There’s a reason not to put too much stock into spring training stats.
Garrett Crochet slammed the door on any concern with a dominant Opening Day performance after posting a 7.36 ERA this spring.
Making his second straight Opening Day start for Boston, Crochet overpowered the Reds, tossing six scoreless innings while allowing three hits and two walks, and striking out eight.
“He did an amazing job,” manager Alex Cora said of his ace. “That last inning, (he) started with a walk and then he just found it back and finished strong, and gave us a chance for the offense to cash in.”
The left-hander’s only real trouble came in the sixth inning.
With one out and the bases loaded in a scoreless game, the Reds sent Eugenio Suárez to the plate looking for a breakthrough moment at Great American Ball Park, but Crochet had other plans.
He buried a 1-2 cutter in the dirt to get Suárez, then elevated a 90-mph cutter past Spencer Steer, blowing it by the right-hander to end the threat.
For Crochet, it put a bow on a dominant season debut, keeping the game scoreless until the offense finally broke through.
When Cora turned in his lineup card, Marcelo Mayer was not in the starting lineup with left-hander Andrew Abbott on the mound for Cincinnati. But Cora called on him in a key spot, and Mayer delivered, ripping a pinch-hit double off the wall in center field.
“The pinch hit there, it was huge,” Cora said.
Carlos Narváez laid down a bunt to move Mayer to third, and Ceddanne Rafaela followed with an RBI single to give the Red Sox their first run of the season.
“You’ve got to stay ready,” Mayer told reporters after the game. “My job when I don’t start is to make sure that I’m ready to come in whenever he needs me to. I was able to come through.”
Abbott was in full control early, working six scoreless innings despite traffic on the bases. He scattered seven hits and a walk while striking out four, consistently pitching out of trouble and keeping Boston from generating any real momentum until Mayer came through with his clutch pinch-hit.
Boston added insurance in the ninth after Mayer sparked the rally with a leadoff single. Anthony drew a two-out walk after a successful ABS challenge overturned a strike call, and Trevor Story drove in Mayer with a base hit. Jarren Duran followed with an RBI single to make it 3-0.
“I believe we have a good offense and will score more, but we will pitch,” Cora said after the game.
Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman handled the final two innings, closing out a 3-0 shutout on Opening Day. In total, Reds hitters struck out 12 times on the day.
