The burly lefty, who was acquired in an offseason trade from the Chicago White Sox, lifted the Red Sox to a much-needed win on Sunday night. And with 12 games to play, Boston is still in a prime position to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2021.

The Boston Red Sox earned a much-needed victory on Sunday night, toppling the New York Yankees 6-4 at Fenway Park.

With the win, the Red Sox avoided a sweep at the hands of the Yankees and they stayed in the second wild card position in the American League playoff race, where they are one game ahead of the Houston Astros with 12 games to play.

Boston hasn't made the playoffs since 2021 and hasn't won the World Series since 2018.

Left-hander Garrett Crochet earned the victory for the Red Sox, carrying the team as he has all year. Over six innings, he gave up just three earned runs on five hits, walking one and striking out 12. He's now 16-5 on the campaign with a 2.63 ERA. He leads the American League in strikeouts and looks every bit the part of an ace should Boston make the playoffs.

He's also re-written the history books, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

Pitchers in Red Sox history with 230+ strikeouts and fewer than 60 runs allowed in at least 1 30-outing span:

Garrett Crochet

Chris Sale

Pedro Martinez

Crochet now has 240 strikeouts in 191.1 innings and he should be in the mix for the American League Cy Young Award.

Joining Martinez and Sale in history

It's certainly no small feat, as Martinez is a Hall of Famer and one of the best right-handers to ever pitch in the big leagues.

An 18-year veteran of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Montreal Expos, New York Mets, Red Sox, and Philadelphia Phillies, he went 219-100 with a 2.93 career ERA, winning three Cy Young's and appearing in eight All-Star Games. 

He also won a pitching Triple Crown, an All-Star MVP and a World Series, which was in 2004 with Boston.

Still pitching with the Atlanta Braves, Sale is now in his 15th season with the Chicago White Sox, Red Sox and Braves. He's gone 143-88 with a 3.01 ERA and he won the Cy Young in 2024 with Atlanta. He also helped the Red Sox to the 2018 title.

Additional Crochet history

Garrett Crochet is the first Red Sox pitcher with multiple games with 12+ strikeouts in a season since Chris Sale had 6 in 2019

Up next

Boston is off on Monday, and they will take on the Athletics for a three-game series at Fenway Park beginning on Tuesday night. First pitch is set for 6:45 p.m. ET.