Sox’ Sale plan pays off
Ace dominant again, likely fresher in Oct.
With a gentle breeze, partly sunny skies and the temperature in the mid-70s, there was no better place to spend an early summer afternoon in
New England yesterday than at Fenway Park, where Chris
Sale was in dominating, best-in-the-business form, throwing high heat and unfair sliders to lead the Red Sox to a decisive 5-0 win over the Mariners.
The offense ignited at the right time, and the Sox won a game, series and season series (4-3) to gain homefield advantage just in case the two teams meet in an AL wild card game down the road.
As days at the office go, yesterday’s ranked near perfect in all regards. None, though, nearly as important as Sale.
We will not know anything for sure until the Red Sox reach what looks to be an inevitable playoff appearance, but when Sale pitches Game 1 against whomever and wherever, the odds that he will be a fresher daisy than the beginning-to-wilt one who showed up last year in Houston look favorable.
After 17 starts this season, Sale has thrown 112⁄3 fewer innings and 138 fewer pitches than last year at this point, roughly a startand-a-half less. Rather than 16 of his 17 starts being 100-plus pitches a year ago, Sale has topped 100 pitches just 10 times.
Perhaps that’s why he was able to throw his final pitch (No. 93) yesterday at a sizzling 100 mph to strike out Mike Zunino to end the seventh of his scoreless innings.
He’s feeling fresh and he’s feeling strong.
When it comes to the Red Sox’ postseason hopes, it was a very bright day.
“That’s the plan, that’s been the plan all along,” said Sale, who guessed correctly that he had thrown fewer pitches, innings and 100-plus games than 17 starts in a year ago. “At this point, still feeling good, and trying to carry that through the summer months. The main focus right now is to win games.”
True enough, but winning games with Sale using fewer bullets than ever?
Those wins show up not only now, but in October, too.
“He feels great — we talked about it after I took him out,” said manager Alex Cora. “You see it velocitywise, the way he’s repeating his windup, he’s in a good place. I know a lot of people talk about what happened last year. I do feel like his stuff was still there in October. He was throwing 97, 98 it was just a matter of a few pitches that got the heart of the plate and (the Astros) took advantage.
“So I’m glad he feels fresh and I’m glad we’ve been disciplined as far as what we mapped out during the offseason.”
Sale allowed just four hits, walking one and striking out 13. He did not allow a hit until the third inning, Denard Span, but after Sale picked him off, he struck out seven of the next eight batters he faced.
At first, Seattle starter Marco Gonzales was right there with Sale, holding the Sox lineup to only one hit through his first four innings.
Then, in the fifth, with their second look at Gonzales, the middle of the lineup began to quickly figure him out.
Xander Bogaerts led off with a double down the left-field line, followed by a single Eduardo Nunez barreled up the middle. The hits stirred the crowd out of its summer slumber and then Rafael Devers jolted fans out of their seats with an RBI double for the 1-0 lead. Two sacrifice flies hit deep to center field, one by Sandy Leon, the other by Mookie Betts, padded the Sox’ lead to 3-0.
The next inning, J.D. Martinez beat out an infield single and then trotted home when Mitch Moreland bounced a home run off the black batter’s eye tarp in straightaway center field for the 5-0 lead that stuck.
In the end, everything came back to Sale — today and especially tomorrow.
“It’s a big game — you win the series and move on, that’s our goal regardless of who we play,” said Cora. “I’m glad we scored five and (Sale) went seven and we can take him out, stay with the program, he looks fresh. He’s throwing the ball well and of course we’re very pleased with where he’s at right now.”