Garrett Crochet wanted to become a starter for a moment like Friday.
The Chicago White Sox were in desperate need of a big performance. And the left-hander provided it against the Boston Red Sox.
Crochet allowed one earned run and struck out 10 in six innings as the White Sox snapped a single-season franchise record 14-game losing streak with a 7-2 victory in front of 19,684 at Guaranteed Rate Field.
“The guys in there, we showed no quit,” Crochet said. “Tonight, you kind of saw that. No one wants to have a streak that goes that long. But it’s part of the game.”
Oscar Colás put the White Sox ahead with a two-run single in the fourth while Gavin Sheets and Andrew Vaughn hit back-to-back home runs in the sixth on the way to the team’s first victory since May 21 in Toronto.
“Happy day, won’t have to hear about that streak anymore,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “It’s just a really good feeling just to break a streak that seems to be the hot topic. Let’s start something new.”
Crochet was the winning pitcher that evening at Rogers Centre, tossing six scoreless innings in a 5-0 victory against the Blue Jays. He was also the winning pitcher the last time the Sox were victorious at home, May 15 against the Washington Nationals.
Crochet allowed three hits and walked two in Friday’s 91-pitch outing.
“He’s got that type of makeup, he’s got that type of mindset — nobody’s going to stop him,” Grifol said.
Luis Robert Jr. homered in the first to give the Sox a lead, but for a few brief moments, it appeared a Crochet throwing error would be costly.
Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran hit a bouncer in front of the mound in the third inning. Crochet fielded it cleanly but threw the ball wild to first. Bobby Dalbec scored from first on the error while Duran raced to third.
That was just the start of a wild sequence.
As Crochet stepped off the rubber to throw to first for an appeal play, Duran took off for the plate. The throw got away from Vaughn while Duran was credited with stealing home, giving the Red Sox a 2-1 lead.
“We were going to appeal and then I just made a terrible throw, which is tough,” Crochet said. “It can’t happen.”
Grifol took the blame.
“I thought time had elapsed (for a challenge after the appeal), but I guess I could have asked (the umpires), ‘Hey, I didn’t see the appeal. Can we challenge this now?’ Grifol said. “And he (later) said he would have let us challenge. So at the end of the day, that one’s on me.”
Miscues plagued the White Sox on occasions during the skid. But they took advantage when the Red Sox got sloppy in the fourth.
Paul DeJong drove in a run with a single to left field to tie the score at 2. DeJong advanced to second and Vaughn moved to third when Duran threw wildly back to the infield.
Colás followed with the two-run single to center against Red Sox starter Cooper Criswell, putting the White Sox ahead 4-2.
Sheets and Vaughn homered against reliever Greg Weisser a couple of innings later.
“That was really special,” Vaughn said of going back-to-back.
Sheets scored his third run of the night in the eighth on a DeJong RBI double.
Crochet, who made the move from the bullpen to the rotation this season, settled in after the hiccups in the third by striking out five of the final nine batters he faced.
“For me personally, I already have so many expectations of myself,” Crochet said. “In a moment like this, I like to think that I thrive in it. That’s how I felt after the throwing error as well. I always in my mind considered myself somebody that responds well to adversity.
“I think that everybody in the clubhouse would say the same about themselves. When that happened, I was just trying to bear down.”
Jonathan Cannon, recalled from Triple-A Charlotte on Friday while the White Sox designated Jake Woodford for assignment, struck out four in the final three innings to record the save.
“I just went out there and I was going to go until they told me to stop,” Cannon said.
He completed his first major-league relief appearance by getting Duran to ground out to DeJong at short. The traditional postgame victory fireworks went off as the Sox walked back to the clubhouse with a win for the first time in a long time.
While the 16-48 record represents the worst 64-game start in franchise history, the Sox were able to avoid extending another dubious mark.
“Just to stop the streak, it’s time to move on,” Grifol said. “Let’s continue to play baseball. I’m really proud of these guys. This has been a hard couple of weeks, and you can hear them in there (in the clubhouse).
“They are getting after it every day, and I’m proud of these guys for that.”
Note: The Sox said the game was halted briefly in the fourth inning when three travel-sized plastic bottles were thrown toward the field. No one was hurt, the team said.
