Although Chris Sale was 2-1 with a 2.14 ERA through seven starts this season, he wasn't as dominant as he was for the majority of last season.
That appeared to change Sunday, as Sale gave his best performance of the season in the Red Sox' 6-1 win over the Rangers.
(Click here for a complete game recap.)
Sale went seven innings and allowed one run on four hits, while walking one and striking out 12. It was just his second double-digit strikeout game of the season, which comes after last year when he had seven double-digit strikeout games in his first eight starts. Sale also recorded a season-high 23 swing and misses.
The biggest difference was his velocity, as the left-hander was hitting the high-90s with his fastball consistently for the first time all season. Prior to Sunday, it was stuck in the low-to-mid 90s and it appeared those few MPH made a huge difference. The warmer temperatures in Texas likely were a major factor, but the weather is starting to warm up even in the northeast, which is a good thing for Sale.
"I was able to stay a little bit more loose," Sale said to reporters. "Just had a good rhythm too. A lot of things combined just being a little more within myself too. My first handful of starts I was kind of getting away from some things and these last two are kind of where I've needed to be in terms of release point and body wise and all that."
In 11 day starts since the beginning of last season, Sale is 7-1 with a 1.66 ERA.
Going into the game, the Red Sox were just 4-3 in Sale's starts this year, which is something they clearly would like to improve upon. Sunday's performance certainly was one to give the left-hander plenty of confidence moving forward.
At the plate, J.D. Martinez and Sandy Leon both had two hits, including homers, while Mitch Moreland continued to swing a hot bat as he went 2-for-4. Leon had the biggest hit of the game, as his three-run homer in the sixth inning turned a 2-0 game into a 5-0 game.
It wasn't all good news for the Red Sox, as Mookie Betts left the game in the second inning with a right shoulder contusion after being hit when running to second base, but speaking on NESN during the broadcast, manager Alex Cora didn't seem concerned.
"He didn't feel right in the last at-bat, so we decided to take him out," Cora said. "As you know, it's a long season, and hopefully he can get treatment today and tomorrow, and he'll be back hopefully Tuesday."
The stage is now set for a pretty big May series in New York with the Yankees, as they come in winners of six straight and trail the Red Sox by just one game in the AL East.
Moreland has had a ton of success against his former team, as in eight games against the Rangers he's batting .542 (13-for-24).
