Thursday, October 4, 2018

Chris Sale On His Friday ALDS Start: "If I Take The Mound, I Expect to Win"

Red Sox ace Chris Sale met with reporters this afternoon to discuss his upcoming start against the Yankees in Friday night's ALDS opener at Fenway Park. When asked if his recent injury woes affect his mindset and stuff, the lefty shot back, "If I take the mound, I expect to win, I don't care what I have." He stated that his extended time away from pitching allowed him to get plenty of rest and get more work in—while his teammates took care of business by winning the division. Sale stated that the layoff simply allowed him to "sharpen my tools", including getting "more rotation" in his lower-half and more strength in the upper-half of his body. When specifically asked about the match-up with the Yankees, Sale said, "It's fun, what else do you want? It's what we all signed up for". He also commented on Mookie Betts "placing himself on anther level" by his play this year and stated that having Jackie Bradley, Jr. behind him was like "playing with four outfielders".