Sale thinks it may be Boston’s secret weapon

One day after pitching two innings at live batting practice, Chris Sale He feels he is preparing to return “sooner rather than later” and that combined with the performances of the Boston Red Sox this season, could be one of the last pieces to make the team a strong contender for the World Series.

“That’s the plan,” Sale said when asked if he could help propel the team to the World Series. “Our staff have done a great job thus far … We have the best offense in baseball and you have to throw the ball too, and our guys have done an incredible job keeping us in games and making great starts when we need them. And for me, I just have to go in and do my job. “

Sale pitched off the main mound at Fenway Park Wednesday afternoon, hitting fastballs at 94-95 mph along with a combination of sliders and changes. The batting practice sessions marked the third time Sale faced hitters since undergoing Tommy John surgery on March 30, 2020. Manager Alex Cora called the session “revealing.”

“Just the pitching dominance, that’s something I wasn’t expecting,” Cora said Wednesday. “And he was able to throw straight in, straight on the side of the arm, up and out, pushing people away. The change was good and the slider was good.”

When Boston heads West this weekend for a road trip, Sale will go to the team’s spring training facility in Fort Myers, Florida, and hold another batting practice session there. Cora said that after going to Fort Myers, Sale could be ready to go on a rehab assignment, en route to potentially returning to the rotation in August.

“Obviously that’s not guaranteed yet,” Cora said. “But the trend is towards that … I always said that the most important thing in this whole process is the next day or the days between batting practice or live bullpens and all that. I saw him walking. I talked to him. There, and he feels good about where he is, how he did it, so we’ll see what this brings. “

The day after pitching, Sale said he felt good and sore in all the right places. As of now, the Red Sox ace continues to focus on two variables during the rehab process.

“How I look when I’m pitching on the mound during games and simulated games and rehab games and how I recover the next day,” Sale said. “Those are the two most important things to me right now. How does the ball look when I’m pitching and when I wake up the next morning? How does it feel?”

Boston currently ranks first in the AL East with a 50-31 record, three games ahead of second-place Tampa Bay Rays. All this without your best starting pitcher.

“Whenever he comes back, obviously it’s like I said before, no one can change for Chris Sale,” Cora said. “We can add Chris Sale to the equation and this is a guy who is eager to [contribuir]. Has a great mood. Physically, it looks tremendous. “

Sale feels ready to contribute to a team he describes as “gritty, like sandpaper.”

“There is not an iota of abandonment in anyone and this is a team that is built with guys who know how to squeeze their turns, guys who don’t take no for an answer and never give up,” Sale said. “How many wins coming from behind have we had? How many times have we lost three or four runs in the first or second inning or in the sixth or seventh and we go back and get it? If and when our starter stumbled a little, our offense is there. to help us … We found ways to win on a day where we probably shouldn’t win, and that’s a good quality. “

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