Boston Red Sox: 3 takeaways from Chris Sale’s dominance in Tampa

Sale buys time for the bullpen

 Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora was not only appreciative of Chris Sale’s dominance on the mound, he was also complimentary of his ability to go deep in the game.

The 7 2/3 innings of work Sale put in helped preserve the bullpen and keep relievers rested. In the first of 13 consecutive games with no day off, the Red Sox couldn’t afford to kick it off with a lot of use out of the bullpen.

Now, that typically isn’t a concern whenever Chris Sale is on the mound, but that reliability didn’t stop Cora from showing his appreciation for his ace’s ability to mix up his pitches and go deep into the game.

Joe Kelly and Craig Kimbrel did appear in the game, but working deep in the ballgame gave the longer relievers rest.  With the way David Price has been up and down this season and Drew Pomeranz’s struggles, saving the bullpen with this stretch of ballgames coming up is extremely important.

Next: Boston Red Sox: Evaluating Mookie Betts’ Triple Crown chances

Of course, Cora and the Boston Red Sox as a team hope the entire starting rotation follow Chris Sale’s lead when it comes to both consistency and durability on the mound.