Chris Sale will leave spring training just as healthy as the day he arrived, and given all the injury-related frustrations the Boston Red Sox left-hander previously faced, it's as important as anything.
Sale made his final Grapefruit League start Sunday against the Minnesota Twins. He scattered five hits with three strikeouts and allowed two runs over five innings in Boston's 7-2 loss.
After walking off the diamond at JetBlue Park, Sale spoke with NESN's Jahmai Webster and offered both his assessment of spring training and how he's feeling with meaningful competition less than a week away. It will be the first time since 2019 that Sale is on the Opening Day roster.
"Yeah, it was good. I got everything I really needed to work on, kind of found my mechanics," Sale said, as seen on NESN. "... So just take that up north with me and keep it rolling."
Sale allowed baserunners in the first, third, fourth and fifth innings. He kept the Twins off the scoreboard in the fifth despite Minnesota having runners at first and third with one out. And while Sale acknowledged the defensive help he received, he nevertheless was happy to see himself work out of some jams in his final tune-up start.
"Sometimes you're going to go out there and be completely locked in and you can basically close your eyes and throw strikes and sometimes you're out there and you feel you're in the middle of the ocean," Sale said. "I appreciate having those times in these situations to where I can work out of it and there's not high stakes. So when they come during the season and I'll be prepared for it."
Sale joked how now he just needs to "get home safe," a humorous self-own from someone who has faced a brutal stretch of injury luck. Sale was limited to just 5 2/3 innings last season after an August bicycle accident caused him to miss the remainder of the season.
"I'm just appreciative of the opportunity I have being able to have this spring training and get through it, and actually not just get through it but actually excel through it," Sale said. "And finish strong and be really prepared for the start of the season."
Sale is slated to take the mound at Fenway Park on Saturday in Boston's second game of the season against the Baltimore Orioles. Red Sox manager Alex Cora made the decision to start Corey Kluber on Opening Day on Thursday to ensure Sale can enjoy being back in the ballpark without the stress and anticipation of starting.
