Boston Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale isn't exactly known for his composure.
The fiery left-hander showed exactly why in his May 5 start against the Philadelphia Phillies. Though he pitched well on his way to a win, giving up just three earned runs on seven hits and striking out 10 in six innings pitched, the 34-year-old put on a different kind of show at Citizens Bank Park. Sale, after giving up four-consecutive hits that scored three runs, hit himself in the head with a baseball before flinging it in the direction of the Red Sox dugout. That came after similar moments of overbearing anger, like his little meltdown at Triple-A Worcester in the summer of 2022 or the whole taking scissors to a jersey thing.
Those clear overflowing frustrations are something Sale has looked to work on, if for no other reason than on-field success.
"I think -- obviously in my last outing I let my emotions spill over," Sale said, as seen on NESN's postgame coverage. "It took my guys behind me to kind of get me back on track, to calm me down in that situation.
"I was obviously thinking about that when I gave up the home run. I said, 'Okay, this is where you can do this yourself and get back on track -- just throw strikes.' The worst thing you can do after giving up a homer is start to nibble and walk guys, so I really just wanted to attack that next hitter and get back on track to where I was."
Mission accomplished.
Despite giving up a home run to Cardinals superstar Nolan Arenado, the performance Sale put forth in Saturday's loss to St. Louis has people ready to crown him as Boston's ace again. The lefty gave up just one run on three hits while striking out nine over the course of his eight innings. It was a vintage Sale performance, as his eight innings pitched were his most since Aug 8, 2019, according to ESPN Stats and Information. That's 1,374 days.
Whatever Sale is doing, he shouldn't stop.
