acquired Garrett Crochet from Chicago for nights like Tuesday at Yankee Stadium. But not even they could've predicted the legendary gem twirled by the violently-kicking lefty ace in a Game 1 masterpiece over the Yankees.
Especially not with the way things started.
On the hill for his first playoff start in a Boston uniform, Crochet was tagged for back-to-back hits to kick off his night, and surrendered a 382-foot, solo shot to the Yankees' Anthony Volpe the next inning. It looked like, at the very least, there were some nerves at play for Crochet.
... That turned out to be the last time there were any worries for Cora (and all of Boston for that matter) with Crochet on the mound in this one.
On a night that saw Crochet throw a career-high 117 points, the 6-foot-6 hurler dazzled over 7.2 innings of work to the tune of just four hits allowed, 11 strikeouts, and at one point had a stretch of 17 straight Yankees retired. Oh, and Crochet saved his fastest pitch of the night for last, as he blasted a 100.2 MPH fastball by Austin Wells' knees for that 11th strikeout of the evening.
But it was an outing that the Red Sox nearly wasted given the club's struggles against New York ace Max Fried.
Using everything in his seven-pitch arsenal, Fried left Sox swingers straight-up guessing (unsuccessfully) throughout the evening, and danced out of danger on two separate occasions. The Red Sox stranded runners at second and third in the top of the fourth (and with Alex Bregman at the plate), and then stranded runners at first and second in the top of the fifth, this time with Jarren Duran at the dish for Boston.
Desperate to find an opening and get something going, the Red Sox found one. But not through anything they did, but rather a decision by Yankees manager Aaron Boone to lift the dealing Fried at 102 pitches.
The Red Sox didn't let that favor fall off the table.
Beginning with an 11-pitch walk drawn by Ceddane Rafaela (and on a count that began at 0-2 for the Sox outfielder), the Red Sox threatened with runners at second and third behind Nick Sogard's pure hustle double. And the parade of unexpected heroes tormenting the Yankees in their own building came with a pinch-hit, two-RBI single by Masataka Yoshida to give the Red Sox their first runs and lead of the evening.
The two-run knock was a historic one for Yoshida and the Red Sox, too, as with that hit he became the first pinch-hitter in Red Sox postseason history to turn a deficit into a lead (per SoxNotes).
But the Red Sox were forced to walk one final tightrope in this one, as Aroldis Chapman loaded the bases with zero outs in the bottom of the ninth before recording three straight outs to seal the deal for Boston.
The Red Sox and Yankees will get right back to it Wednesday night with Game 2 at Yankee Stadium. Brayan Bello will get the ball for Boston, while Carlos Rodon will get the call for Boone's Yankees.
