Chris Sale Learned Incredibly Simple Lesson In Dreadful 2017 ALDS Start

Chris Sale ordinarily is a very good pitcher.

On Oct. 5, 2017, he was not that. At all.

In Game 1 of the 2017 American League Division Series against the Houston Astros, the Boston Red Sox ace got shellacked, allowing seven runs on nine hits over five innings. It arguably was his worst start in a Red Sox uniform, and obviously couldn’t have come at a worse time.

But Sale has gotten a couple of postseason opportunities since, and he pitched well as a starter in Game 1 of this season’s ALDS. And with the Red Sox and Astros now set to square off in the American League Championship Series, Sale has a chance to avenge last season’s start against Houston.

Upon the Red Sox clinching the ALDS against the New York Yankees on Tuesday, Sale was asked what lesson he learned in last season’s meltdown.

His response was simple (and somewhat comical).

“Don’t suck,” Sale said, via The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham. “Seriously, man. It was a very humbling experience.”

He will have a chance to get the Sox going when he gets the ball in Saturday’s Game 1 at Fenway Park.