GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Chicago White Sox had Garrett Crochet on the board to pitch one inning in his first Cactus League outing on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Crochet was so effective in the first inning facing former MVPs Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman that he was given the chance to return for the second.
“That was nice,” Crochet said. “I was kind of scratching at the door all week long about that. Had a quick one so was able to get out there again.”
Crochet allowed two hits and struck out two in 1 2/3 scoreless innings in the 9-6 loss in front of 6,678 at Camelback Ranch.
“I felt good,” he said. “I got some things I’ve been working on (and can) take into my next game, into my bullpen here the next few days.”
Crochet’s fastball had plenty of life as he was clocked in the upper 90s.
“(It was) coming out pretty good,” Crochet said. “Had some good takes, and some bad swings, they timed it up a couple times. When you’re not landing the slider that’s going to happen.
“Just throwing strikes, that’s been my theme.”
In his first start since college, Garrett Crochet strikes out Shohei Ohtani! pic.twitter.com/nob3Y89xA0
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) February 27, 2024
Crochet threw 34 pitches, mostly fastballs and sliders.
“Just having more confidence and conviction in my stuff,” Crochet said of his work this spring. “There were a couple of times today when I challenged hitters and they beat me. And a couple times when they challenged me and I won. That’s the thing I’ve worked on all spring long, just throwing pitches with conviction.”
The left-hander is attempting to go from being a reliever to becoming a starter.
“(There is) a lot of competition going on this spring,” Crochet said. “It’s going to push everybody and right now I’m seeing the benefits of that. Just going to keep pushing.”
Before the game, manager Pedro Grifol said Crochet had looked “really good” during live batting practice sessions.
That continued Tuesday. He got Betts to ground out to second baseman Nicky Lopez and then struck out Ohtani looking. Crochet ended the first by getting Freeman to ground out to shortstop Paul DeJong.
“That’s what you want after putting a lot of hard work in the offseason,” he said of facing the trio. “I want to face a good lineup and see how things are playing.
“The results were good. Some positives to take away, but some things to work on as well. Just going to keep grinding.”
Pitcher Jesse Scholtens to undergo Tommy John surgery
The Sox placed pitcher Jesse Scholtens on the 60-day injured list with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, the team announced Tuesday. The right-hander is scheduled to have surgery on Friday.
Scholtens, 28, went 1-9 with a 5.29 ERA in 26 appearances (11 starts) for the Sox last season.
Sox, Cubs trade minor-league pitchers
The Sox made a trade on Tuesday with the Cubs, acquiring Bailey Horn in exchange for right-hander Matthew Thompson. Horn, who was traded from the Sox to the Cubs for pitcher Ryan Tepera on July 29, 2021, went 7-3 with a 4.21 ERA and 78 strikeouts in 45 relief appearances last season between Double-A Tennessee and Triple-A Iowa.
Thompson, a second-round pick in the 2019 draft, is 12-31 with a 5.09 ERA and 320 strikeouts in 74 starts during four seasons (2019, 2021-23) in the Sox minor-league system.
