Chris Sale practically perfect in first game back from injury

Chris Sale had an innings restriction for his first start in over two months, but he made the most of it.

Taking the mound for Friday night’s series opener, the 34-year-old left-hander didn’t give the Detroit Tigers an inch early on, setting the stage for a commanding 5-2 Red Sox victory.

Sale was perfect through four perfect innings, striking out six, and inducing eight swings & misses. Of the six balls put in play by the visiting lineup, only two left the bat with an exit velocity above 80.3 mph.

Despite the reported 4-inning limit, he came back out for the fifth. He got two quick outs before Kerry Carpenter broke up his perfecto bid with a 434-foot solo home run. When the Red Sox starter followed that up by hitting Javier Báez with a pitch, Alex Cora went to his bullpen.

Sale walked off to a standing ovation from the Fenway Faithful. No other Red Sox pitcher has started a game by retiring as many as 12 consecutive batters this year; he retired 14 of 14 before the Carpenter homer. His 4 2/3 innings were nearly perfect, and for the second time this season (April 30), he didn’t issued a single walk.

Kyle Barraclough and Chris Murphy handled the remaining 4 1/3 innings. By game’s end, the Tigers had only collected two hits and three walks, a collective pitching performance Alex Cora described as “outstanding.”

Though Sale faced off against Tigers starter Tarik Skubal, he also defeated former teammate, Eduardo Rodriguez. As Rodriguez watched from the visiting dugout, Sale struck out Spencer Torkelson to end the top of the first, and overtook Rodriguez for 12th on the Red Sox all-time strikeouts list.

Sale wasn’t aware of the achievement until hours later.

“Did I?” He asked. Smacking his hand down on the table in delight, he jokingly exclaimed, “Beat it, Eddie!”

Sale was effusive and upbeat throughout the lengthy postgame availability. Echoing what the gratitude he expressed at Winter Weekend, the start and end of spring training, and early in the season, each a milestone of good health that eluded him over the last several years, he looked and sounded deeply moved by how the night played out.

“The first start back always means a little something more, just because a lot of work goes into it,” he explained. “You just kind of appreciate it a little bit more, because you get something taken away that you really like, it’s never fun.”

Sale only made two rehab starts before the Red Sox activated him from the 60-day injured list on Friday. Instead of building him up further in the minor leagues, they’re opting to do so in the majors.

Being able to manage the strike zone after not pitching in a Major League game since June 1 was immensely “satisfying,” he said.

“Just very pleased, very satisfied, very appreciative,” Sale reiterated. “I can’t say enough about these guys that have worked with me and helped me to get back out there. Without them, I’m not sitting here talking to you guys right now, that’s for sure.”

“He wanted to contribute as soon as possible,” Cora said. “He wants to win so bad… I know it’s been tough the last few years… but everything that has happened to him physically, it’s not lack of effort, you know?”

Having Sale with the team is bigger than just having him back on the mound.

“Being around means a lot,” his manager said. “He’s in the dugout, talking to hitters, talking to pitchers.”

Sale missed over two months of this season, nearly all of last year, more than half of 2021, and all of 2020. With so many injuries and surgeries, one might expect him to be holding his breath, always be waiting for the other shoe to drop, and therefore, not enjoying these moments.

“No,” he said firmly. “All the in-between stuff sucks… it is not fun rehabbing… There are moments that you can enjoy during the process, but as a whole, it flat-out sucks.

“But on the flip-side of that, any time I ever step on that mound and stare down that barrel, and have competition, batters facing me, I don’t care if I’m in the (rookie level) Complex League, I don’t care if I’m in (Triple-A) Worcester. I said it to Trevor (Story) after my first Worcester start, I said, ‘There is nothing like that feeling I get out there.’ That feeling will never get old, and if it does, it’s time to pack it up.”

Skubal wasn’t as lucky. The Boston bats attacked early and often, though their bad habits of stranding runners and hitting into double plays persisted, costing them several opportunities to really put the hurt on. By game’s end, they’d plated five runs on nine hits, but also gone 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.

Leadoff man Rob Refsnyder got the Red Sox on the board almost immediately, reaching on a throwing error and scoring moments later, when Masataka Yoshida ground into a force out.

As has been the case nearly every game since the All-Star break, the biggest hit of the night belonged to Triston Casas. With two on and one out, the Red Sox rookie sent a Skubal slider deep to right-center for his 19th home run of the season.

Skubal didn’t make his season debut until July 4, but over six starts (27 innings) entering Friday, he hadn’t given up a home run all season. Of the 54 career home runs allowed by the 26-year-old southpaw since his 2020 debut, Casas’ was only the third by a left-handed hitter.

Casas has been on fire since the All-Star break, with 10 home runs in 25 games. After getting off to a slow start this season, he’s putting up numbers the likes of which have only been by some of the greatest players in franchise history. According to Stathead, Casas is the seventh Red Sox hitter aged 23 or younger to collect at least ten home runs in a 25-game span, and only the 11th to hit 19 or more home runs as a rookie before turning 24.

Trevor Story is finding his swing again, too. After going 0-for-8 over his first two games of the season, the shortstop collected his first hit on Thursday night. With that initial knock out of the way, Story put together his first multi-hit game and stole his first base of the year on Friday night.

And for the fourth time in the last five games, Pablo Reyes contributed a multi-hit performance with a pair of singles and a run. Over that span, he’s 10-for-19 with five runs, two doubles, a walk-off grand slam, four RBI, and a stolen base.

The Red Sox are 61-55, and have won four of their last five games. Trevor Story is hitting, Chris Sale is pitching. This season is far from over.