Mound of concern
No answers from Sale in regular season finale
Chris Sale failed to answer any questions in his final start of the regular season last night.
His velocity was down again, as he averaged just 90 mph on his four-seam fastball and was often wild with his slider, hitting two batters with it in the first inning.
Sale allowed three runs in 42⁄3 innings, striking out eight on 92 pitches as the Red Sox lost 10-3 to the Baltimore Orioles last night.
The Sox clobbered the O’s, 19-3, in the first game of the doubleheader.
But there are few questions about the Red Sox offense. The questions are about the pitching staff, how Sale hasn’t looked like the same guy who owned a 1.97 ERA through 23 starts, David Price got knocked around by the Yankees last week and the bullpen remains a mystery.
Sale’s stuff is good enough that he can handle a team like the O’s with high-80s fastballs with a quality slider/changeup combination. At times last night he was doing it. But it wasn’t consistent, and better teams like the Houston Astros are likely to handle him if he doesn’t sharpen up for the postseason.
His fourth pitch of the game was a slider that he slung across his body and plunked right-handed hitter Cedric Mullins. Two batters later, Trey Mancini took a high change and roped it for an RBI triple. Then Sale hit Adam Jones on another slider that he lost inside. A sacrifice fly made it 2-0 Orioles before the first inning was over.
Sale averaged 90.3 mph on his fastball, down again for his fifth straight start. According to Brooks Baseball, it was the lowest average fastball velocity ever recorded in one of his starts.
Sale averaged 98 mph on his four-seam fastball on Aug. 12 when he returned from his first stint on the disabled list to face the Orioles, then 96 mph, 94 mph and 93 mph in his first three starts after coming off the DL a second time.
Sale still generated a handful of whiffs on his change and slider, though his fastball command was inconsistent.
Price was a bit better in his afternoon outing, though he allowed three runs in five innings and has now allowed nine runs (seven earned) in his last two starts.
“Probably one pitch away from being taken out of that game in the second inning,” Price said. “So to be able to reel it back in and get through that to get nine more outs after that second inning, that was big.
“I didn’t throw the baseball the way that I wanted to or expected to throw the baseball today, but that’s baseball. I feel good. I feel like I’m ready to continue forward and continue trending in the right direction.”
Price (16-7) still holds a sparkling 2.00 ERA since the All-Star break.
“I threw some really good pitches today, and felt some different things,” he said. “So going back and watching that video and making sure we stay on top of that stuff. Getting ready for the biggest time of the year and that’s what I’m looking forward to.”
Both Price and Sale will rest up the rest of the way. They’ll work on the side as they prepare for the Division Series that begins Oct. 5.