Dedicated baseball fans may remember that the Boston Red Sox began the 2025 season at 1-4. They won on Opening Day, then went on a four-game skid during which they looked lost at the plate as the rotation fell apart. Then, the rotation came back around to Garrett Crochet, the Red Sox's bats woke up, and they went on a five-game tear.
Boston seemed to be on the same path this year. It beat the Cincinnati Reds on Opening Day after a dominant outing by Crochet. It lost the next two games as the bats went silent and pitchers couldn't stop the damage. It looked like the Red Sox were primed to repeat their 2025 start after they collected a run in the first and second innings of their getaway game in Houston.
Unfortunately, the rest of the game didn't go their way — even Crochet couldn't save them. The lefty allowed four runs on six hits over five innings with seven strikeouts and no walks. He did plunk Yordan Alvarez and Isaac Paredes, however. After a scoreless first outing against the Reds, Crochet's day against the Astros raised his ERA to 3.27.
It can't help that Boston's offense gave Crochet very little to work with. After Willson Contreras' RBI single in the first frame and Jarren Duran's RBI groundout in the second, the Red Sox didn't score again until the eighth inning, well after Crochet left the game. Wilyer Abreu and Roman Anthony tacked on late-game homers, but the Sox lost, 6-4, to start the season at 1-5.
Not even Garrett Crochet could save the first week of the Red Sox's season as they fall to 1-5
Crochet has a history of poor performances, by his standards, at Daikin Park (formerly Minute Maid Park). Before his April 1 outing, Crochet had a 7.56 ERA in 8.1 innings across three appearances in Houston. He only lasted four innings and gave up five runs on seven hits in his 2025 start in the Astros' home ballpark — something doesn't sit right with the ace in southeast Texas.
Things are bad when even Crochet can't save the Red Sox. He developed a reputation as the team's stopper last season and he's put an end to a fair few losing streaks, but Boston can't rely on him every time.
Despite the additions of defense-focused infielders this offseason, the Red Sox have twice as many errors (six) through five games than they had last year. They've struck out 64 times in six games and have a .211 batting average as a team. Boston has a 4.91 ERA as a team, which hardly reflects the run prevention-focus that Craig Breslow expressed. The Red Sox allowed 11 home runs and hit six.
Things need to change for Boston quickly, especially in a division as competitive as the American League East. The Red Sox will face the 1-4 San Diego Padres at Fenway Park on April 3 for their home opener — hopefully, Red Sox fans find a way to bring the good vibes out of them, because they look dejected and like no one is having any fun, which is a far cry from the Red Sox of last season.