Red Sox

‘It’s part of the process’: Chris Sale throws fastest pitch in 5 years in Red Sox’ win over Phillies

Sale threw a 99 mph four-seam fastball on Friday, marking the first time since August 2018 he's thrown a pitch that fast.

By Conor Roche

May 6, 2023

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Chris Sale might finally be finding his groove again.

The Red Sox’ lefty came out firing from the jump in Friday’s 5-3 win against the Phillies. After retiring the first two hitters he faced, Sale pitched some of the fastest pitches he’s thrown in years against Bryce Harper in the first inning, giving the Phillies’ star a not-so-warm welcome back in his first game in Philadelphia this season.

All four pitches Sale threw were four-seam fastballs. All four went at least 97.5 mph, per Baseball Savant. His four-seam fastball topped out at 98.6 mph in Harper’s at-bat before he struck him out to end the first inning.

Sale’s four-seam fastball only traveled that fast just one more time later in the outing, but he was able to get good speed on the pitch throughout much of the outing. Sale threw 14 four-seam fastballs that went at least 97 mph and his four-seam fastball averaged 96 mph on Friday, according to Baseball Savant.

Those fastballs allowed Sale to have a quality start on Friday. He gave up three runs on seven hits, one walk, and 10 strikeouts in six innings pitched.

“My expectations are pretty high of myself,” Sale told reporters of his velocity on Friday. “I’ve been kind of waiting for it, honestly. These are things I want to continue to do. I want to continue to build, get deeper into games.”

It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Sale on Friday though. He hit a bit of a skid in the fourth, giving up four straight hits to open the inning that allowed the Phillies to score three runs and tie the game.

In the first pitch in the at-bat after the Phillies tied the game, Sale threw a 99 mph fastball, his first pitch to hit 99 mph since Aug. 12, 2018. But it was a wild pitch, causing more frustration for Sale as he banged his hand on his head.

But Sale regrouped, getting Josh Harrison to ground out before striking out Edmundo Sosa and Dalton Guthrie to end the inning.

The near debacle in the fourth was the only rough patch in Sale’s outing on Friday. He credited pitching coach Dave Bush and his teammates for not letting things get out of hand in the fourth.

“You know, a couple more things started happening, and the train was starting to get off the tracks a little bit,” Sale said. “Emotions got high, and the pot started to kind of spill over a little bit. Everybody in that was in that infield, you know, I thanked them after the game because, without them, I don’t know what that would have looked like.”

Sale only allowed one hit in each of the following two innings as his four-seam fastball lost some of its speed, using his changeup, slider, and sinker to help induce outs.

Sale recognized that he isn’t necessarily going to be complete yet after he’s missed much of the prior three seasons due to a slew of injuries.

“It’s part of the process,” Sale said. “I’m not going to be a finished product right out of the gate, especially with all the stuff that’s happened.”

Red Sox manager Alex Cora admitted that he didn’t expect Sale to throw a 99 mph fastball this early into the season. While some might argue it might not be the best idea for Sale to be pitching so fast so soon, Cora isn’t complaining.

“Is it too soon to throw 97, 98? Whatever,” Cora told reporters. “I understand why. … He hasn’t competed. He wants to compete. He wants to dominate. And today was a great day for him.”

Sale couldn’t help but continue to give credit to his teammates for helping settle in when things got a bit rocky in the fourth.

“I like to compete. I love it. But that’s what I really am passionate about. And it’s hard sometimes,” Sale said. “For them to see that and say, ‘Hey, we need to get out there, and we need to get our guy calmed down. We need to get him back on track focus.’ Again, without them, I don’t know what the ending would have looked like. It probably could have been a lot worse.”

Sale improved to 3-2 on the season with the win, allowing just four earned runs over 12 1/3 innings pitched over his last two outings. His next scheduled start is May 12 against the Cardinals at Fenway Park.