Postseason Knights: Chris Sale
Boston Red Sox LHP Chris Sale gets the ball in game one of the ALDS on Friday night (October 5) at Fenway Park against the New York Yankees. The Red Sox, who won the American League East, will face their rivals in a series that should be one for the ages.
Before Sale was a member of the Red Sox — and one of the game’s best pitchers — he made his way (quickly) through the Chicago White Sox organization.
Drafted by the White Sox in the first round (13th overall) of the 2010 MLB June Amateur Draft, Sale raced through the system that season. On a fast rise to the majors — the hard-throwing left-handed pitcher started with High-A Winston-Salem. He appeared in four games with the Dash and posted a 2.25 ERA (4.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO). Then, it was on to Triple-A.
The Lakeland, FL native appeared in seven games for the Knights in 2010. Much like in Winston-Salem, all of his appearances came out of the team’s bullpen. He struck-out 15 batters over 6.1 innings pitched and finished with a 2.84 ERA (6.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 HR, 4 BB).
Although he made seven appearances with the Knights, five of the appearances that year came on the road. After making his Triple-A debut against the Bulls in Durham, NC on July 16, he headed to Fort Mill, SC and made his Knights Stadium debut on July 18 against the Bulls. Sale notched a hold after fanning the only two batters he faced (0.2 IP).
The talented 21-year-old southpaw made one more appearance in Fort Mill that year. On July 20, he allowed one run in one inning — a solo home run to Michael Griffin. Still, he struck-out two batters.
Overall, Sale notched at least two strikeouts in six of his seven appearances with the Knights. On two occasions, he fanned three. Both of those performances came in just one inning of work (each).
He later made the jump to the majors and the rest was history. For Charlotte Knights fans, they did get one more glimpse of him — however it also came on the road.
On May 17, 2014, Sale made a rehab start for the Knights in Durham, NC against the Bulls. In the first game of a doubleheader (he was supposed to start the night before, but the game was postponed due to rain), Sale struck-out 11 of the 15 batters he faced. He tossed four innings and allowed just one hit and the Knights won the game 2–1. On a side note: Adam Eaton also rehabbed for the Knights that day. That was Sale’s last appearance in a Knights uniform.
On Tuesday, December 6, 2016, Sale was dealt by the Chicago White Sox to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech, Luis Alexander Basabe, and Victor Diaz.
So far, in two seasons with the Red Sox (2017–18), Sale is 29–12 with a 2.56 ERA in 59 games (372.1 IP/545 SO). He represented the Red Sox at the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in each of his two seasons with the franchise. This season, he went 12–4 with a 2.11 ERA in 27 games (158.0 IP/237 SO).
