Chase Meidroth of the White Sox got the one and only hit off Crochet as he dominated his former team
New Boston Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet was five outs away from history against his former team Sunday. Crochet took a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field (GameTracker) when second baseman Chase Meidroth found a hole through the left side of the infield with a ground-ball single.
How did the White Sox acquire Mr. Meidroth? In the Crochet trade with the Red Sox last December, of course. Here is his history-ruining single:
The single ended Crochet’s no-hit bid and also his afternoon. He was dominant, striking out 11 and getting 17 swings and misses in 7 1/3 innings. The only other batter to reach base against Crochet was Brooks Baldwin’s, who had a lead-off walk in the sixth inning. Crochet quickly retired the next three hitters to keep the no-hit chance intact.
So many no-hit bids feature that one great defensive play to save it, but not this one. According to Statcast, the White Sox put just one ball in play with better than a 50/50 chance of being a hit based on exit velocity and launch angle against Crochet, and that was Jacob Amaya’s third-inning line drive right at center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela. Meidroth’s single had a 47% hit probability.
Four starts into the season, Crochet has been everything the Red Sox expected when they sent four prospects, including Meidroth and their two recent first-round picks (Kyle Teel and Braden Montgomery) to Chicago. Sunday’s masterpiece gives him a 1.38 ERA in 26 innings, during which he’s allowed only 15 hits and eight walks. He’s struck out 28.
Crochet’s no-hit bid was the longest in baseball in the early days of the new season. Before Sunday, no pitcher had taken a no-hitter into the seventh inning this year, and only three took a no-hitter into the sixth.
