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Red Sox: Top five performances of opening series vs Pittsburgh Pirates

By Jimmy Longo

Apr 5, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale (41) pitches during the first inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 5, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale (41) pitches during the first inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 21, 2017; Tampa, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale (41) throws a pitch in the second inning against the New York Yankees during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 21, 2017; Tampa, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale (41) throws a pitch in the second inning against the New York Yankees during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports /

Chris Sale

The Chris Sale era in Boston began with a bang Wednesday night. In a game in which temperatures hovered near 40 degrees or lower the entire night, Sale defied the cold with a simple t-shirt underneath his jersey, showing Boston before his first pitch the kind of toughness on this guy.

The start for Sale on the Red Sox was quite the shock for some, and many are still just thoroughly surprised that the Red Sox were even able to acquire the lanky lefty this winter.

Sale’s night on the mound at Fenway was nothing short of everything they paid for. The immediate turnout for prospects Michael Kopech and Yoan Moncada sure is sweet, regardless of how their major league careers turn out. If anyone was skeptical at first glance, that skepticism may have been put to rest.

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Sale gave the Red Sox seven shutout innings, surrendering only three hits while striking out seven Pirates, using varied fastball velocities, as high as 97 and as low as 87, adding in his sweeping slider and changeup to give the Red Sox all they bargained for.

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