Sox fall 3-2 to Texas in another shortened start for Garrett Crochet

White Sox starter Garrett Crochet pitched four innings in Tuesday’s game against Texas.
AP

arlington, Texas — American League strikeout leader Garrett Crochet fanned seven in four innings at Texas on Tuesday night in another shortened start for the Chicago White Sox left-hander, who already has a career high in innings pitched.

The 25-year-old converted reliever is up to 111 1/3 innings in 21 starts. He has thrown only 10 innings in his three July starts for the White Sox, and pitched a scoreless inning in the All-Star Game.

The White Sox lost their ninth straight game Tuesday, falling 3-2. The Sox trailed 3-1 heading to the top of the ninth inning when Andrew Benintendi homered to lead off the inning.

“Obviously, we have to really be careful with his workload and we have to manage that,” White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said before the game. “I look at it like he’s put himself in a position for us to have a plan for him because he’s a guy, he’s a No. 1.”

Crochet, also a potential trade target for contenders as a starter or reliever, threw 49 of 74 pitches for strikes against the Rangers. It came a week after the hard thrower's All-Star Game appearance in the same ballpark. He allowed two runs and three singles in the first inning against Texas.

His strikeout total is up to 157, two behind San Diego Padres right-hander and former White Sox teammate Dylan Cease for the big league lead.

Crochet was the 11th overall pick in the 2020 draft out of Tennessee, where he was primarily a reliever. He pitched 65 innings in 18 games (six starts) for the Volunteers in 2019, his high mark until surpassing 100 innings before the All-Star break this season.

He pitched 54 1/3 innings in 54 relief appearances for the White Sox in 2021, but missed all of the next season because of Tommy John surgery. He had 25 innings last year — 12 1/3 in the minors and 12 2/3 in the majors — before the White Sox turned him into a starter.

In his last start before the All-Star break on July 12, Crochet threw two scoreless innings with four strikeouts against Pittsburgh. That was six days after 93 pitches and allowing two runs over four innings in a no-decision at Miami.

“I think it would benefit him greatly if he could get 30 to 32 starts,” Grifol said. “Whether he finishes the last start and it’s just one inning, I think it’s really good for him to go through a full season and get 30 starts. That’s how we feel, but we’ll see how that plays out. We’re more than open to making any type of adjustments that we have to make throughout the season to make sure that he is healthy and that he finishes ready to go for next year.”

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