WHITE SOX13, RAYS 6 SALE WINS 17TH, MIGHT START SUNDAY
Ace ties career best with 17th victory, may not make last start
White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson arrived at U. S. Cellular Field in a good mood Tuesday.
To be fair, Anderson usually is in a good mood. But his smile flashed a few extra teeth because it was left- hander Chris Sale’s turn to take the mound.
‘‘ The day he’s pitching, I’m excited,’’ Anderson said. ‘‘ Because it’s going to be a great show.’’
It also might have been the last show. Manager Robin Ventura said after the game that the Sox hadn’t decided whether Sale would start the season finale Sunday or be shut down.
Sale ( 17- 9) matched a career high with his 17th victory as the Sox routed the Tampa Bay Rays 13- 6. He settled down after a bumpy start to limit the Rays to three runs in seven innings and struck out seven to increase his season total to 227 in a career- high 221⅔ innings.
Afterward, Sale said the decision to start one more game was not his to make. But he spoke as though his season was finished, assessing his achievements in the past tense and vowing to be better in 2017.
‘‘ I feel as good now as I ever have on a baseball field, physically,’’ Sale said. ‘‘ I think this year was the best overall in terms of feeling strong at the end and still having more in the tank.’’
A drama- filled campaign soon will turn into amystery for Sale. He is under contract through 2019, the last two of those seasons on team options, but the Sox might listen to trade offers this winter.
Sale said he never contemplated whether his start against the Rays might have been his last in a Sox uniform.
‘‘ That stuff is going to work itself out,’’ Sale said. ‘‘ I don’t read too much into that stuff. So whether I’mhere, there or anywhere — a little Dr. Seuss for you— I’ll be there.’’
But Sale isn’t ready to close the book — children’s or otherwise — on his tenure with the Sox.
‘‘ I can’t say this from experience, but I don’t think there’s probably a better feeling than winning with the team that drafted you and staying with the team that drafted you,’’ Sale said. ‘‘ Talking with [ former Sox star] Paulie [ Konerko] a little bit in his final year, he definitely had some very good things to say about staying with one team and being here from start to finish.
‘‘ But this is baseball, this is sports. You can’t always choose and pick what you want to do or where you want to be.’’
Ventura smiled when asked whether Sale had shown maturity and growth as the season progressed. During spring training, Sale ripped management after Adam LaRoche decided to retire rather than limit his son’s presence in the clubhouse. In July, Sale served a five- day suspension after destroying throwback uniforms.
‘‘ Yeah, we’ve had some fun ones,’’ Ventura said. ‘‘ Again, he’s grown up here, and now you’re looking at him as the guy for the staff [ who] has been here the longest. I think that’s a part of growing up. He’s the lead guy and the anchor.’’
Ventura said his relationship with Sale is strong, not strained.
‘‘ I think some of it gets blown out of proportion,’’ he said. ‘‘ Him and I, we have frank conversations. I think part of having a healthy relationship is when you can say what you want to say.’’
Sale said he could improve as a pitcher and teammate.
‘‘ No matter what you’ve done, where you’ve been, who you are, you can always be better,’’ Sale said. ‘‘ That doesn’t always mean on the field, either. I’ll just try to be better all the way around next year and hopefully make a push for meaningful games this time here.’’