Just an hour into the fresh season, Red Sox fans watched their ace, Chris Sale, get torched by the Seattle Mariners. In three innings, Sale gave up seven earned on six hits and two walks. His command was concerning, as he gave up two HRs to Tim Beckham that he left over the heart of the plate.
A stat you may see as even more concerning, Chris Sale was unable to get a swing-and-miss on a four-seam fastball last night. This was the first time in his 61 starts with the Sox that he didn’t record a single one (via. Alex Speier). His fastball, which has been known to be lacking early on, hit 94 MPH on only a couple of pitches, while he mostly pitched around 92-93 MPH. His slider looked to be effective. Three of his four strikeouts came by way of the slider, the fourth coming from a changeup.
Obviously, this start comes just days after Chris Sale signed a five-year extension worth $145 million. This is the biggest reason that fans and media were concerned after yesterday’s start. Questions have been flying, and that didn’t just happen yesterday. Sale has struggled to stay healthy during the last couple seasons in Boston, and the extension just raised more injury questions. Was this poor start related to the injuries he suffered last season? Will this continue to be a problem for, not only this season, but the length of the extension as well? All these have been asked.
As baseball fans, we’ve all been trained to not be too reactionary early on. However, we all know just how difficult that is, especially with a pitcher blowing up on Opening Day. We can caution and ask for patience, but we know that won’t stop fans or media from being critical of the team on the field.
Yes, this start was certainly jaw-dropping. However, was this an indication that Chris Sale is going to have a terrible 2019 season and beyond? No. There have been so many guys who have started slowly and poorly at the beginning of the season, and Sale has, historically, been one of them. Some of them have gone on to have the best seasons.
Take Red Sox and MLB legend Pedro Martinez. In 2002, Martinez was Boston’s Opening Day starter. Like Sale, Martinez gave up seven runs and two walks in only three innings pitched. Similar questions surrounded Pedro. He would go on to finish the season with a 20-4 W/L and 2.26 ERA. He was third in Cy Young voting and led the league in strikeouts (239).
Now, again, this is not me saying that Sale will go on to be a top-three pitcher in the MLB this year (although he statistically and historically has been). This is just to show how quickly and drastically a player’s season can change, especially if being judged off just one start. Next week, Sale will have an opportunity, against the A’s, to prove his doubters wrong. I certainly won’t predict him to have two horrendous outings back-to-back.