The Houston Astros were pleasantly surprised to find Chris Sale’s velocity down a few ticks in Game 1 of the ALCS, and they took advantage of the Boston Red Sox ace’s issues.
The Astros got Sale out of the game after just four innings in a 7-2 win on Saturday, and outfielder Josh Reddick certainly noticed the difference in Sale’s velocity, which topped out around 93-94 MPH instead of his usual upper-90s.
Josh Reddick on Chris Sale: "It’s just a lot easier when he’s throwing 92-93 as opposed to 97. It’s not a comfortable at-bat but he’s finding ways to get outs. Anytime he’s not 100 percent you feel like you have an advantage."
— Jason Mastrodonato (@JMastrodonato) October 14, 2018
The Astros did get just one hit off Sale and struck out five times, but with four walks, his control wasn’t where it usually was. There were no issues in his ALDS start, but this time, he just didn’t look comfortable.
