Boston Red Sox lefty Chris Sale has that ace mojo flowing again
It’s been and up and down first two months of the season for the Boston Red Sox. As it stands, the Red Sox are 27-24 and in fourth place in the hard division that is the American League East.
While the offense has been consistent, the starting pitching has been starting (no pun intended!) to hold up their end of the bargain. One guy that has been particularly good over his last several starts has been Chris Sale.
It looks as though the lanky lefty is starting to find his groove again.
He had another really good start on Friday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The 34 year old went five innings, gave up one earned run on four hits, had one walk and three strikeouts.
It’s safe to say that we’re starting to see the old ace of the Red Sox slowly returning to this team, at the perfect time too!
Boston Red Sox getting a strikeout pitcher in Chris Sale
One of the biggest things with Chris Sale throughout the entirety of his career has been his ability to obtain strikeouts. It looks like he’s starting to get that back.
Just in his last three starts, Sale has 20 strikeouts in 21 innings. So nearly a strikeout an inning, which is pretty good last time I checked!
If you want to see how much better the Red Sox have been, check out this little tidbit.
Chris Sale (4-0) over his last 5 starts
— Tom Caron (blue checkmark redacted) (@TomCaron) May 27, 2023
32.1 IP 20 H 3 ER 4 BB 35 K 2.23 ERA#RedSox
His last five starts overall have been extremely encouraging, especially in the strikeout category. 35 strikeouts in 32.1 innings pitched shows how Sale has found a feel for his pitches now, compared to the beginning part of the season. Overall, really good stuff!
Boston Red Sox getting a reliable starter in Chris Sale
Going back to that tidbit for a second, the Red Sox have Chris Sale back as a reliable starter in more than just the strikeout department.
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One number that jumps out is the walks. Only four walks in those 32.1 innings is a good sign. The 2.23 ERA is also incredible, given the fact that a lot of ERAs are higher for pitchers in this day and age.
Point being, the Red Sox can rely on Sale now to go out and give you 5-8 innings of solid starts; depending on the day.
Chris Sale regaining his dominant key for Red Sox
It is a lot of fun to see Chris Sale look like the dominant Chris Sale of old. Now the Red Sox just need to hope he stays healthy and productive for the rest of the 2023 season.
Next. How the Red Sox should attack Michael Wacha. dark
If the Red Sox want any chance of making the postseason, they’re going to need to continue to get good starts out of Chris Sale and the rest of the starting rotation.
This team has playoff potential when guys like Sale, James Paxton, and Brayan Bello lead the rotation and deliver quality starts.
Alex Cora deserves his credit. He’s done a solid job with this team so far, given the expectations heading into the season.
Now it’s about doing it in the dog days of summer before (hopefully!) a playoff push come September.