Boston Red Sox: Chris Sale scorches Orioles in the cold air of Fenway

Cold weather couldn’t stop Chris Sale’s dominance as the Boston Red Sox edged the Baltimore Orioles 3-1 on Sunday afternoon.

David Price could take a lesson from Chris Sale on Sunday.  In the team’s 3-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park, the Boston Red Sox lefty didn’t let the cold temperature freeze his dominance on the mound.

Although he ended up with another no-decision, Sale continued to shine for the Red Sox.  He stifled the Orioles, allowing just two hits and a run over five innings of work.  Impressively, with the temperature sinking as low as 34 degrees, Sale struck out eight batters and walked just two in a game that improved the team’s overall record to 13-2.

As miserable as the weather was, the pitching performance from the Red Sox ace showed his focus on the mound.  He has been so good to start the season that the close-to- freezing temperatures proved to be more challenging than the Orioles hitters themselves.

"“That was miserable,” Sale said following the game.  “Nothing short of miserable.  But like I’ve said before, I’m probably the warmest person out there.  I was just honestly trying to get the ball and go, get my guys in the dugout as quick as I could.”"

Correction.  He was actually the hottest person out there.  Out of the 93 pitches thrown, 56 of them went for strikes.  It was an outing Red Sox manager Alex Cora labeled as outstanding and a good sign for a team hoping to pitch well into October.

In allowing just the one run, Chris Sale continued the trend of solid starting pitching by the Boston Red Sox rotation.  He sunk his personal ERA to 1.23 and drew the following compliment from Orioles slugger Chris Davis:

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"“Chris Sale is tough.  He’s one of the best in the big leagues.  He’s tough when it’s sunny and 75.”"

While he has pitched well enough to be 4-0 at this point, giving the team a chance to win each game he pitches is the definition of a true ace.

Chris Sale praises Shohei Ohtani

That cold weather Chris Sale had to pitch through on Sunday was probably the main reason Shohei Ohtani decided to take his talents to Anaheim.

With the Boston Red Sox set to take on the Angels, the team will get their first look at the Japanese talent who is proving he can get it done on the mound and at the plate.  So far this season, Ohtani is 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA with 18 strikeouts in two starts.  At the plate, he is batting .367 with three home runs and 11 RBI.

We now see why the Red Sox and so many other teams coveted the 23-year-old phenom.  Sale also sees a player he can only respect as a fellow pitcher and also face at the plate.

"“He throws 100 miles per hour and can take you deep at the same time,” Sale said, via The Boston Globe.  “If you don’t respect that, I don’t know who you are or what you’re doing.”"

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In all, Shohei Ohtani could play a dual role in cooling the hot start of the Boston Red Sox.  It will be an interesting series in Anaheim indeed.