Crochet stays 'spectacular' with quality start -- even in defeat

CHICAGO -- Garrett Crochet wasn’t going to change his plan against the Astros during the White Sox 4-1 loss on Wednesday night at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Houston was making contact against Crochet’s overpowering four-seam/cutter fastball combination, but not the kind of contact to make anyone think something was amiss -- including Crochet.

"Yeah, they executed their plan. Credit to them for that,” said Crochet after falling to 6-6 overall. “I wasn’t willing to deviate from mine when I felt like I wasn’t getting beat. But they were able to score runs off of them. There are probably three pitches I would want to take back. But other than that I feel like I executed my plan."

"His stuff is so good, and he’s going to pound you with his fastball, either the four-seam or he’ll cut it in," said Houston manager Joe Espada of Crochet. “We’ve just got to see him up, try to get him in the air, and we did that. I thought our at-bats were really good, and we made him work.”

Crochet exited after six innings and 85 pitches in his 16th start of the season, with three runs allowed on nine hits and one walk. Those nine hits were a season-high yielded by the southpaw and one fewer than he allowed over his last three starts combined.

Four of Houston’s hits checked in with exit velocities of 80 mph or lower, with Crochet striking out eight to minimize this minimal amount of damage.

"Obviously it's baseball, and they're going to find some holes,” said White Sox catcher Korey Lee of Crochet. “It was a bunch of broken bats and they got the merry-go-round going. Sometimes that's just the name of the game. It was just a part of the day.

“You see that a lot with Crochet," added Lee. "That's a free-swinging lineup and he's got a lot of power behind it. It's a bunch of weak contact."

Of Crochet’s 85 pitches, 41 were four-seamers and 39 were cutters. He mixed in four sliders and a changeup, but stayed consistent with the power game.

Then again, why would Crochet change? His last four strikeout totals prior to Wednesday were a career-best 13 in Seattle, 10 against Boston, eight in Milwaukee and 11 against Baltimore. Crochet has a 5-2 record with a 1.68 ERA over his last 10 starts, with Wednesday’s outing ending a streak of nine straight without giving up more than two runs.

"Every start I’m going in very prepared and feeling good," Crochet said.

"He’s a really smart kid, but how fast he’s picked up the starting game is pretty remarkable,” White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. “He understands their job is to go deep in games and he understands how to economize pitches and how to minimize damage. That’s remarkable considering the lack of experience he has as a starter. What he’s doing this year is spectacular in my eyes."

Spectacular enough for other contending teams to contact the White Sox about the 24-year-old who had pitched 73 innings total in relief over three seasons and now sits at 88 2/3 innings out of the rotation. It’s unknown how the rest of Crochet’s season will play out, but he has the demeanor and the skillset to handle the challenge of the increased workload.

• 'Peppered regularly' by other GMs, Getz holds court

General manager Chris Getz is open to trading anyone on the roster, which means rumors will be flowing. He spoke Tuesday of pulling players aside to let them know where there’s truth or not, so they can stay in a good position to have a successful game.

When asked postgame Wednesday, Crochet stated he hadn’t any conversations about trade possibilities with Getz. So, the focus remains on his next start, which figures to be during the next homestand against the Dodgers.

Don’t look for Crochet to veer from what’s working.

"They found some holes, but I give him a lot of credit to be able to stand out there in the sixth inning with 85 pitches,” Grifol said. “He could have very easily gone out there for another inning, but that’s where the workload management starts to come in."

"Velo overpowers a lot of things and he's a special pitcher out there. I'm obviously going to stick to his strengths,” Lee said. "He's going to come back the next time and I know it's going to be the same Garrett. I had a good conversation with him right now and we're going to be on the same page."