Crochet still sharp in limited role as breakout '24 nears end

CHICAGO – The following story concerning Garrett Crochet has been told numerous times throughout the 2024 season, but it deserves another mention following Oakland’s 2-0 defeat of the White Sox and their ace hurler Friday night at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Venturing into his first season as a starter, Crochet did not officially know he was part of the Major League rotation until he was named the Opening Day hurler against Detroit. So, that part was somewhat of a surprise for the 25-year-old.

His success beginning with that first trip to the mound has been pretty much expected by the big left-hander.

"I suppose when I made those statements I felt like I belonged in the rotation. At the same time, I was unproven,” said Crochet after striking out four in four innings and slipping to 6-12 for the season. “There were definitely no guarantees along the way.

“As far as the success and the results that came to follow, that's what you work all offseason for. Spent a lot of time visualizing that success happening before it did. So, no surprise."

Crochet was arguably one of the most dominant starting pitchers in the game prior to the All-Star break, earning his first All-Star appearance. His second-half numbers have been a bit skewed, as Crochet continues to start, which is important from a consistency and preparation standpoint, but he’s on an innings limit and a pitch-count restriction.

Those four innings and 56 pitches hurled against the A’s in the series opener bring his season total to 138 innings, with Crochet having thrown 73 innings total over three previous years out of the bullpen. Most importantly, he's healthy, and incorporated five pitches into his repertoire while topping out at 100.2 mph, according to Statcast.

This outing followed a start at Boston on Sept. 7 where Crochet yielded four runs in just two innings.

“Tonight I was in better counts than I was in Boston,” Crochet said. “I felt like I was a lot more in control. Even when I would get behind with the cutters that I was throwing in off the righties, I felt like those pitches were doing their purpose."

“Good adjustments off the last start. Misses where we wanted them. He was controlling the zone,” White Sox catcher Korey Lee said. “Commanded all pitches for strikes, got a couple of punches in there. We’ve seen it all year. I keep on saying it. He’s grown as a starting pitcher and I couldn’t be more proud.”

White Sox pitchers don’t work with any margin for error. Friday’s setback marked the 18th shutout of the season for the South Siders, who became the sixth team in Major League history to lose 115-plus games against just 33 wins. They lost a 16th straight game at home and slipped to 1-28 in their last 29 played at Guaranteed Rate, with their only win coming Aug. 12 against the Yankees.

Their 58 home losses are tied for third most in Major League history in a single season. Even a 3-2 finish over remaining games in Chicago against the A’s and Angels would make the White Sox the first team with 60 home losses dating back to 1901.

Since the All-Star break, the White Sox have a 6-44 record.

“You play 162 for a reason,” said Lee of handling this rough finish to a dismal season. “You sign up for this before Spring Training. You sign up for 162 with the hopes of playing an extra 25 more in the postseason. That’s what my job is and I’ll come in here every day to do that.”

“Margins have been slim for us,” White Sox interim manager Grady Sizemore said. “We are used to playing that way. It’s not an easy way to play. It’s definitely not easy on the staff when they feel like there’s no room for error. The at-bats are still good but we still aren’t getting the big hit when we need it.”

Crochet made his 30th start in the A’s victory and moved to 195 strikeouts overall, adding to one of the very few bright spots for the ‘24 White Sox.

“It's cool. Kind of an arbitrary number in my mind but I guess it looks cool,” Crochet said of 30 starts. “I felt like I was able to incorporate a lot of stuff early. Got the slider involved, got the changeup involved, threw a couple sinkers. I just felt like for the most part I was doing what I wanted."