Chris Sale Reaches 200 Strikeouts in Record Time

Boston Red Sox: Chris Sale hits 200 strikeouts – before August
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22 July, 2017

The Red Sox turn to ace Chris Sale as they look to get it in gear on Friday when they begin a six-game road trip with the opener of a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels.

And with 200 K's in 20 or fewer starts, Sale joins some pretty elite company.

But Sale's dominance is even more historic.

Sale improved to 6-0 against the Angels with a 1.23 ERA in seven starts (nine games). Johnson reached 200 strikeouts in 143 innings, while Martinez needed 147 innings to reach 200.

Red Sox: Right-hander Joe Kelly (strained left hamstring) remained in Boston and threw long-toss. The strikeout capability is certainly unique, " Red Sox manager John Farrell said.

Sale is so unique that Boston gave him an additional day of rest prior to starting him on Friday against Los Angeles. Mindful of the fact that Sale leads the league in innings pitched - many of which have come in low-scoring, high-stress games - and has averaged 109.8 pitches per start, Farrell is taking measures to ensure the AL's best pitcher has enough left in his tank for the stretch run.

Sale shut out the Angels on four hits in six innings, riding the five-run first inning and lifting the Red Sox to a 6-2 win at Angel Stadium.

Jackie Bradley Jr. made a tremendous, leaping catch as he flew into the center-field wall on a drive by Yunel Escobar to lead off the bottom of the first inning. I'm not the biggest fan of looking into stuff like that. Sale said. "It seems like he makes a great catch and it's like, all right, that's the best one". "Then he makes another and then that's the best one. It seems like he's always raising the bar".

Sale has won 11 of his last 13 decisions.

However, the historical context of his season does not matter that much to Sale at this point. Out of respect for Ryan, Johnson and Martinez, he said it was "cool" to share an accomplishment with them and acknowledged he will someday share it with his grandchildren. A lack of run support has been an ongoing theme for the 28-year-old, with the outing marking the third in the last six that Boston has mustered either one or no runs for him.

"I'm not here to talk about that kind of crap, man, " he said. "It definitely doesn't go unnoticed by us as pitchers, and I think our whole team appreciates the effort all the way around". "Those guys, all four of them, they work as hard as anybody, and they cover a lot of ground".

"I've not been around a pitcher that's had that kind of totals", Farrell said of Sale's strikeout numbers. He last started a game on June 14.

Against Trout, Sale said he was simply "trying to keep it in the ballpark, honestly.Trout's special".

Sale has been so good that he has left teammates almost speechless. That number puts him on-pace for 331 strikeouts this season.


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