Chris Sale has started a lot of games in Major League Baseball — 149, to be specific — but it sounds as though he’s always going to remember the one he made at Fenway Park on Wednesday night.
The game against the Pittsburgh Pirates wasn’t Sale’s first start in Boston. He made three while he was still with the Chicago White Sox, but his first was for a different Red Sox team: representing the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the Cape Cod League All-Star Game. And even though Sale was familiar with the atmosphere, his first outing in a (Boston) Red Sox uniform was extra special.
“I get nervous before every game,” Sale told reporters after Wednesday’s game, per the Boston Herald. “Tonight was a little bit different (because) obviously it’s my first time pitching here in the home whites. Running out of the first base dugout is pretty awesome. It was special. I appreciated it, too. I tried to go through my routine and do everything I normally do but also soak it all in.”
Sale dazzled in his outing, too, tossing seven scoreless innings and allowing just three hits to go with a walk and seven strikeouts. The 28-year-old earned the no-decision when the Red Sox won 3-0 in the 12th inning, but it doesn’t sound like that’s going to affect the way Sale felt about his first series at Fenway.
“Walking out for Opening Day was awesome,” Sale said. “That’s a feeling I’ll never forget. I’m very appreciative of that. I know that’s not easy to come by. Walking out to the bullpen today before I even threw my first warmup pitch, people were losing their minds. Walking off in the seventh inning, that’s another feeling I’ll never forget.
“That’s special. That’s awesome. And I appreciate it.”
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
