SEATTLE — Chicago White Sox starter Garrett Crochet described his approach Thursday as playing the “see-if-you-can-hit-it game.”
For most of the evening, the Seattle Mariners couldn’t touch his pitches.
Crochet allowed one run on two hits while establishing a career high with 13 strikeouts in seven innings. He left with a one-run lead, only for the Mariners to tie the score on a one-out homer in the ninth by Julio Rodríguez off reliever Michael Kopech.
The Sox rebounded with a run in the 10th and held on for a 3-2 victory in front of 25,567 at T-Mobile Park.
Korey Lee scored when Andrew Vaughn grounded out to third in the 10th to put the Sox ahead. Tanner Banks struck out two of the three batters he faced in the bottom of the 10th for his second save as the Sox salvaged the finale of the four-game series.
Four Sox pitchers combined for 19 strikeouts, led by Crochet.
“It’s funny that (the career high) came on the fastball-dominant game,” Crochet said, “but just out there throwing everything with conviction and let the results kind of speak for themselves.”
He was in top form.
“Another beautiful day with Garrett Crochet on the mound,” said Lee, the catcher. “Overpowering stuff.”
Crochet threw 71 fastballs among his 102 pitches, according to MLB Statcast. He threw 30 cutters and one changeup.
“I was getting a lot of bad swings from the fastball and cutter, so I felt like that pair was working well together,” he said.
He worked his way out of trouble the couple of times he found himself in jams.
Victor Robles began the third for the Mariners with a double. Crochet struck out Ryan Bliss looking with a 97.5 mph fastball on the outside corner. He then struck out former Sox catcher Seby Zavala looking with a cutter.
J.P. Crawford popped out to second baseman Nicky Lopez to end the inning.
Vaughn and Luis Robert Jr. hit back-to-back homers in the third to give the Sox a 2-0 lead. Tyler Locklear homered in the fifth to bring the Mariners within a run.
It was still 2-1 in the sixth when the Mariners threatened with back-to-back walks to begin the inning.
Crochet struck out Dylan Moore swinging with a 97.6 mph fastball and struck out Rodríguez swinging with a 92.5 mph cutter. Mitch Garver lined out to Robert in center field as the Sox maintained the one-run advantage.
“A lot of conviction behind the fastball and the cutter and it worked well,” Crochet said of working his way out.
He came back out for the seventh and collected his 12th strikeout, getting Mitch Haniger swinging to establish a career high. He added one more to the total, striking out Locklear.
“I saw the look in (manager Pedro Grifol’s) eyes and begged him to go batter to batter,” Crochet said. “I’m thankful that he let me and had the faith in me and was able to go three up, three down.”
Grifol said Crochet gave the team “a great performance,” and the seventh stood out.
“Him going back out there and doing it in 12 pitches, that was the inning of the game,” Grifol said.
It was still almost not enough for a win. The Sox lost late in each of the first three games of the series, including two walk-offs for the Mariners. And Seattle came through with another clutch hit Thursday on the Rodríguez home run.
But the Sox bounced back in the 10th. Lee began the inning on second, advanced to third on a one-out single by Lopez and scored on Vaughn’s grounder. Banks followed with a 1-2-3 10th as the Sox (18-52) snapped a four-game losing streak.
“Had a couple of tough losses on this road trip, and tonight, to hold on tight there at the end was awesome,” Crochet said.
