Fastball

Kutter Crawford Continues Absurd Start to 2024 Season as Red Sox Win Again

The Boston Red Sox beat the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday afternoon, 4-2. Triston Casas left the game with injury which put a damper on the win, but Kutter Crawford continued to roll. The righty pitched well again, joining some absurd ranks in team history.

Brady Farkas

Apr 20, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Kutter Crawford (50)
Apr 20, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Kutter Crawford (50) / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
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After losing three-out-of-four to the Cleveland Guardians last week, the Boston Red Sox have now won two straight against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Boston's latest victory was of the 4-2 variety on Saturday afternoon.

The win moved Boston to 12-10 on the season while the loss dropped the Pirates to 11-10.

After the game, enthusiasm was muted because Triston Casas departed in the first inning with an abdominal muscle issue. After already losing Trevor Story for the season and Rafael Devers dealing with a leg issue, the team can ill-afford to lose Casas as well. They are waiting for more information on him.

On the positive side, starting pitcher Kutter Crawford dominated again, going six strong innings. He allowed one run on seven hits. He walked three but struck out six in moving to 1-0 on the year.

Furthermore, his ERA stands at a miniscule 0.66, which puts him in an elite group in Sox history.

Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com on "X:"

lowest ERA in 1st 5 starts of a season, Red Sox since ER official in AL (1913):

1936 Lefty Grove: 0.21
1914 Dutch Leonard: 0.39
1916 Dutch Leonard: 0.42
1945 Dave Ferriss: 0.60
1917 Dutch Leonard: 0.60
2024 Kutter Crawford: 0.66
1991 Roger Clemens: 0.66

That's the lowest ERA through five starts in nearly 100 years, so it's incredibly impressive what Crawford has been able to do thus far. In the wake of also losing Lucas Giolito for the year, the team has needed all the stability that he's provided the rotation.

The Sox and Pirates wrap up the series on Sunday at 1:35 p.m. ET.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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