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Crochet allowed one hit and one walk over two scoreless innings in Thursday's spring start against the Rays.
Crochet made his Grapefruit League debut, throwing 23 pitches (14 strikes) in his first step on the way to an Opening Day start. Other than a lack of strikeouts, it was an unremarkable outing for the left-hander, who led the majors in 2025 with 255 punchouts. He used most of his repertoire, including a splitter he'd like to use more of in 2026.
Manager Alex Cora announced Tuesday that Crochet will start Opening Day against the Reds on March 26, Sean McAdam of MassLive.com reports.
It's hardly a surprise the left-hander will be taking the mound first for Boston, and Cora wasted no time making it official. Crochet entrenched himself as one of the best pitchers in baseball last year, posting a 2.59 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 255:46 K:BB across 205.1 innings during the regular season.
