Chris Sale. (Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- Red Sox All-Star and maybe Midsummer Classic starter Chris Sale shined again last night--seven shutout innings, 12 strikeouts, one walk to improve to 10-and-4. And, since the southpaw won't pitch again before the break, it's a good time to assess how Boston's plan for limiting his usage has worked out.
The answer? Great! Last year versus this year:
ERA: 2.75 compared to 2.23
Strikeouts: 178 versus 188
Innings: 127-and-two-thirds then, 129 now
And, last year, 100 pitches in 17 of his 18 starts. This season, just 12 of 20.
In Sale's last seven games, he has a 0.94 ERA, but the ace isn't caught up in the success.
"It's a pretty funny game, you know?" Sale said. "Any time you feel like you're on top of the world, you get knocked right off. For me, I just come in, try to win games, and be a good teammate at the same time."
Manager Alex Cora said Sale's riding high.
"It looks like the last seven, eight, it's been effortless," Cora said. "We feel that now with this break, he's going to reset, reload, and he's gonna have a good second part of the season."
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) reports