There’s still plenty of work left to be done, but Chris Sale took a massive step forward on Thursday afternoon.
The Boston Red Sox ace lefty picked up his first win at Fenway Park in more than a calendar year, chucking six shutout innings and striking out 12 in the Sox’s 5-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
It’s been an unbelievably rocky campaign for Sale, who is coming off one of the worst stretches of his career, allowing five runs in each of his last three starts. While flashing good strikeout numbers, the lefty has struggled with command and velocity consistently throughout the season.
But Sale thought both of those elements were there in his start against the Jays and noted that he might have to credit some of that to Red Sox Hall of Famer Luis Tiant.
“I got some words of wisdom from Luis (Tiant),” Sale said, via MassLive’s Christopher Smith. “So that never hurts.”
The ace would not reveal the message, however.
“I can’t spill my beans,” Sale said. “I can’t give up my secrets.”
Whatever the message was, it certainly didn’t hurt.
