Chris Sale only focused on ‘competing and dominating’ after first outing with Red Sox in over two months

“No. Absolutely not,” Sale told reporters when asked if there was concern about a possible re-injury. “Tomorrow’s not guaranteed. I’m not saving anything for tomorrow, because I don’t know if it’s coming. When I’m out there, I’m not thinking about anything other than competing and dominating. … That feeling will never get old.”

Sale might not be thinking about tomorrow when he’s on the mound. His manager is, though. Alex Cora told reporters before the game that he targeted Sale to pitch four innings on Friday, adding after the game that he doesn’t “want to put the weight on his shoulders.”

“He’s going to keep getting better and getting more innings and he’s going to be part of this,” Cora said of managing Sale’s load. “For us to play in October, we need everybody to contribute. For him to come out here today and be healthy and compete with us, it means a lot to the group.”

Sale actually pitched longer than what Cora had him down for prior to the game. A big part of that was his ability to throw strikes, landing 42 of his 58 pitches as he was perfect for nearly five innings.

“That’s obviously something after a long layoff that can come into question, so being able to command the strike zone was satisfying for sure,” Sale said.

Sale’s fastball traveled well for much of the night, topping out at 96.5 mph as he threw four of his five fastest pitches in his final inning of work. Most of his other fastballs traveled at a speed of at least 93.9 mph, which is just short of his average speed on the pitch (94.5 mph) for the season, per Statcast. In addition, Sale used his sinker and slider to help generate a handful of whiffs on top of his fastball.

Friday’s outing looked like a continuation of the version of Sale we last saw prior to his injury when he went 3-0 with a 2.42 ERA over four starts in May. He also recorded 30 strikeouts with a 0.808 WHIP over 26 innings pitched that month, pitching like the version of himself that made him one of baseball’s best pitchers last decade.

That’s why it was also a damper when Sale suffered his latest setback on June 1. That injury was Sale’s fifth that forced him to miss time since the start of the 2020 season, which has caused him to spend more time rehabbing than actually playing over the last four seasons.

“All the in-between stuff sucks,” Sale said. “And I’ve said it. It is not fun rehabbing. I’m not the first to say it. I’m probably not going to be the last to say it. There are moments that you can enjoy during the process, but as a whole, it flat-out sucks.”

A positive feeling of Sale’s has been reinforced though throughout the last four years as he’s battled back from injuries.

“On the flip side of that, anytime I ever step on that mound and stare down that barrel and have competition and have a batter facing me, I don’t care if I’m in the Complex League, I don’t care if I’m in Worcester,” Sale said. “I said it to Trevor [Story] after my first Worcester start that there is nothing like that feeling I get out there. That feeling will never get old. And if it does, it’s time to pack it up and take it to the house.”

That’s how Sale felt about his start on Friday.

“The first start back always means a little something more just because a lot of work goes into it,” Sale said. “You just kind of appreciate it a little bit more because you get something taken away that you really like, it’s never fun. Take a kid’s favorite toy away he’s going to throw a fit for a little bit.”