Line drive off the nose? No problem for Garrett Crochet.
It could’ve been a disaster. The Red Sox left-hander had a genuinely terrifying moment on Sunday when a Carlos Correa liner deflected off his glove and clipped his nose in the fourth inning of Boston’s 5-4 loss to the Twins. The ball continued on to second base for an out, but the mound told a different story.
Manager Alex Cora sprinted out of the dugout with a trainer in tow. Crochet looked shaken as he grabbed a towel, and it appeared there was a bit of blood as he blew his nose. For a second, it looked like the Red Sox were about to lose their ace to a freak accident.
But Crochet never left the game. “Fine,” he said afterward. “It barely grazed me, obviously. Just more shooken up at the initial impact than anything.”
And he backed that up immediately by punching out Jonah Bride with a wicked sweeper. He gave up a single to Brooks Lee after that but escaped the inning when Harrison Bader grounded out. Crochet returned to throw one more inning, capping a gritty 89-pitch outing that saw him allow one run on four hits while striking out six. Cora confirmed the ball had indeed struck him on the nose but said there’s no fracture.
“He’s OK,” Cora said postgame, via WEEI’s Tom Carroll. “Obviously grinded through the last (inning).”
The Red Sox and Garrett Crochet escaped some serious trouble that wouldn’t end well for either. The Red Sox acquired him from the White Sox in the offseason and handed him a six-year, $170 million extension on April 1. He’s now 3-2 on the season and was handed a no-decision Sunday as Boston fell just short.
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Even with the loss, the Red Sox (18-18) remain right in the mix, just two games behind the Yankees (19-15) in the AL East. Both clubs are dealing with their own infield injury puzzles, but for Boston, keeping Crochet healthy and effective could be the real key to staying in the race.
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