There was a lot of concern following Chris Sale's last start when he threw just 25 four-seam fastballs, averaging 89.1 mph, the lowest velocity for any of his 289 career starts.
But, there was a legitimate reason. And not because he's saving himself for October.
Sale was battling a stomach illness, Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Tuesday before the home opener.
"I mean when you can't work in between it's tough," Cora said. "He spent a lot of time in the bathroom."
He added: "He doesn't like making excuses. He only threw probably 50 throws between starts. It wasn't the belly button thing but right around there. Yeah, it was bad for a while. I hate making excuses for my players. There's a reason for certain things and the fact that he went out there and pitched, it tells me a lot about Chris. The way he competed, it was amazing, and I expect him to go out there again [Tuesday] and do the same thing."
Despite the illness, Sale allowed just one run on three hits over six innings of work against the A's. This came following a tough Opening Day start in Seattle when he allowed seven runs in just three innings of work.
While all indications are Sale is healthy heading into Tuesday's start, temperatures will be in the 40s, so it's not exactly ideal weather to go all-out velocity wise.
