As Chris Sale walked into the dugout after his start against his former club, he smiled and accepted congratulations from his teammates.
The former Boston Red Sox posted his best outing of the year against Alex Cora and his squad, just as much of Red Sox Nation expected him to.
On May 8, Sale pitched six scoreless innings, fanned 10 batters and walked one. Sale's stellar outing brought his ERA down from 3.44 to 2.95, and it was his first double-digit strikeout performance and his first shutout of the season.
In the eyes of Red Sox fans, it's fitting that Sale saved his most impressive outing of the year for Boston. After he was traded to Atlanta in December, Sox fans cracked jokes that Sale would post a full, healthy campaign for the Braves. It's still early in the season, but the veteran is already well on his way to success with his new team.
Chris Sale posts his best performance of the year against the Red Sox, his former team
Make that 10 Ks for Chris Sale! pic.twitter.com/KgQPs1IVZz
— MLB (@MLB) May 9, 2024
The blow of losing Sale was worsened by a slew of injuries to the Red Sox lineup, particularly to their newest starting pitcher, Lucas Giolito, and their prize from the Sale trade, Vaughn Grissom. Boston has struggled with injuries in the past, but 2024 has been a different beast for its roster.
The Red Sox helped Sale on his way to collecting 10 strikeouts against them. Boston has the second-highest strikeout total in MLB with 368 in 37 games. The Red Sox's bats are in a lull in recent matchups and they left 22 men on base during their two-game series in Atlanta.
It's typical Red Sox bad luck that Sale stymied their bats so thoroughly. Even after a rough few years in Boston, Sale still has an elite arm. He used it to get revenge on the Red Sox for shipping him elsewhere.