From White Sox to Red, Sale still has ‘that fire’

Chris Sale admits walking past the home clubhouse at Guaranteed Rate Field was “a little weird.”

“I’m used to making a left,” Sale said Saturday. “I don’t think that will ever change. I played here for seven seasons. It would be like walking into your old house you grew up in and having to leave that night. It’s different, but I appreciated my time over there.”

The White Sox traded Sale to the Red Sox on Dec. 6, 2016, and he helped Boston win the World Series last season.

Sale struggled earlier this season, but he was in vintage form Friday against his former team. Sale struck out 10 in six scoreless innings in a 6-1 victory. It was the left-hander’s first win of the season. He is 1-5 with a 5.25 ERA.

Sale became an ace during his time with the White Sox. He had a 74-50 record and a 3.00 ERA with the White Sox.

“He’s a competitor and I think he’s one of those guys that shows it,” White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. Renteria was the team’s bench coach during the 2016 season. “He shows his competitiveness, he’ll show his emotion when he’s disgusted with something and also show you an extreme amount of joy when he sees something done well.

“He’s driven for success. He knows what he has and he expects the most out of himself and if it doesn’t happen he feels bad about not getting the result he wants. That’s just the drive the man has.”

Sale said he’s been able to harness that intensity.

“I’ll be the first to admit when I was younger, I would get off the rails sometimes,” Sale said. “It wasn’t pretty. I know that. And everyone knows that, but that’s part of the growing process.

“You are not going to be perfect. Making mistakes makes you a better person if you learn from it. I would like to think I’ve learned some very valuable lessons not only (with the White Sox) but (with the Red Sox) as well and I just try to make strides in the right direction no matter what the circumstances are.

“I still appreciate being a majorleague baseball player. I still love going out there and pitching. I still have that fire. I still have that passion.”