It was neither clean nor pretty, but the Red Sox defeated the Washington Nationals 6-4 on Sunday afternoon to complete the sweep and get back over .500 for the first time since June 22.
In the nearly three-hour grind, the Nationals had at least one base runner in every inning and matched their guests in hits (12), but went 4 for 11 with runners in scoring position and left 15 men on bases.
Perhaps in part due to the brief rain delay in the top of the second, but Garrett Crochet wasn’t at his most overpowering on Sunday; too many pitches outside of the zone, not enough swing-and-miss, falling behind in the count, a pitch count over 50 before he recorded an out in the third.
“He grinded,” manager Alex Cora told reporters. “The bullpen, they bended but they didn’t break.”
Crochet yielded two earned runs on nine hits, walked two and struck out seven, but he came away with his ninth win of the year (9-4) and was named an All-Star less than an hour after the Sox wrapped up their sweep.
The third was dicey enough that for a moment, it seemed Crochet’s season-long streak of pitching at least five innings in each start was destined to end. Amed Rosario led off with a single, and Washington got on the board on Paul DeJong’s one-out RBI double. Josh Bell and Brady House followed with back-to-back singles, the latter of which brought DeJong home. Crochet got Riley Adams to strike out looking for the second out, but a wild pitch advanced House to second before Jacob Young ground out to limit the damage.
Yet in the fourth inning, the Sox southpaw did something only three others have ever achieved in franchise history. His 150th strikeout of the season made him the fourth Red Sox pitcher to reach the benchmark before the All-Star break. Roger Clemens (1988), Pedro Martinez (‘99, ‘01), and Chris Sale (‘17, ‘18, ‘19) are the others.
The only big-league pitcher to do so last season? Crochet.
Back out for the fifth, Crochet got the job done. He’s the first Red Sox pitcher to begin a season with 19 consecutive starts of five or more innings since Sale, in ‘17. The two ex-White Sox are the only Red Sox pitchers to post an ERA of 2.40 or better, strike out at least 150 men, and make 19 or more starts before the All-Star break (Sale, 2018).
The Boston bats weren’t exactly the offensive juggernaut they’d been in the first two games of the series, when they had a seven-run inning in back-to-back contests. Their last time scoring seven or more runs in a single inning back-to-back on Friday and Saturday, something they hadn’t done since May 2019.
Facing left-hander Shinnosuke Ogasawara in his MLB debut, the Red Sox jumped out to an immediate 4-0 lead. Nate Eaton led off with a line-drive single to right, stole second. He scored on Roman Anthony’s one-out RBI single, and Rob Refsnyder’s line-drive double brought the rookie outfielder home.
As is often the case lately, the big knock came from Trevor Story. His 14th home run of the year soared 429 feet out of Nationals Park at 108 mph. With that, he was 15 for his last 29. Over this eight-game hitting streak, he’s batting .469 with a 1.375 OPS, four doubles, three homers and 12 RBI.
“I’m proud of him, man,” said Cora. “He’s been through so much the last few years.”
The Red Sox have scored an MLB-best 70 first-inning runs, at least eight more than any other American League team.
However, unlike the previous two games in D.C., Boston didn’t score again until the seventh, when Romy Gonzalez’s sac-fly plated an insurance run. They had opportunities, but went 2-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.
Like Crochet, the Boston bullpen pitched in and out of trouble. Garrett Whitlock worked around a two-out hit-by-pitch to rookie star James Wood to complete a four-batter sixth inning, but things unraveled in the seventh. Veteran lefty Justin Wilson got two flyouts, but also left a pair of base runners behind, Nathaniel Lowe (leadoff walk) and Josh Bell (one-out single).
With two on and two out, Greg Weissert issued a walk to Adams to load the diamond, and another to pinch-hitter Luis Garcia Jr. to force in a run; the Red Sox lead the majors with 11 bases-loaded walks.
Weissert got centerfielder Alex Call to pop-out on a 3-1 four-seamer for Boston’s second bases-loaded escape of the afternoon.
The top of the eighth was a chess match. Making his first appearance since 2023, righty Mason Thompson got two quick outs, then gave up a double to Jarren Duran. Clearly briefed on Connor Wong’s struggles at the plate, Thompson intentionally walked Abraham Toro to put two on for the Sox catcher, who entered Sunday 0-for-25 with one RBI in 29 plate appearances with runners in scoring position.
Cora responded by sending Wilyer Abreu to pinch-hit.
Nats manager Davey Martinez countered by calling left-hander Andrew Chafin in from the bullpen.
Cora pivoted to Carlos Narváez, whom he needed to catch regardless, with Wong out of the game. Chafin threw a first-pitch ball, then got the rookie swinging on three straight pitches to end the inning.
Washington’s triumph was short-lived, though. After Aroldis Chapman pitched a scoreless eighth, Chafin encountered the scorching Ceddanne Rafaela, who entered Sunday batting .306 with a .927 OPS, with 11 doubles, eight homers, 19 runs, and 18 RBI in his last 34 games (since May 27), and already had a pair of hits in the contest.
Rafaela’s third hit of the day was a leadoff home run, blasted 407 feet at 109.7 mph to left-center.
“I think offensively, Trevor right now since that (Milwaukee) series, is the best offensive shortstop in the league,” Cora said. “And Ceddanne, probably the best offensive centerfielder in the league.”
Rafaela’s bomb prevented the game from getting uncomfortably close when Jordan Hicks couldn’t pitch a clean bottom of the ninth. House drew a one-out walk and like the bottom of the second, advanced on a wild pitch. Daylen Lile’s RBI single pulled the Nationals within two again before Hicks got pinch-hitter CJ Abrams to fly out to slam the door at last.
“We’re playing well,” said Cora.
The Red Sox return home to Fenway Park to finish out the first half. They’ll host the Colorado Rockies for three (Monday-Wednesday), followed by a four-game long weekend with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Then it’s time for the All-Star break, trade deadline, and all that comes next.
