Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale looked like, well, Chris Sale when he took the mound in Boston’s series opener against the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night.
Sale pitched six solid innings while only giving up three runs on seven hits and striking out 10, but the lefty didn’t want to take all the credit for the Red Sox win at Citizens Bank Park.
“These guys don’t waste at-bats,” Sale said of his teammates on NESN’s postgame coverage. “They never give anything away. They never give in and continue to grind out at-bats. Obviously, (Zack) Wheeler’s really good out there. So to be able to do what we did tonight was really good. It’s awesome.”
Sale has been working his way back to form since having wrist surgery last August following an off-field accident.
“My expectations are pretty high for myself,” Sale said. “So, I’ve been kind of waiting for it, honestly, but again, these are things that I’m going to continue to do and want to continue to build and to get deeper into games.”
Closer Kenley Jansen has had a front-row seat watching Sale return to form and knows the expectations are high for the pitcher.
“You see how he’s battling every day,” Jansen said on NESN’s postgame coverage. “He’s trying to be the Chris Sale he wants to be. Those first three innings were amazing. He hasn’t even pitched for the last three years, and once he gets his rhythm more, watch out. He’s going to be filthy again.”
Sale is 3-2 on the season with 45 strikeouts and a 6.37 ERA, which will continue to drop if he has more outings as he did Friday night in Philly.
“Like I said, our lineup is unreal. Our defense is there,” Sale said. “I mean we saw that early in the game and throughout the whole game. So, the more I can do my part, the better off we’re going to be as a group. I obviously want to go out there and compete.
“That’s my main goal. I want to go out there and do what I’m supposed to do. I got all the confidence in the world in our defense and all the confidence in our offense. So, it’s just me going out there and having to do just enough to keep us in the ballgame.”
