And then some.
Five days after submitting his worst performance of the season, Sale took the mound at Rogers Centre by storm, striking out 11 batters with seven scoreless innings as the Red Sox squeaked away with a 3-0 win, their second straight against the Jays.
Sale has now twice responded to his horrible starts against the Indians with brilliant performances.
After he allowed seven runs against Cleveland on August 1, he showed up at Tropicana Field with laser focus, striking out 13 over eight shutout innings. He gave up just two hits.
So what exactly happened in Cleveland last week?
Manager John Farrell shot down the idea that Sale might have been tipping his pitches. He never even mentioned the thought that the Indians might have picked up on the Red Sox’ signs (the Sox felt it important to change their signs during Game 1 of the ALDS against the Indians last year).
“I can’t say there’s anything in his delivery that’s telegraphing or tipping or anything,” Farrell said yesterday. “To me, it was more pitches up in the strike zone that they capitalised on.”
For Farrell, the problem was simply location, which is the same thing Sale said immediately after allowing seven runs in three innings at Progressive Field.
But no matter where Sale threw the ball last night, the Jays looked lost.
Wicked sliders inside and out created brutal strikes on check swings and off-balance swings that looked crazier than a Hanley Ramirez whiff. And while some questioned whether Sale’s velocity, down about 1 mph in his last start, was an issue, the lefty was throwing at an even lower velocity last night, averaging 94.5 mph on his four-seamer and 93.8 mph on his sinker, per Brooks Baseball.
And yet the Blue Jays were lifeless.
Kendrys Morales got their first hit off Sale with a double to left-centre in the second inning. Sale then struck out four of the next five, including three straight in the third inning. He didn’t allow another hit until the eighth, when Morales singled.
Sale entered the game with the lowest career ERA in Rogers Centre history, then lowered it some more. He’s now thrown 47 innings in Toronto with a 0.96 ERA.
He’s allowed one run in his last 33 innings here.
His dominance in direct response to his poor outing in Cleveland may have overshadowed a different moment that’ll go in the history books.
While striking out the side in the third, Sale became the fastest pitcher to 1,500 strikeouts in baseball history. It took him 1,2881/3 innings. Kerry Wood held the record, getting to 1,500 strikeouts in 1,303 innings.
The Red Sox offense was mostly quiet against lefty Brett Anderson, and their difficulties hitting against lefties may become an issue if they can’t figure it out before the postseason. They’ve hit just .257 off lefties since the start of July.
They plated their first run in the sixth when Rajai Davis stole second base after getting picked off first - he just kept running and got hit in the back by the throw - and then scored on a single by Eduardo Nunez.
Ramirez hit a solo shot in the seventh inning, his 20th home run of the season.
Craig Kimbrel pitched a scoreless ninth for his 31st save of the season.
RESULTS
San Diego 6 San Francisco 3
LA Angels 8 Oakland 2
Arizona 7 LA Dodgers 6
Colorado 7 Detroit 3
Kansas City 6 Tampa Bay 2
Minnesota 6 Chicago White Sox 4
Chicago Cubs 4 Pittsburgh 1
St. Louis 10 Milwaukee 2
Texas 12 Houston 2
Cincinnati 14 NY Mets 4
Boston 3 Toronto 0
Washington 8 Miami 3
Baltimore 4 Seattle 0