Why Red Sox fans shouldn’t worry about Chris Sale
With the way the Boston Red Sox scored runs at will in their opening series against the Baltimore Orioles, it’s easy to forget about the pitching when you win.
But with the way the Red Sox starting pitching performed, we have to talk about it!
A lot of people, including myself, were excited to see the season debut of Chris Sale. For the first time in four seasons, Sale was healthy to make his first start of the season in April. Encouraging news, right?
But the results aren’t exactly what we wanted to see out of the tall left-handed starting pitcher. Sale only last three innings and gave up seven earned runs on seven hits. He also had two walks along with six strikeouts.
Now, it’s very easy to hit the panic button after one outing. Especially with the way that Sale has been inconsistent to even stay on the mound!
But I’m here to tell you all: we as fans should not worry about Chris Sale right now.
Boston Red Sox seeing the velocity from Chris Sale
One of the biggest things I wanted to personally see from Chris Sale yesterday was how the velocity would hold up.
Now I want to be clear, I’m not expecting to see the Chris Sale of old who could throw triple digits. I just wanted to see if he could keep his fastball in the mid-90s. Sure enough, he did just that!
The tall lefty from Lakeland, Florida was hitting 94-95 consistently. When he was mad after giving up runs, we saw Sale up the fastball to 97 at times too. That’s a great sign to see!
A lefty coming at you with 95-97? If Sale can locate, then good luck to these MLB hitters!
Boston Red Sox seeing the effective breaking stuff from Chris Sale
Besides the fastball, we wanted to see how effective the Chris Sale slider was going to be in start number one. Safe to say, it delivered!
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The Sale slider was there from the first batter of the game and onward. Sale struck out the first batter of the game with the slider on a 3-2 count.
So again, the breaking stuff is still in the toolbox. If Sale’s slider is on, then he can easily give the Red Sox six inning starts more often than not. If not, it’s a tough day for the lanky lefty.
The bottom line with the Boston Red Sox and Chris Sale
Overreacting after only three games should never be the go to move for any fanbase. So one start isn’t enough to go directly to the “he stinks!” play.
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The command was the biggest flaw in Sale’s opening start for the 2023 season. But command is something that can be worked on during the off days.
We all know how important Chris Sale is to this Red Sox starting rotation. The Red Sox need him to be an ace. Not necessarily the ace that was available six or seven years ago. But an ace that can consistently take the ball and give you quality starts.
It’s clear Sale can still get strikeouts, six in three innings tells that story. But now it’s about tuning that command, getting more starts under his belt, and starting the season off strong.
If anybody can do it, it’s Chris Sale. I believe!