When it’s said that one pitch can make or break a game, that doesn’t only refer to walk-off homers.
In a stunning and heroic, but ultimately heartbreaking effort, Garrett Crochet defied expectations with a taut six innings of one-run ball — and lost, 1-0, to the Detroit Tigers on Opening Day.
Worse, it was the most inane of brain cramps that triggered the rotgut special that keyed the defeat. Facing Javier Báez to open the third, and putting him in an 0-2 hole, Crochet and catcher Martín Maldonado opted not to roll the ball to the plate and induce an easy whiff from the notoriously free-swinging clown prince but a center-cut fastball that was slapped to right for a single.