Boston Red Sox: Chris Sale is on a collision course with history

Boston Red Sox lefty Chris Sale is proving just why he is the most dominant starting pitching acquisition since Pedro Martinez.

Dave Dombrowski got this one right. What the Boston Red Sox gave up in the blockbuster deal with the Chicago White Sox to acquire Chris Sale has been worth the price.

The dominate lefty recorded yet another 10-strikeout-plus outing in a 6-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays Saturday afternoon at Fenway Park. With the performance, Sale improved his record to 4-2, but he has had the type of stuff all season long to be undefeated.

Despite giving up two home runs, Chris Sale was on his game. Tampa batters couldn’t figure him out all day long with 16 swings-and-misses. He is really proving to be an intimidating force on the mound and one that the Boston Red Sox need on a team searching for that superstar leader.

Overall, Sale leads the majors with 85 strikeouts with an impressive average of 13 per game. Red Sox manager John Farrell has had the luxury of sitting back and enjoying his starters consistent dominance in all his starts so far.

"“It’s almost a carbon copy of the six previous starts with the exception of a couple of pitches that leave the ballpark,” Farrell told reporters following the game."

On a collision course with history

Speaking of his seven starts this season, Chris Sale has on the path of history with his strikeout performances. Including Saturday’s outing, he has now struck out 10 or more batters in seven straight starts. It is just the sixth time a player has accomplished this feat since 1913.

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Sale joins Pedro Martinez (twice), Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan and himself as pitchers to have accomplished this feat. That leaves him just one 10-strikeout performance away from tying his own streak of eight-straight starts with double-digit strikeouts. Martinez also shares the streak, which is the MLB record.

As usual, Sale is not concerned about his individual feats. But he did attribute his success to hard work and focus between starts and told the media following the game that the confidence he has in his teammates adds to his focus on the mound.

"“I can go out there and do my job knowing I have teammates behind me and guys who are going to make plays,” Sale said, via the Providence Journal. “That allows me to throw more strikes and when you throw more strikes, you get more strikeouts. I think it’s just a product of a lot of things, but mostly having confidence in the guys behind me.”"

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