Chris Sale sure looked like part of the solution for the Red Sox Friday night.
Pitching for the first time since June 1, the lefty absolutely dominated in his return. Sale didn't allow a baserunner until there were two outs in the fifth inning, with Detroit's Kerry Carpenter breaking up the perfect game with a solo home run.
Sale would finish his night throwing 58 pitches (42 strikes), with his only miscues coming via the homer and a hit-by-pitch to Javy Baez one hitter after Carpenter.
The lefty ultimately gave way to reliever Kyle Barraclough but not until he struck out seven and didn't walk a batter in his triumphant return. Barraclough did fail to strand Baez, giving up an RBI single to pinch-hitter Riley Greene to cut the Red Sox lead to 4-2. That was all the offense the Tigers would get, as the Red Sox went on to win 5-2.
Sale's fastball - which he threw 29 times - maxed out at 96.5 mph and averaged 94.5, which is his season average. He ultimately got 12 whiffs on 29 swings, including seven of the 14 offerings on his heater.
