Boston Red Sox: Chris Sale gets another behind kicking on the mound
In allowing five runs to the Los Angeles Dodgers Saturday night, Boston Red Sox ace Chris Sale has watched his record in 2019 drop to 3-9.
As good as Eduardo Rodriguez was in Game 1 of the three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chris Sale was not. In the Boston Red Sox 11-2 loss Saturday night at Fenway Park, the lanky lefty tossed frustration on the mound and further displayed it after the game.
Following a stretch of the season in which he as resembled the dominant pitcher Red Sox Nation has come to celebrate, Sale has gone back into a slump of question marks which the pitcher is calling himself a “liability” to the team.
In allowing five runs on seven hits, Chris Sale has seen his record dip to 3-9 on the season with a whopping 4.27 ERA. As a key to the Red Sox roaring back in the second half of the season, what Sale displayed Saturday night on the mound was cause for concern and has the lefty as frustrated as ever.
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"“I’m going out there every fifth day and getting my [behind] kicked, what do you think? “It’s not fun,” Sale said when asked about his body language during his struggles on the mound. “I’m still working, I’m still grinding. I’m not going to give up, but it’s tough going out there every day being a liability for your team.”"
With Sale reaching 98 mph on his fastball, the early season struggles surrounding his velocity doesn’t appear to be an issue at this point of the season.
So, what is it?
Is it mental? Is it mechanics?
Whatever it is, Red Sox manager Alex Cora feel it’s up to the coaches to fix it. Chris Sale, however, feels it is all up to him to get back to the dominant, fearless pitcher he knows he can be and that all begins with more control and command on the mound.
"“Just locating to locate my fastball. That’s kind of the biggest thing. I’ve been throwing it all over the place,” Sale said. “I’m trying to throw it in, it’s going away. I’m trying to throw it away, it’s kind of yanking. All my hit by pitches this year, I think, have been on breaking balls to right-handed hitters. On breaking balls, that can’t happen.”"
With the defeat, Sale’s struggles at Fenway Park continued as well. He is now 0-3 with a 4.76 ERA at home. It’s hard to believe it is almost mid-July and the Boston Red Sox ace is still looking for his first home victory, but here we are and there are no excuses according to Sale.
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There are also no health issues, there is no lack of confidence or lack of his good stuff. Chris Sale simply needs to find his consistency, put the 3-9 record and winless streak at Fenway Park behind him and just let it flow. It really can’t get any worse than it has already been for Sale in 2019. It’s time to stop getting his behind kicked.