Boston Red Sox: 3 takeaways from Chris Sale’s dominance in Tampa
Dominant without being dominant
Chris Sale hasn’t been as dominant as he was at the beginning of last season, but he is just as effective.
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With his history of wearing down towards the ends of seasons, the left-handed ace has held back a bit. It may not seem like it for opposing hitters, but Sale is managing the power of his arm in a way to build it up instead of overpowering early in the season, thus suffering from late-season fatigue.
His fastball did rise as high as 99 mph in Tuesday night’s game, but overall Chris Sale entered the season with focus on staying strong throughout the season. By changing his approach to not attempt to overpower every batter he faces, Sale is preserving that dazzling dominance for when it really matters.
In an appearance in early May, Sale talked about that approach.
"“Longevity is the key – Longevity and consistency,” He said, as transcribed by WEEI. “Everyone talks about last year and all the strikeouts, but let’s be honest, the consistency wasn’t good. It was all or nothing. I was going out there punching out 12, or I was giving up six. For me, I would rather be a little more consistent and fill up innings. Strikeouts are cool. I get it. It’s like hitting home runs. But I think sometimes you can get too caught up in looking at strikeouts.”"
While Sale has recorded 9 strikeouts in his last two outings, he has dialed it back and found other ways to be effective on the mound and put his team in the best position to win.
Hopefully, it will pay off when those wins are needed the most.
In the postseason.