Chris Sale certainly looked the part Thursday morning.
The slender-framed pitcher stood on top of the Fenway Park, working with the same tempo and confidence as we had witnessed the last time he executed such an act - back on Oct. 20, 2021 in the American League Championship Series.
But there were a few differences. For one, it was a simple 32-pitch live batting practice, taking the next step back from his rib injury by facing teammates Kiké Hernandez, Rob Reysnyder and minor-leaguer Grant Williams.
There was something else. According to Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who watched while sitting in the stands, Sale was better than when we last saw him on the Fenway mound.
"Good, really good. Ninety-four (mph), 95, good changeup. That’s the difference between last year and this year," Cora said. "He was a two-pitch pitcher for a month and a half last year, and this year, obviously, that far away from surgery now, this will play. We were just talking about it. in the offseason, him and Nick (Pivetta), they actually worked on it. he threw a few today and the feedback from Rob (Refsnyder) and the hitters is a good one. I don’t know what’s next. We’ll sit down today and map it out. That was a lot better than last year and last year he was really good."
The analysis suggesting Sale is a step ahead of what he produced in 2021 after coming back from Tommy John surgery is encouraging considering the results of a season ago. In nine regular season starts, the lefty turned in a 3.16 ERA, striking out 52 and walking 12.
Cora suggested the next step for Sale will be to throw another live BP Sunday, and then potentially map out some minor-league rehab outings.
"Like I said yesterday, we’ve just got to be patient," Cora said. "We know everybody’s excited. I’ve never seen a live BP with so much coverage in the years I’ve been here. But it was cool. It was good to see. It’s always good to have him around. It’s always good to see him on the mound. We know he’s going to contribute."
