Sale impresses in his second start, with unique motivation
Starter almost perfect through three innings
He was vintage Chris Sale on Saturday afternoon.
One pitch to get the first out, one pitch to get the second. He gave up a single to Twins infielder Donovan Solano, then struck out Kyle Farmer.
Eight pitches, inning over. He sat them down 1-2-3 in the second inning, striking out the first two batters, then faced the minimum again in the third, striking out the first and third batters.
Three innings, one hit, no walks, five strikeouts. 32 pitches, 25 for strikes. If not for the Solano single, a perfect outing.
Sale worked so efficiently that he ended up throwing a mock inning in the bullpen after leaving the game, as a means of building pitch count.
His manager was pleased. “Really good,” Alex Cora told reporters after the game. “Used all of his pitches, he was very sound, mechanics-wise.”
The Twins won, 4-3, dropping the Sox to 9-2 in spring training games.
It turns out, Sale’s impeccable outing was motivated by more than just the potential of a legitimate comeback.
“I had a bunch of friends here, a bunch of family, and my son’s travel ball team was here, so I was fired up,” he told MLB.com’s Ian Browne.
With results like these, the Red Sox should make sure they’re at every one of his games this year.
Pitching progress: In other good pitching news, Brayan Bello and Garrett Whitlock each faced live batters on Saturday.
It was Whitlock’s second live BP, but his first up-anddown; he went two innings and threw 46 pitches.
The 26-year-old righty will make his Grapefruit League debut on Wednesday, his first game since Sept. 16. He appeared in 31 games for the Red Sox last season, including his first nine big-league starts, before needing hip surgery in the fall.
After a brief shutdown due to forearm tightness, Bello went live for the first time this spring, and threw a 17-pitch inning of work. He’ll ramp up to two innings on Wednesday, and if that goes well, can get in a game around March 19 or 20.
The 23-year-old righty won’t be ready exactly on time for the regular season, but is expected to pitch in April.
Bello debuted on July 6 of last year, and pitched in 13 games for the Red Sox, including 11 starts.
Injury updates: It’s been less than a week since the terrifying moment Justin Turner was hit in the head by a pitch, but he’s recovering at lightning speed.
The veteran infielder avoided any facial fractures and his scans were clean. He only needed 16 stitches, and Cora says they could be removed as early as Sunday.