7 years agoBoston Red Sox ace Chris Sale pitched six shutout innings of one-hit ball with nine strikeouts on Thursday. The bullpen was shaky in the eighth inning and allowed the Rays to get back in the game and ultimately win it. Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reported that manager Alex Cora and closer Craig Kimbrel talked before the game and decided he would not pitch unless it was a clean inning. Cora also said Kimbrel was available for the ninth inning. Sale had a major league-leading 308 strikeouts in 2017, and Thursday's effort is the start to another dominant season.--Ellis Canady - RotoBaller
Source: MLB.com