Garrett Crochet couldn't wait to take the mound Tuesday night at Fenway Park. After an extended 10-day break between starts, he was ready to go out and be the ace of the Boston Red Sox.

The extra rest, part of Boston's workload management for Crochet, paid off for the lefty as he picked up right where he left off for the Red Sox. There was no rust on his left shoulder as Crochet tossed seven electric innings in a 6-2 win over the Kansas City Royals in front of a sellout crowd at Fenway Park.

"I've been pretty hungry for this next one," Crochet said after the win. "And hopefully that's the last time that we feel as though I need a breather and that come October, I'm still feeling good and going full bore."

After missing out on the team's weekend sweep over the Astros, Crochet was eager to get back to work Tuesday night in another game that carried a playoff feel. The Red Sox have solidified a spot atop the AL Wild Card standings, while the Royals are fighting to get back into the playoff picture.

The six-game win streak Boston brought into the game created a notable buzz throughout the ballpark, though Crochet toeing the rubber added a lot to the atmosphere as he fired up the 37,013 fans in attendance with nearly every pitch. He surrendered just two runs off four hits and one walk over his seven innings Tuesday night. Crochet struck out eight batters, including the final two he faced to get out of a jam in the top of the seventh.

Boston has now won seven straight games overall, and six straight games Crochet has started. The team is now 16-7 when Crochet takes the mound, after going 6-6 in his first 12 starts.

"Aces stop the losing streaks, and they keep the winning streaks going," manager Alex Cora said Tuesday night. "That's what he's doing right now."

Crochet picked up his MLB-leading 13th win Tuesday night, and he also leads baseball with 183 strikeouts, 148.1 innings pitched, and 10 starts of seven or more innings. He can also put a top ERA on his Cy Young resume, as he ranks third in the AL at 2.24. 

Crochet finishes off a shaky seventh in style

Crochet got through the first six innings with relative ease, allowing just one run off a Bobby Witt Jr. triple and a Maikel Garcia RBI double in the top of the fourth. He worked around a leadoff double in the top of the fifth, and then needed just 10 pitches to get through the bottom of the sixth.

Crochet took the mound in the top of the seventh with a 3-1 lead thanks to a two-run single by Trevor Story in the bottom of the sixth. But he ran into some trouble when he walked Garcia on seven pitches to lead off the frame. He got the dangerous Salador Perez to fly out to right, though the F-9 brought about some drama as it flirted with being one of those Pesky's Pole homers that only happen at Fenway Park.

Randal Crichuk then smoked a double to deep center, which hit off the glove of Jarren Duran and scored Garcia to make it a 3-2 game. With Crochet approaching the 100-pitch mark, it was time to buckle down and get out of the jam.

So Crochet did what aces do: He reared back and fanned the next two batters to leave the tying run at second. Crochet gave the next nine pitches everything he had, and got both Nick Loftin and Luke Maile swinging and missing at strike three. Loftin went down on an 85 mph sweeper, while Maile whiffed at a 96 mph fastball.

After Maile struck out, Crochet pounded his fist into his glove and let out an emphatic roar as he walked off the mound. Red Sox fans returned to favor, treating him to a massive ovation as he made his way to the Boston dugout.

"It felt really good," Crochet said of finishing off the seventh. "For that at bat, I felt like I was fairly in control and I just didn't want to give up the lead again. I had already given up one that inning, so it shortened the lead pretty quickly. I just wanted that strikeout pretty bad."

Crochet has become must-see TV every time he takes the bump for the Red Sox. While he won't be skipping any starts in the foreseeable future, the team is going to make sure it works in extra days off whenever the schedule allows. Thanks to an off-day Thursday, he'll have five days off before he takes the mound again next week in Houston.

"I think this is the last time we're going to skip a start from now on, obviously if he stays healthy," Cora said as he knocked on the wooden table he was sitting at. "We'll use the off-days to our advantage. This is something we talked about before the All-Star Game and I think, overall, we stayed very disciplined. Including himself, because it's hard. He wants to pitch, he wants to contribute."

The White Sox spent the second half of last season limiting Crochet to four-inning starts, so he's really eager to be part of a playoff run with Boston. While a Tuesday night in August against the Royals is no playoff game, the atmosphere at Fenway Park gave Crochet a taste of what will come in October if the Red Sox continue their incredible run.

"It's a fun atmosphere right now," said Crochet. "I can only imagine what it's going to be in a couple months, but that's why we've got to keep working. We've still got [47] games left. But, yeah, it feels really good playing here in Boston."

He'll have to wait a bit, but Crochet looked ready for a playoff run Tuesday night.