In the top of
the first inning of last night’s Orioles-Red Sox game, Red Sox fans gave O’s
outfielder Adam Jones a standing ovation to show that they weren’t all racists,
at least not all of the time. Red Sox starter
Chris Sale did his part by stepping off the mound to allow the applause to
continue, after which he struck out Jones swinging.
Sale then threw a
pitch behind the next batter, Manny Machado, to let Machado know it’s not a
good idea to spike a teammate of Chris Sale while sliding; Machado did that
last week to Boston second baseman Dustin Pedroia. After Sale’s little warning, Machado was
called out on strikes. Sale pitched
eight innings to pick up the win in a 5-2 game.
For the year, Sale
is 2-2. Off his stats, it should be
4-0. In 45-2/3 innings, Sale has a 1.38
ERA to go with 63 strikeouts along with a .166 opponents’ batting average and a
WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) of .74. Did I mention that he struck out 11 Orioles,
the fifth straight start he’s punched out 10+ batters? That makes Sale only the second Red Sox
pitcher in franchise history to do so, after Pedro Martinez.
That makes Sale
the second coming of Sal “The Barber” Maglie, if with infinitely more
talent. And that could make Sale the
White Sox version of Babe Ruth, only this time the talented left-handed pitcher
goes to, rather than leaves, Boston for a pittance. I hope not, but have this sinking, Lou
Brock-like feeling in my stomach.
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