Get used to it: Sale owns the Bombers
TAMPA − It was only a Grapefruit League game, but Chris Sale treated the Yankees’ lineup like a throwback White Sox jersey on Tuesday night. The newly-acquired Red Sox ace struck out 10 Yankees in six innings during Boston’s 4-2 victory. He allowed a two-run homer to red-hot Matt Holliday (fourth of the spring) with two outs in the sixth. “Obviously anybody who knows anything about sports knows about Boston and New York,” Sale said. “Even from the outside looking in you can see it, you can sense the competitive drive from these teams in the series. So coming in here playing against the Yankees in a night game gives it more of a regular-season feel.” Sale owns a career 1.17 ERA against the Yankees − the lowest by any pitcher in the last 100 years (min. 50 IP). “Can you knock on some wood for me?” Sale said, doing so to his locker. “I don’t know why I have had so much success against them. That’s a good question. They definitely run out some great ball teams. Sometimes you get lucky, I guess.”
Sale wasn’t concerned about the Yankees seeing him before the regular season begins.
“Those guys are going to see me 100 times, so 101 times isn’t going to be that big a deal,” he said.
In a bizarre incident last June, an irate Sale cut up White Sox throwback uniforms before a start and earned a five-game suspension from the club. The White Sox dealt Sale to the Red Sox during the offseason in exchange for prized prospects Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech. The blockbuster deal prompted Brian Cashman to refer to the Red Sox as the “Warriors of baseball.”
NO ROTATION FAVES
So far, in Cashman’s mind, there are no favorites in the five-man competition for the final
two spots in the rotation.
“I think the competition is still going on, and maybe this is the type of competition that goes on throughout (spring training),” Cashman said. “We’ll pick somebody here soon enough.”
The candidates include Luis Severino (5.06 spring ERA), Bryan Mitchell (3.86), Adam Warren (3.09), Luis Cessa (7.04) and Chad Green (1.50).
Warren will make the team as either a starter or reliever. The rest of the group has minor-league options.
Mitchell gave up two runs on seven hits in 4.1 innings against Boston’s B squad.
“It was OK,” Joe Girardi said of Mitchell’s outing. “He gave up some hard-hit balls today. I thought he could’ve used his curveball a little bit more effectively.”
FRAZIER SCARE
During the game, Clint Frazier toppled over the wall down the rightfield line while pursuing a foul ball. He was not hurt. “I wasn’t going full speed so I was able to brace myself,” Frazier said. “I landed on the top of my back. It was a lot more graceful than it looked.” ... Starting on March 30, Mark Teixeira will join the Michael Kay Show on ESPN radio every Thursday at 5 p.m.