Chris Sale Throws 1-Hitter, Shuts Down Angels

Aside from a Mike Trout groundball through the middle of the diamond, Chris Sale was virtually perfect on Sunday night in Chicago. Sale, the White Sox ace pitcher, threw 98 pitches (68 strikes) in throwing a 1-hit shutout against the Angels, and the aforementioned single from Trout was the only blemish (Sale allowed no walks) on his perfect evening.

It was one of the most dominant performances of the MLB season thus far, and the way that Sale cruised through the gauntlet of the Angels lineup was something to behold. He struck out 7 batters, but the more impressive thing was his ability to cause meager contact on a regular basis.

During the 3-0 victory, Sale was opposed by CJ Wilson, and for much of the night, Wilson matched Sale pitch-for-pitch. Then, in the 7th inning, Alexei Ramirez knocked in Tyler Flowers and Tyler Greene with a 2-out single that sent Wilson to the showers, and that was followed by an Alex Rios RBI double that lengthened the lead to the final tally of 3-0. Wilson finished his 6.2 innings having only allowed 6 hits, but the 3 earned runs doomed him after his early dominance.

It was the fifth consecutive start by Sale in which he allowed 2 runs or fewer, and after some early-season struggles, it appears that the White Sox left-hander has regained his 2012 form of dominance. His full arsenal was on display on Sunday night, and, as evidenced by the results, his “stuff” is among the best in all of baseball.

Unfortunately for Sale, his night of potential perfection ran into the always-scorching bat of Mike Trout, but that bleeder single doesn’t change his utter dominance throughout the night. We may have seen the absolute pinnacle from Chris Sale, and if the faces on the Angels batters as they headed toward the dugout is any indication, it was a pretty impressive peak.