Garrett Crochet delivered another all too familiar dominant start for the Red Sox on Saturday.
The ace went seven full innings in the Bronx and struck out 11 Yankees, allowing five hits and only one run in Boston's 12-1 blowout win.
After what would be his final strikeout of the game, Crochet just walked off the mound laughing.
Early in the afternoon, Crochet eclipsed the 200 strikeout mark in just 26 appearances this season. Only three Red Sox pitchers have ever done it that fast (per Rob Bradford): Chris Sale (twice), Pedro Martinez (three times), and Roger Clemens.
His 207 strikeouts and 2.38 ERA have Crochet squarely in the American League Cy Young hunt. It's been a tight race between him and Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, but its also a race Crochet is trying to put out of his mind competely.
"I feel like every time I've thought about it, I've had a real bad start to follow," Crochet said of the award. "At this point in the year, it's continuing to press for the finish line and just prepare for the postseason."
Crochet's performance came directly off the back of Brayan Bello's quality start on Friday. The pair have become quite the 1-2 punch of late, as Bello continues to surge and his ERA plummets.
Crochet spoke highly of Bello and how his shutout performance motivated the ace to follow suit.
"I think it might be my third time following [Bello] in the rotation, and I gotta be on my A-game," Crochet told reporters. "Because he's been throwing the ball so well. Just really trying to duplicate what he was able to do last night."
The Red Sox have now won eight straight against the Yankees, and will go for the four-game series sweep on Sunday with Dustin May on the bump. First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m.