What can Red Sox expect from Sale?

Chris Sale has informed the Sox he will not opt out of the final two years and $55 million of his contract. No surprise there.

The bigger question: How many innings the team can reasonably expect from the lefthander, who will turn 34 on Opening Day.

Sale pitched 48‚ innings from 2020-22. When he arrives at spring training, Sale will have pitched six innings in a game once over the previous 3½ years.

Sale had Tommy John surgery on March 30, 2020, but did not return to the majors until Aug. 14, 2021. He then missed the first 87 games of last season with a rib cage fracture.

That comeback lasted two games before Sale was hit in the left hand by a batted ball and fractured his pinkie. He then fractured his right wrist falling off a bike.

Finding a comparable situation isn’t easy.

Corey Kluber was hit by a batted ball and fractured his arm on May 1, 2019. He didn’t pitch again until July 2020 and lasted one inning before tearing a shoulder muscle.

He returned again in April 2021 and gave the Yankees 16 starts, 80 innings, and a 3.83 ERA.

“Look at [Sale] like a marathon runner. You can’t run 3-4 miles for a few years and then run a marathon,” said former major league pitching coach Rick Peterson, who has studied biomechanics and injury patterns with pitchers. “This is going to be a process.”

Without being privy to what the Sox are planning, Peterson believes they will build in extra days of rest for Sale whenever possible to control his innings.

“What he did before Tommy John will give you a sense of what he can do now with the injuries being healed,” Peterson said. “That’s a guide. Rest and recovery will be crucial.”

Sale pitched 147‚ innings in 2019. The Red Sox surely would be thrilled to get that. Given his recent history, 100120 innings might be a better goal.

A few other observations on the Red Sox:

■ Philadelphia’s Alex Bohm hit the 1,000th home run in World Series history when he connected in Game 3 off Lance McCullers.

The Sox accounted for 50 of those 1,000 dingers. Dwight Evans, Larry Gardner, David Ortiz, Steve Pearce, and Carl Yastrzemski had three each.

Gardner was an infielder from Enosburg, Vt., who played for the Sox from 1908-17 and was 12 of 62 in 18 World Series games.

The Sox have not yet had a World Series grand slam.

■ Righthanders Tanner Houck (back) and Garrett Whitlock (hip) have recovered from the surgeries they had in September. Whitlock finished his rehab in Boston and is back home in Alabama. Houck is still working with team staff but will head home soon.

The Sox haven’t definitively said how they plan to use Houck and Whitlock next season. But every indication is Houck will remain in the bullpen and Whitlock will be a candidate for the rotation.

■ Houston’s Cristian Javier was 25 years, 221 days old when he carried a no-hitter for six innings on Wednesday in Game 3 of the World Series. Jim Lonborg is the youngest pitcher to accomplish that, having no-hit the Cardinals for 7„ innings of Game 2 in 1967. Gentleman Jim was 25 years, 172 days.

Lonborg lost his no-hitter when Julian Javier doubled. He settled for a one-hit shutout with one walk and four strikeouts as the Red Sox won, 5-0.