It’s been a tale of two seasons so far for Chris Sale.
After starting the campaign with four consecutive losses, the Boston Red Sox ace has rebounded in a big way, and he can give a lot of credit to his improved four-seam fastball.
In his first four starts, Sale had a whopping 8.50 ERA and opponents were hitting .311 against the lanky lefty. During that time, his four-seamer was hovering under 93 miles per hour and only generating swings and misses less than two percent of the time, according to Brooks Baseball. Opponents also were hitting .524 off Sale’s four-seamer.
But over the last six starts, it’s a different story. Sale’s four-seam fastball velocity is up to 93.6 miles per hour and the pitch is generating swings and misses nearly 20 percent of the time. Opponents are hitting just .140 against the pitch.
The results speak for themselves. Sale is 1-1 with a 2.35 ERA over his last six starts. Opponents are hitting .163 against him and he has struck out at least 10 hitters in each of his last four starts, including 17 against the Colorado Rockies last week.
See more about Sale’s recent success in the video above.
