After changing his "Sox" from White to Red for the 2025 MLB season, starting pitcher Garrett Crochet came out on the Fenway Park mound and delivered his most impressive season yet, putting him near the forefront of the AL Cy Young Award race.
Detroit's Tarik Skubal is poised to win the award for a second straight year, and nobody would fault him if that were to happen again as well.
New York's Max Fried is also a contender in that race as well, and will oppose Crochet on the mound as the Yankees and Red Sox meet in Game 1 of the Wild Card series on Tuesday.
"Off the Charts"
In fact, Fried is well aware of how skilled Crochet is on the mound, and is expecting a pitcher's duel between the two for the first game.
“The stuff is off the charts,” Fried told reporters on Monday. “He led the American League in innings and led baseball in strikeouts. So, you’ve got big stuff and a guy that wants to take the ball. He’s had a tremendous year. You know that he’s going to be coming out ready to go.”
Crochet indeed led the league with 255 strikeouts and led the AL with 205.1 innings pitched while making his second career MLB All-Star Game and finishing the regular season with an 18-5 record.
After all, if Aaron Judge is calling you a "tough matchup," you know that you're doing something right.
Fried's stuff, however, was quite spectacular as well, leading the majors with a 19-5 record while posting a 2.86 ERA.