When it is time to put in an ace performance, the Boston Red Sox have found out the last two seasons that Chris Sale is that guy.
There was no playing around at Tropicana Field on Tuesday night. It was “Sale Day” and Chris Sale was on his game leading the Boston Red Sox to a 4-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays to kick off the three-game series between the American League East rivals.
Combining a nasty fastball and an equally effective slider, Sale mowed down Rays batters giving up just one earned run on 4 hits over 7 2/3 innings to improve his record to 5-1 on the season.
In allowing just the one earned run, Sale dropped his ERA to 2.17. His nine strikeouts once again supported how dominant the 29-year-old ace is when he has command of the mound.
He is even more lethal when staked to an early lead and given run support. On Tuesday night, Mookie Betts blasted a three-run homer to give Chris Sale an early 3-0 lead. From there, Sale was in cruise control despite offering up a mistake to Rays prospect Willy Adames, who launched his first Major League homerun.
Other than that, the Red Sox 33rd victory of the season wasn’t in doubt as Sale fastball and sliders held the Rays at bay.
"“I felt loose, obviously having an extra day and was able to get some work in,” Sale said following the game, via MLB. “Extra day of work and also an extra day of rest. Mixing some things up, Sandy [Leon] was nails back there again today, mixing them, in and out, up and down. I felt good the whole time through.”"
And it showed.
With Craig Kimbrel securing the win with his 14th save of the season, here are three takeaways from Chris Sale’s outstanding performance.
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.
Run support is his friend
With the way he has been pitching, Chris Sale should probably have a better record than 5-1.
Due to a lack of run support, the Boston Red Sox ace has had a few no-decisions this season. Like much of last season, it seems when Sale is on the mound, the bats go silent for the most part.
While you will never hear Sale complain about the lack of run support, it has to be a little frustrating. At least, his teammates realize his misfortune. Following a three-run blast to give Sale an early lead to work with, Mookie Betts summed up just how important it is to score runs for his reliable ace in just one sentence.
"“Once we get the lead with that guy, we’re in pretty good shape,” Betts said."
Chris Sale returned the compliment by calling Betts the best player in baseball.
As far as the rest of the lineup goes, Rafael Devers did hit a blast late in the game to give the Red Sox more of a cushion.
Center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr., who has been in a major slump most of the season, delivered two base hits in Tuesday night’s game. If he can get it going at the bottom of the lineup, that would make Betts just that more effective at the top of the lineup.
Looking at the big picture, that can only provide more run support for all Red Sox pitchers, particularly Chris Sale.
In all, it’s now how many runs they produce, it’s when they produce those runs. When they come early, a pitcher like Sale becomes that much tougher.
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.