Kutter carves up Royals in 'outstanding' scoreless gem

BOSTON -- If there’s any way to put an exclamation mark on the first half of your season, Kutter Crawford did it on Saturday afternoon against the Royals.

Following a standout start at Yankee Stadium in which he pounded the zone his last time out, Crawford held the Royals to two hits over seven-plus innings in Saturday’s 5-0 win at Fenway Park.

“He did an outstanding job,” manager Alex Cora said. “… I don't get caught up in the stats and all that -- we look at the numbers and I know he's been solid in every aspect: Throwing strikes and the stuff and all that, but I look up and the ERA is down and the WHIP is down. And for everything we've been talking about [with] Tanner [Houck], Kutter has been there too. Just posting every five days and giving us a chance to win.”

Crawford opened the 2024 season at what felt like an unsustainable pace. He held his ERA under 2.00 through eight starts until May 13. He didn’t give up a home run until May. Though the early-season dominance eventually settled, his “coming back to Earth” numbers still put him among the tops of AL pitchers. A rough end to May (11 earned runs over two starts) carried over into June, before a dose of extra rest (thanks to a rain-shortened start and two team off-days) helped Crawford reset.

What difference can a little bit of rest make? For Crawford, it’s an increased ability to throw strikes.

In each of his last three starts, Crawford has thrown over 79% strikes, with a season-high 79.41% against the Yankees on July 7. Comparatively, Crawford started the season hovering around 60% and passed 70% just once before June.

“It’s kind of the name of the game,” Crawford said. “I try to go out there and challenge myself, try to see how many competitive strikes I can throw. And after the last three, it feels good to be able to attack the zone and fill it up one after another.”

Saturday marked the first time in the 28-year-old’s young career that he worked into the eighth inning. Cora walked out to the mound after Crawford gave up a leadoff single to Maikel Garcia, and Crawford exited the game to a chorus of applause and cheers from a crowd of 32,378.

“It was awesome,” Crawford said. “Any time you can have a performance like that in front of the Red Sox Faithful here on a beautiful Saturday afternoon -- it's a great feeling. You almost feel like you're on cloud nine and you just try to soak it all in.”

After they were quieted by lefty Cole Ragans in Friday’s series opener, Boston’s bats came alive against Kansas City ace Seth Lugo, tagging the first-time All-Star for a season-high 10 hits. The Red Sox did their most damage against Lugo in the third, sending eight men to the plate in a three-run frame.

Rafael Devers added insurance in the fifth with a leadoff home run against Lugo. The blast gave Crawford a cushion and Devers sole possession of 11th place for most homers (194) as a member of the Red Sox. Devers had been tied with game-planning coordinator and Red Sox Hall of Famer Jason Varitek, who draped Devers with the home run medal when the third baseman made it back to the dugout.

“I think Raffy is the perfect definition of a Red Sox,” said Dom Smith, who went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and one run scored. “He comes out every day, no excuses, he wants to play. He never shies away from the big moment. He wants the big moment. And he works. He comes in early, he works on his defense, he works on his offense. He's a leader. He's a great leader.”

For Devers and the Red Sox, there’s still one game to go until their All-Star break begins, but Crawford’s first half is in the books. His next start is slated for July 20 against the Dodgers, giving the right-hander another welcomed period of extended rest amid a stretch in which he’s gained momentum.

“All our bodies can kind of use it at this point in the season,” Crawford said. “And it’s not like I'm not going to pick up a baseball for the next four or five days. So it's gonna be good for the body and I don't think it's gonna be too tough.”