Tuesday's Famous First

Don't you love that in a sport celebrating its 150th anniversary, there can still be something new? A feat never before accomplished?

That's what we had Tuesday night in Chris Sale's dominating performance. Clearly past his early season struggles, the Red Sox ace became the first pitcher ever to strike out 17 or more batters in a start lasting seven innings or less.

As is often said, there are two sides to a coin: Sale needed 108 pitches to work through his seven innings. And it doesn't take a math whiz to tell you that averaging 15 pitches an inning is not going to result in a complete game in present-day baseball.

Here's the problem for Joey Cora and Boston: their bullpen couldn't hold the 3 - 2 lead left them by Sale. The Rockies tied the game in the 8th against Brandon Workman and grabbed the lead for keeps on Mark Reynolds' 11th inning single off Ryan Brasier.

None of that takes away from Sale's dazzling night. It simply underscored the absolute fact that baseball is a team game. Seven remarkable innings -- followed by four that went up and down, and left the Sox with an L, not a W.
(My image of Chris Sale is from the Red Sox/Yankees game on August 13th, 2017.)

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