Red Sox Notes: Career Outing Comes In Unlikely Spot For Cooper Criswell

Boston Red Sox pitcher Cooper Criswell doesn’t have an overpowering fastball and usually relies on his breaking pitches for success. That’s usually a bad recipe when pitching at altitude in Denver against the Colorado Rockies. But Tuesday night at Coors Field turned into a career outing for the 28-year-old right-hander. Criswell tossed seven shutout innings […]

Boston Red Sox pitcher Cooper Criswell doesn’t have an overpowering fastball and usually relies on his breaking pitches for success.

That’s usually a bad recipe when pitching at altitude in Denver against the Colorado Rockies.

But Tuesday night at Coors Field turned into a career outing for the 28-year-old right-hander. Criswell tossed seven shutout innings — he never had pitched that deep into a game in his career — and scattered five hits while walking one and striking out for in a 6-0 road win for the Red Sox.

“Awesome,” Tyler O’Neill told reporters of Criswell’s performance. “It’s one thing to come in here and throw five or six innings plus a couple runs, but he threw seven shutout out there. He did a great job keeping them off-balanced. … It’s just environmentally, that’s a tall task to ask for and he did an incredible job.”

Criswell, who had never pitched at Coors Field in his career, told reporters he experienced different grips and release points heading into his start. The minor tweaks certainly worked as he earned his fourth win of the season.

“I would say just (Monday) during catch play, kind of mess around with all your pitches, trying to get a feel for it,” Criswell told reporters. “And trying to just adjust release points a little bit. Obviously, nothing too dramatic. Starting the sweeper a little more over the plate rather than at the hitter and had some success with it.”

Criswell worked with a lead throughout the contest as the Red Sox staked him a 3-0 advantage before he even took the mound. The only time he ran into any trouble came in the top of the sixth when he allowed two singles to start the frame. But he induced a double-play ball and got another ground out to get out of the inning.

And with Boston’s bullpen taxed after an extra-inning affair the night before, Red Sox manager Alex Cora sent Criswell out for another inning as he saved arms for Boston’s series finale Wednesday against the Rockies.

“Very important. This is where we’re at pitching-wise and what we need to do for (Wednesday) to try to win the game,” Cora told reporters. “For him to go deep into the game and give us a chance to win was outstanding.”

Here are more notes from Tuesday’s Red Sox-Rockies games:

— The combination of the thin Colorado air and O’Neill’s sheer power allowed the Red Sox outfielder to club the longest home run of his career. It came off Ty Blach in the top of the third inning and traveled an eye-popping 465 feet before it landed on the concourse behind the left-field seats at Coors Field.

“Happy to hit the homer and contribute to the win,” O’Neill said. “It always feels good when you tag one pretty good. As long as it clears the wall and help out the team, that’s all that matters here.”

— The Red Sox certainly held their breath when star third baseman Rafael Devers stayed down on the infield dirt and clutched his right shoulder after diving for a ball. Devers was looked at by Boston’s training staff and remained in the game. His shoulder was tested when he was forced to make a few plays after the injury scare, but looked unbothered.

Devers said he expected to play in the series finale.

“At the beginning it was a little bit scary,” Devers told reporters through translator Carlos Villoria Benitez. “But after that, I was sure it was nothing serious. But yeah, at the beginning I felt a little bit scared because I didn’t land in a good way.”

— The pitching turnaround for the Red Sox is one of the biggest stories of the season. They notched their 12th shutout of the season, which leads the majors.

— The Red Sox have not performed well against left-handed starting pitchers this season but roughed up Bach, who allowed six runs on seven hits before being pulled after 2 1/3 innings. It was just Boston’s second win this month in seven tries against a lefty starter.

— The Red Sox close out their six-game road trip and three-game series with the Rockies on Wednesday. First pitch from Coors Field is scheduled for 3:10 p.m. ET, and you can catch complete coverage of the game on NESN.