If you’ve been on Garrett Crochet Velocity Drop Watch the past few weeks, when the ace’s heater was two miles an hour slower on average than last year, you may stand down. Crochet calmed any creeping worries on Saturday when he threw a 108-pitch gem and threw his hardest pitch of the season at 98.5 MPH. (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)
But it’s possible that there was an even more encouraging pitching development on Sunday. That’s the day that Lucas Giolito worked into the seventh inning against the Tigers. After an ugly start against the Rangers in which he really only threw fastballs and changeups, Giolito changed the grip on his slider and put it back in his arsenal this weekend.