Chris Sale is one of the best pitchers in baseball, and he’s also one of the fiercest competitors.
This was on full display Tuesday night, when the Boston Red Sox left-hander narrowly missed a complete game against the Kansas City Royals. Sale tossed 8 1/3 dominant innings in the Red Sox’s 8-3 win over the Royals, but the five-time MLB All-Star visibly was upset when manager John Farrell yanked him in the ninth inning.
After the game, Sale didn’t hide the fact that he was upset with not being able to go the distance, but his mood quickly changed once his team sealed the victory.
“It sucks,” he said, as seen on NESN’s Red Sox postgame coverage. “I wanted to get that one. I don’t like telling the manager I can go out there and get it for him and not get it done. I would have loved to give the bullpen a full day off, but it didn’t work out.
“Obviously I was a little pissed off, but you get over it because we’re still winning the game. And once that last out is recorded, it’s all smiles. So I was a little frustrated, but in the end, we still got our goal done and that was getting a win.”
The left-hander was flat-out dominant against the Royals, but the ultra-competitor in him acknowledged there still were some flaws in his outing. And in classic Sale fashion, he pledged to be better.
“I’ll never settle,” he said. “When you start settling, you get complacent. And when you get complacent, you suck. That’s just not my style.”
Sale’s efforts, as well as an offensive outburst from the Red Sox’s bats, helped the Red Sox grab sole possession of first place in the American League East for the first time this season. Boston has been firing on all cylinders as of late, which Sale acknowledged after the big win.
“I don’t think you can say anything negative about us right now,” he said. “We’re scoring runs, we’re pitching good and our bullpen has been lights out. So I think we’re in a pretty good spot.”
Here are some other notes from Red Sox-Royals.
— Neither Deven Marrero nor Sam Travis were affected by the quick turnaround from Triple-A Pawtucket to the big leagues. The two rookies combined to go 3-for-7 with two RBIs and three runs scored.
— Highly touted prospect Michael Chavis continues to impress in the minor leagues.
— Xander Bogaerts went 2-for-5 with two RBIs, extending his hitting streak against the Royals to 19 games.
— Sale hurled 12 pitches or less in six of the nine innings he appeared in.
— The Red Sox signed two additional players selected in the 2017 MLB Draft: first baseman Zach Sterry (8th round) and right-handed pitcher Lukas Young (21st round). Young will head to Single-A Lowell, while Sterry will report to Fort Meyers, Fla. on a rehab assignment.
— The 2007 World Series Champion Red Sox will be commemorated for the 10-year anniversary of their title in a ceremony prior to July 30’s Red Sox-Royals game.
Thumbnail photo via Denny Medley/USA TODAY Sports Images