Former GM Boldly Predicts Historic Feat For 2026 Red Sox Pitching Staff originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
With Opening Day on Thursday, this week is a time for bold predictions and optimism.
Over at The Athletic (subscription required), former MLB GM Jim Bowden unveiled his 26 predictions for the 2026 MLB season on Wednesday, two of which included the Boston Red Sox.
One involved the Red Sox throwing the first no-hitter of the 2026 season. Bowden predicts it will be a combined no-hitter that happens in Garrett Crochet’s fourth start of the year, presumably in April.
He thinks it will involve Crochet, Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman, which likely means seven innings from Crochet, one from Whitlock and one from Chapman.
“Garrett Crochet, Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman combine to throw the season’s first no-hitter, which falls on Crochet’s fourth start of the year for the Red Sox,” Bowden writes.
That would be the 327th no-hitter in MLB history and the first since Sept. 4, 2024, as there were none last season. It would be the 19th no-hitter in franchise history (third-most of any team) and Boston’s first since Jon Lester’s on May 19, 2008. It would also be just the second combined no-hitter in team history and the first since 1917.
While no-hitters are incredibly rare, it’s not hard to envision the Red Sox’s top trio of pitchers throwing one against a bad lineup.
Crochet finished second in the AL Cy Young race last year and is one of the best starting pitchers in baseball. He’s durable, dominant and can go deep into a game. He also misses a ton of bats and led the Major Leagues in strikeouts last year, so he doesn’t allow a lot of contact.
Meanwhile, Whitlock and Chapman are two of the best relievers in baseball. Chapman is coming off one of the best seasons of his career and earned Cy Young votes last year, while Whitlock is an elite setup man.
If they’re all on their game on the same night, it could happen.
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