Chris Sale is back, but Red Sox need him healthy in October
By Cody Rivera
Chris Sale returned from the DL on Tuesday, but the Red Sox cautiously only let him pitch one inning.
With only about three weeks remaining until the playoffs begin, the Boston Red Sox are easing Chris Sale, the ace of their pitching staff, back into his role.
Sale spent nearly the entire month of August on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation. He only made one start during the entire month, though he has strongly stated a few times that if the Red Sox were playing must-win games, he would’ve been pitching.
Fortunately though, Boston has a nine-game lead over the New York Yankees in the AL East, so they can afford to be cautious. Sale started in Tuesday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park, but he only pitched one inning in his return from the DL.
In that one inning, Sale allowed a base hit and a hit batter, but he did get his three outs with a pair of Ks and a pop out. Following the first inning, he was replaced on the mound by Brandon Workman after throwing just 26 pitches. However, Sale did throw a few more pitches in the bullpen before officially wrapping up his evening.
The Red Sox went on to defeat the Blue Jays 7-2, officially clinching their third consecutive playoff berth. With the best record in baseball (99-46) and nine games separating them from the Yankees in mid-September, the main priority for Boston now is to make sure their superstars are in postseason form heading into October.
It’s definitely great to have Sale pitching again, but we can expect his workload to be pretty light from here on out. Manager Alex Cora won’t want to have him throw too many innings just for his shoulder to start acting up again. He likely won’t go more than maybe four or five innings in his remaining regular season starts.
dark. Next. The Red Sox aren't making history, and that's totally fine
Even though Sale was rather miffed that he missed a month on the DL, it may have been a blessing in disguise given his tendency to wear down late in the season. Thanks to that time off, his arm received a month of extra rest, and he should be in top form for the postseason as long as his shoulder doesn’t cause further problems.
From this point on, the Red Sox have just one thing to focus on, and that’s making it to the World Series. With a healthy and rested Sale, they have a very good chance to do that.