Aaron Judge is unquestionably one of the most dominant hitters of his generation, and right now Garrett Crochet is among the very best pitchers. Over the past week, the two have treated baseball fans to some heavyweight battles, and up until the ninth inning, it looked as if Crochet had the Yankees superstar on the ropes.
But while the Red Sox ultimately got the last laugh, Judge offered yet another reminder of his greatness on Friday, getting off the mat after three humbling at-bats and leveling Crochet with a breathtaking knockout blow.
After being struck out six times in a row by Crochet dating back to last weekend at Yankee Stadium, Judge spoiled Crochet’s bid for his first career complete-game shutout by smashing a moonshot home run to tie the game at 1-1 in the top of the ninth.
It was as deflating a moment as the Red Sox have had all season, but the fans wound up going home happy anyway.
With two on and two outs in the bottom of the 10th, Carlos Narvaez smashed a walk-off double off the Green Monster to give the Red Sox a thrilling 2-1 win. In doing so he gave Boston its first three-game winning streak since late April and continued the club’s recent June surge.
He's been a revelation," Crochet said of Narvaez. "You talk to him and you forget that he's still classified as a rookie. It's really special, he really calls games like he's been doing it for 10 years in the show and his at-bats at the plate late in crunch time, he just never gives in.
Before the home run, the matchup between Crochet and Judge looked as one-sided as they come.
Their first confrontation in the top of the first was competitive, with Judge working a full count before Crochet blew him away with a fastball. The second at-bat in the fourth was a completely different story, as Crochet carved up Judge on three straight pitches and froze him looking on a fastball up and in.
For the third faceoff in the sixth, Crochet dug deep and found a little extra. The Red Sox ace finished the at bat with his two hardest pitches of the season to that point, including a 99 mph heater that got Judge swinging.
At that point, Judge was 0 for 6 with six strikeouts against Crochet, twice as many strikeouts as he’s recorded against any other pitcher this season.
With one out in the top of the ninth, it looked as if Crochet might have Judge again. The big Red Sox left-hander dialed it up even more and hit 100 mph on the radar gun twice, surpassing his previous season-high from the prior at-bat.
I think it's not up for debate he's the best hitter in the league right now. It's going to take a little bit extra to get him," Crochet said, "especially the fourth time in one game.
The first of those heaters Judge fouled off, and the second he took inside for a ball to work a full count. Finally, Crochet went to the fastball again, but he missed down and in — right into Judge’s wheelhouse — and the MVP favorite took full advantage, obliterating the ball 115.5 mph off the bat and sending it 443 feet into the night well clear of the Green Monster.
Ideally just trying to go up letter high but also trying to throw it as hard as I can," Crochet said. "Lack of execution there.
It was a difficult end to a brilliant evening for Crochet.
Before Judge's home run, the closest New York came to doing any kind of damage against Crochet was in the top of the fifth, when an error and a single gave the Yankees men at first and third with nobody out. Crochet responded by striking out the next two batters he faced before escaping the jam by forcing Paul Goldschmidt into an inning-ending groundout.
He finished his night with a career-high 8.1 innings, allowing one run on four hits and a walk while striking out seven.
I wish I could have finished it out," Crochet said, acknowledging that going out for the ninth was special and that he felt the juices flowing more than usual while warming up. "I’m probably going to lose sleep over that as silly as it sounds after what I would call a good outing.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said afterwards that he had no regrets about sending Crochet back out to give him the opportunity for the shutout. He said it would have been a different consideration if Judge could have potentially given the Yankees the lead, but considering how well Crochet had been throwing, he felt it was best to give him a chance to finish the job.
I think everyone would be like 'go ahead and see what happens,'" Cora said. "That guy was really good on the mound and the guy at the plate, he’s really good.
Even with the disappointing finish, Crochet said he appreciates the opportunity to go one-on-one against a player of Judge’s caliber.
When you’re at this level facing a guy like that makes you feel like you’re one level higher," Crochet said. "So it’s really special.
Offensively, the Red Sox didn’t do much for most of the game. Trevor Story led off the second with a single and stole second base, setting the table for Ceddanne Rafaela’s go-ahead RBI knock. That was the only significant offense the club managed against Yankees left-hander Ryan Yarbrough, who allowed one run over 4.2 innings before being lifted in the bottom of the fifth to avoid facing an unfavorable pocket of right-handed hitters for a third time.
The Red Sox stranded runners at first and second in the fifth and left the bases loaded in the eighth. Failing to capitalize ultimately proved consequential and the game went to extra innings.
Once there, it was Narvaez’s time to shine.
The Red Sox catcher quickly gave his team a boost in the top of the 10th when he threw out Anthony Volpe trying to steal third. The Yankees shortstop was initially ruled safe but was called out on replay, resulting in the extra-innings ghost runner being erased. A second replay went against New York later in the inning when a DJ LeMahieu foul ball call was upheld. That prompted Yankees manager Aaron Boone to object from the dugout, leading to his being ejected.
Despite the disruptions in play, Garrett Whitlock threw a clean inning to keep it 1-1 leading into the bottom of the 10th. The Red Sox then moved ghost runner David Hamilton to third on a groundout by Jarren Duran, and Narvaez took care of the rest to give Boston its fifth win in six games.
Now the Red Sox (35-36) have a chance to get back to .500 and win their third straight series, including the second in a week against the Yankees.
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