It’s been nearly seven years since the Boston Red Sox won their last championship with their 2018 World Series victory.
There are few images in the last decade as memorable for Red Sox fans as seeing ace Chris Sale trot in from the bullpen to pitch the bottom of the ninth inning in the series-clinching win against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Sale — now in his second year with the Atlanta Braves — will pitch in relief for the first time since that October night seven seasons ago when his current team closes out their 2025 campaign on Sunday.
“Charlie Morton will be the #Braves’ opener in Sunday’s season finale vs. Pittsburgh, before Chris Sale takes over,” David O’Brien of The Athletic wrote on X.
The reigning NL Cy Young award winner’s unconventional appearance on Sunday gives 41-year-old Charlie Morton a chance for one final start before his retirement.
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Sale spent seven seasons in Beantown from 2017 to 2023, making a pair of All-Star teams and serving as the team’s No. 1 starter for much of his tenure.
The southpaw was traded to Atlanta in December 2023 and won his first career Cy Young award last year after being a top five finisher for the hardware six straight times from 2013 to 2018.
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Sale has been limited to 20 starts this season, going 6-5 with a 2.63 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 156 strikeouts across 120 innings pitched.
Featured image via Kyle Ross/Imagn Images
