Sale impresses in second start, with unique motivation
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. It was a good one and now we move onto the next one.”
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. “I couldn’t suck today.”
With results like these, the Red Sox should make sure they’re at every one of his games this year.
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, a protégé of Pedro Martinez, 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. He was dominant down the stretch, and is considered a huge piece of the club’s future.
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.
By some miracle, 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.
“There’s a chance he hits tomorrow,” the Red Sox manager told reporters on Saturday morning. “He mentioned they might take the stitches out. He’s doing a lot of stuff in the gym. So far, so good. He looks a lot better. Hopefully we can get him on the field and do that stuff and see where we’re at.”
The Dalbec dilemma
What are the Red Sox going to do with Bobby Dalbec when the games become real?
He entered Saturday’s contest with six hits in his first eight games, including three doubles, a home run, six runs scored, and three RBI, and added to his spring totals, going 2-for-3 with a double and run scored.
But the presumed regular-season diamond is full, even overf lowing. Triston Casas at first, Christian Arroyo at second, Kiké Hernández at shortstop, Rafael Devers at third, backup and depth in the form of Justin Turner, Rob Refsnyder, Yu Chang, and Niko Goodrum. Jorge Alfaro can play first as well as catch. Trevor Story and Adalberto Mondesi are making promising progress in their respective rehabs.
Dalbec is only 27 and won’t be arbitration- eligible until 2024.
Roster moves
On Saturday, the Red Sox optioned Wilyer Abreu to Triple-a Worcester.
They also reassigned right-handers Taylor Broadway, Jake Faria, Durbin Feltman, and Norwith Gudiño to minor league camp.
The Red Sox now have 56 players remaining in Major League camp, including 16 non-roster invitees.
WBC notes
In Pool C, Jorge Alfaro
had himself a day in the game between Team Colombia and Team Mexico on Saturday, breaking up Julio Urias’ perfect game with a leadoff double in the fifth. He hit another leadoff double in the top of the seventh and then scored the go-ahead run to put Colombia ahead 4-3.
In the bottom of the same inning, Alex Verdugo singled up the middle to tie it back up for Team Mexico.
Team Puerto Rico played their first game on Saturday, beating Nicaragua 9-1. Kiké Hernández went 1-for- 4 with a walk and a run.
Masataka Yoshida and Yu Chang have been unstoppable so far in their respective pools.
Yoshida, whom the Red Sox signed to a five-year deal this offseason, went 2-for-2 with three RBI on
Saturday, lifting Team Japan to their third win in Pool B.
In Pool A, Chang, who re-signed with the Red Sox earlier in spring training, went 2-for-3 with a grand slam to help Team Chinese Taipei beat Team Netherlands 9-5.
“LOVING THIS GAME,” he tweeted after the win.
Jesús Alou passes away
Legendary baseball figure Jesús Alou passed away this week at 80 years old.
He and his older brothers, Felipe and Matty, all played in the majors. In Jesús’ debut on Sept. 10, 1963, all three were in the San Francisco Giants lineup. Five days later, they made history as the only brothers to play in the same outfield.
A two-time World Series
champion with the Oakland Athletics, Alou played 15 seasons before retiring and continuing his baseball career, first as a scout for the Montreal Expos, then as the Florida Marlins’ director of Dominican operations.
In 2002, Alou joined the Red Sox in the same role he’d had with the Marlins, and remained in the role until 2017, when he transitioned into part-time work as a special assistant and ambassador.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Jesus Alou,” the Red Sox said in a statement on Friday. “A 2x World Series champion, with over 60 years in baseball as a player, coach, scout, & ambassador, Jay was the patriarch of the Red Sox Dominican Academy & Lindos Sueños, bringing together communities within Red Sox Nation.”