Chris Sale gave himself mixed reviews after his first spring training performance for the Boston Red Sox, an outing that ended a little earlier than originally planned.
Boston manager John Farrell had Sale set to go three innings Monday against Houston. But after 37 pitches in two innings, Farrell decided the debut was over.
“I understand why, I mean I racked up a pretty good amount of pitches, which is another thing I’d like to get down,” Sale said.
Acquired from the Chicago White Sox in December, the dominant lefty gave up two runs, one of them earned, and struck out two.
“Happy? I don’t know,” Sale said. “I got some good work in. I’m not a fan of sitting here and saying spring training doesn’t matter. You still want to get results.”
The scoreboard radar gun showed Sale’s fastball hitting 97 mph a couple times during the first inning. His final offering was 76 mph slider that he took something off, striking out Marwin Gonzalez looking.
Sale had his own cheering section at the Astros’ park. He’s from Lakeland and his parents, in-laws and some former college buddies from Florida Gulf Coast made the roughly two-hour drive to see him don the Red Sox uniform — red jersey, gray pants and a red cap with a blue bill — for the first time.
The Red Sox traded three minor leaguers and highly touted Yoan Moncada to the White Sox for Sale, a five-time All-Star and the 2015 AL strikeout king.
Sale’s addition took on even more importance earlier this spring when lefty ace David Price began experiencing elbow soreness. Price’s status for the start of the season remains uncertain.
“I think every player we have has got a certain amount of scrutiny just because it’s Boston,” Farrell said. “Independent of developments on our roster, health wise or other, Chris Sale is going to draw a lot of attention. Based on what we know of him, I think he’ll handle this environment well. It can be unique for players coming in the first year and going through an adjustment period but he seems to be very well equipped to stay focused on the things he can control.”
Farrell believes Sale’s competitiveness will elevate his teammate’s focus.
“You get the sense that the team, on the day he’s on the mound, takes on that persona,” Farrell said. “There’s an edge about him, the way he goes about his work. He’s got tremendous physical ability to back that up.”
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