Chris Sale dominates in return as Chicago White Sox top New York Yankees

As a result of a flexor strain in his left elbow, Chicago White Sox ace Chris Sale had not appeared in a Major League game since April 17th until he returned from the disabled list on Thursday night. However, Sale pitched as if he never left the Chicago rotation, as he flirted with perfection in completely shutting down the New York Yankees and leading the White Sox to a 3-2 victory.

The 25-year-old Sale actually took a perfect game into the sixth inning in the outing, and his final line was indicative of his incredible dominance. Responsibly, the White Sox allowed Sale to toss only 86 pitches in his return (which was ahead of schedule), but they were economically used, and Sale finished 6.1 innings of shut-out ball while allowing only one hit and striking out ten members of the Yankees.

Prior to heading to the disabled list, Sale was among the league’s best with a 2.30 ERA and more than a strikeout per inning over four starts, but after this outing, his numbers are off the charts. The hard throwing left-hander now has a 1.89 ERA over more than 33 innings on the year, and his strikeout rate of 10.53 per 9 innings would rank him with the league’s elite, especially when considering that he is a starting pitcher.

When Alejandro De Aza and Adam Eaton teamed up with two hits that would give the White Sox a 2-0 lead in the second inning, you wouldn’t think that the game was effectively over, but with this version of Chris Sale on the mound, the Yankees seemingly never had a chance.