Chris Sale talked his way into one more batter during the sixth inning of Tuesday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays, and he had an awesome reason for doing so.
Sale had labored through 114 pitches through 5.2 innings for the Boston Red Sox and was locked in a 2-2 tie when manager Alex Cora came to the mound. Cora had the intention of taking him out, but the manager said after the game that Sale had convinced him to let him face one more batter, saying he had three more pitches in him.
Why three? Sale had a simple explanation.
When Sale was asked why he told Cora he had three pitches left, he said, "Because that's how many it takes to get a punchout."
— Ian Browne (@IanMBrowne) July 24, 2019
Sale didn’t need all three pitches, getting Guillermo Heredia to line out to short to end the inning. It paid off, as the Red Sox scored in the seventh and ultimately won 5-4, with Sale as the winning pitcher.
Sale is known as a huge competitor, and this is probably exactly what team president Dave Dombrowski had in mind when he called out his starters for their poor season. Sale did what an ace does, and Boston benefited as a result.
