Win Milestone Tied
Sale Pitches Into 4th As Team Hits 105 Wins
CLEVELAND — First, the important matters. Red Sox ace Chris Sale worked into the fourth inning against the Cleveland Indians on Friday night and continued to build his pitch count in preparation for the postseason.
Set-up man Matt Barnes, out since Sept. 4 with inflammation in his left hip, returned to the mound and threw a scoreless inning, hitting 98 mph with his fastball.
Those two events made it a successful evening for the Sox.
The Sox also won the game, 7-5, as Sam
Travis and Tzu-Wei Lin hit their first major league home runs.
At 105-49, the Sox have matched the franchise record for victories established in 1912, the first year Fenway Park was open.
They need one victory, or a Houston loss, to wrap up the best record in baseball and home field advantage throughout the postseason. The tangible goals are just about wrapped up.
Travis was 2-for-4 with three RBI. Lin was 2-for-5 with two RBIs. Using a lineup that had only a few regulars, the Sox had 12 hits.
Craig Kimbrel got the final three outs for his 42nd save. That matched Derek Lowe (2000) for second most in a season in team history. Tom Gordon set the record of 46 in 1998.
Sale has progressed from 26 to 46 and on Friday 73 pitches (48 of them strikes) since being activated off the disabled list. That is a positive. But the Sox were hoping he would get to five innings against the Indians.
Sale’s slider was in top form but his fastball velocity was 92-94 with a peak of 96. Sale seems to be building velocity in steps after missing much of the last two months with shoulder inflammation.
Sale allowed two runs on five hits with no walks and seven strikeouts.
The plan is for Sale to start Wednesday against Baltimore at Fenway Park. From there, he would throw either an extended bullpen session or simulated game before starting Game1of the Division Series on Oct. 5.
Sale had a shutout working until Josh Donaldson homered deep into the left field bleachers with one out in the fourth inning.
That ended a streak of 35 consecutives scoreless innings dating to July 6. It was the longest streak for a Red Sox pitcher since Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez went 35 innings in 2002.
It also ended an incredible of run of 75 consecutive innings without allowing a home run, the longest of Sale’s career. Before Donaldson connected, Sale had not allowed a home run since June 1 when George Springer of the Astros got him.
When Yandy Diaz followed the home run with a single, Sox manager Alex Cora summoned Heath Hembree from the bullpen with Sale only two pitches away from his pregame goal of 75.
Hembree got an out before hanging a curveball that Yan Gomes drove over the high wall in center for his 15th home run.
Hembree has allowed seven runs on nine hits — three of them home runs — over his last seven innings. Hembree has come into games with runners on base the last two nights and given up home runs.