This was Chris Sale's punctuation to his proclamation. He is still Chris Sale.
The Red Sox starter threw his first complete game victory as a member of the Red Sox, needing 102 pitches to completely dominate the Royals on the way to his team's 8-0 win in Kansas City. There were just three hits, with 10 strikeouts and not a single walk. For the first time this season he almost touched 98 mph (97.7) while absolutely befuddling hitters with 35 slides, 12 of which called strikes. (For a complete recap of the Red Sox' win, click here.)
Listen, there was a reason we were questioning Sale's existence after six starts. Heading into May the Red Sox had lost all six of his starts with the lefty's ERA living at 6.30. It seemed fair to question if there was any impact from the shoulder issue of the year before. If there is a downturn in performance with an injury history residing in the not-too-distant past it's fair to introduce into the conversation.
But Alex Cora and the Red Sox insisted there were absolutely no physical issues, pointing to Sale turning things around the season before on Start No. 7. Sure enough. The last six outings have resulted in a 2.28 ERA, with 78 strikeouts and just nine walks. During the stretch opposing hitters have managed just a .156 batting average. In the last month, only five starters have a better batting average against.
While we celebrate what Sale has become, it is also in our right to look at the future with a wary eye. This was the same feeling we had while he cruised on into August only to hit that shoulder-induced bump in the road.
Through 13 starts a year ago Sale was sitting at 81 innings with 1,299 pitches. This time around he is slightly shy of those totals, having thrown 77 1/3 innings with 1,265 pitches. Point is, this is still going to be about managing the pitcher.
They need this kind of dominance going forward to get back in this thing. Fortunately, right now that appears exactly what Sale is ready to deliver.