Can an athlete truly turn back time?
It appears that way for Red Sox ace Chris Sale, who looks as though he has returned to form since injuries derailed his comeback from Tommy John surgery in 2020.
In his last two starts, the 34-year-old struck out a combined 19 batters after mustering only 5 strikeouts in his previous two outings. Sale noted the change came when he made a few tweaks to his delivery by being more athletic and fluid. The tweaks appear to be working because Sale has been tipping 94-96 MPH on his fastball since the implementation.
Red Sox legend Pedro Martinez said on MLB Tonight that Sale shouldn't have to change his approach going forward -- even given his age.
"I'm not surprised because Chris Sale had at least two, almost two and a half years of limited action so he went through a lot of injuries," Martinez said. "He's had enough time to recoup from the injuries and his body is probably telling him, 'You have had enough rest so, I'm going to give you whatever you need.' But he's going to have to learn how to manage what he's got right now and not really max it out in just one game or two games or the first half of the season."
Martinez suggested that Sale might want to bottle the high-velocity pitches for when he really needs them.
"Not really contain it, but not really go all out there," Martinez said. " ... What you need to do is probably gauge where you feel comfortable as far as speed and location with your fastball or whatever pitch you throw and kind of just settle there until you really need it. You push when you need it. You don't have to actually max out on every pitch."
Sale will make his ninth start of the season against the San Diego Padres on Saturday, which matches the number of games he started in 2021 after only starting two last season and should continue to trend in the right direction.
