It hasn’t been Chris Sale’s year, to say the least.
The Boston Red Sox left-hander is 3-9 on the season with an uncharacteristic 4.27 ERA. Sale has given up at least four earned runs in seven of his starts while going at least six innings in his previous five.
Sale knows he’s not pitching to his ability and has shouldered the blame for a majority of the season, even calling some of his appearances “embarrassing.”
The southpaw has worked with Boston’s pitching coaches, and now his teammates are stepping in to help. Sale tossed a bullpen before Tuesday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays, and a number of teammates were out there to watch him.
“It was teammates being teammates. Just being there and watching,” manager Alex Cora said, per WEEI’s Ryan Hannable. “Everybody knows about the game and obviously pitchers know about mechanics and usage and all that, but I think for them to be there it means a lot. It means a lot where we’re at as a team and you never know, someone might pick something up that me, Dana (LeVangie) or (Craig Bjornson) hasn’t seen. It was good. Sandy (Leon) and Christian (Vazquez) were there too, so you don’t see that often.
“I think that was good for the team to let him know, ‘Hey, we’re here for you.’”
Teamwork makes the dream work.
We’ll see if Sale is able to bounce back Thursday afternoon.
