Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Sale faces hitters for first time since August
FORT MYERS, FLA. » It was just a batting practice session, one of the lowest spring training rungs in a pitcher’s preparation for opening day. But for Chris Sale, it was progress.
Even after finishing with a fastball that a Triple-A prospect who batted .204 last year managed to hit over the fence Sunday morning, Sale and the Red Sox were pleased.
“Let’s end on that one,” Sale said, laughing, as he walked off the mound.
Pitching coach Dave Bush was satisfied.
“I thought he looked good,” Bush said. “It was an important step in progression through the spring. It was a full pregame routine with long toss and time in the bullpen and then 15 pitches on the mound. So, it was a normal step for him. He felt pretty good and I thought it looked pretty good.”
The previous time Sale faced hitters was Aug. 13, when he gave up five runs with 12 strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings in a win at Cleveland. The left-hander was put on the injured list after that with elbow inflammation, ending his season at 6-11 with a 4.40 ERA in 25 starts.
Sale will start this season on the IL after reporting to camp with pneumonia, setting him back by about two weeks. He did not speak to reporters after pitching batting practice.
A month shy of turning 31, Sale was an All-Star seven straight years and got the final out of the 2018 World Series. That was all before last season’s struggles.
Sale’s outing came on a back field at Boston’s complex. He threw about 18 pitches in what was planned as a 15-pitch session to a pair of Red Sox minor leagers, right-handed hitting Jantzen Witte and left-handed batting Josh Ockimey. They got two atbats, with Ockimey ended the season by pulling Sale’s fastball deep to right field.
“Yes, knowing that he’s behind schedule because of him being sick,” Bush said. “Otherwise, he’s right in line with where I’d expect him to be and where most other pitchers were at this time.”
Manager Ron Roenicke joked the day before that he was having a hard time finding volunteers to bat against Sale.
“I remember facing him, I think in (spring training) 2017,” said Ockimey, who hit 25 home runs for TripleA Pawtucket last season. “It was my first live arm actually that year, and I kind of remember how it was. I had to make sure my ankles were right, but, yeah,
ORIOLES 3, PHILLIES 2
Baltimore starter John Means pitched three hitless inning and struck out two. Rio Ruiz homered, doubled and singled and Dilson Herrera had two hits, raising his spring batting average to .353.
Ranger Suarez, who appeared in just under 50 innings and struck out 42 batters as a reliever last year, continues to work as a starter, working three innings, striking out three and allowing three hits for Philadelphia. Josh Harrison hit a solo home run.
it was definitely fun facing him this time around.”
“He looked really good, really good. His fastball was definitely coming in there. I knew I wouldn’t have a chance to hit the slider. But yeah, everything still looked really good,” he said.
New Red Sox catcher Kevin Plawecki was behind the plate for Sale’s session.
“I’ve been looking forward to catching him ever since I signed here, so it’s good to get back there and see him first-hand and everything looked really good,” Plawecki said.
“It’s the first time I’ve caught him so it’s hard for me to kind of go off anything else besides facing him as a hitter. So everything looked good to me, coming in good, slider looked great, changeup looked good, good life to his fastball. So, all in all, I think it went pretty well,” he said. “It’s still got that funk to it, but it’s a lot easier when I know what’s coming rather than facing it.”
Depending upon how he responds to his initial outing, Sale is expected to progress to a two-inning batting practice session on Thursday, throwing a total of about 30 pitches, and go on a normal five-day schedule after that.
Sale is entering the first year of a five-year, $145 million contract he signed in spring training last year. This will be his third stint on the IL since Boston acquired him before 2017.
Sale also missed about a month near the end of the 2018 season before returning to help the team win the World Series that year.
Yankees star Judge to have more tests on shoulder Monday
LAKELAND, FLA. » New York Yankees star Aaron Judge is scheduled to have additional tests Monday as the team tries to pinpoint the cause of soreness in his right shoulder.
Judge underwent an MRI Saturday, which was negative. The right fielder has been receiving treatment at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.
“They worked on him a lot,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Sunday. “So, I’d say we were a little encouraged this morning.”
Judge was shut down from hitting a week before spring training after experiencing soreness while swinging. There is discomfort located under the right pectoral muscle near the shoulder, which returned Friday when he took batting practice in a cage for the second consecutive day.
“Where’s it coming from? What’s generating that?” Boone said.
Judge has no while throwing. issues
Markakis leads by example with NL East champion Braves
FORT MYERS, FLA. » As he searched for the best things Atlanta Braves outfielder Nick Markakis brings to the team, bench coach Walt Weiss shared several.
Highly credible. Strong, quiet leader. One of the most respected players in baseball. Humble. Calming force.
But you could tell Weiss had something else on his mind. And then he said it.
“He’s one of those guys that’s the conscience of the team,” Weiss said.
Markakis made some of the strongest comments this spring about the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal.
The soundbite — “I feel every single guy over there deserves a beating” — is what most people heard. But his other comments on how this affected baseball’s integrity spoke more about what Markakis is about.
“I know we’re all competitors, we’re out to compete, but there are right ways to do it and wrong ways to do it. I 100% disagree the way with the way they did it. A lot of people were hurt by it.”
Weiss wasn’t surprised by what Markakis said. “That fire runs pretty deep,” he said.
“When you see something with our team, it gets guys thinking, ‘Should we do this, should we not do this?’” Weiss said. “Let’s watch Nicky or ask him to see if this is what we should be doing. That’s powerful.”
Entering his 15th season, the 36-year-old Markakis is part of a deep outfield that includes Ronald Acuna, who is talking a 50-homer, 50-steal season, newcomer Marcell Ozuna, three-time Gold Glover Ender Inciarte and Adam Duvall, who had a strong postseason.