NORTH PORT, Fla. — Chris Sale allowed three earned runs on two homers and walked a hitter Friday against the Red Sox. No cause for alarm at all, he said.
“Oddly pleased with it. I think there’s a lot of good to take from it,” Sale said at CoolToday Park. “Really, I’ll be honest, I think I just made two bad pitches that left the yard. My arm was loose, everything was coming out really good.
“For a second start of spring training I felt like my command was there, just a breaking ball that popped up to (Jarren) Duran, and then (Ceddanne) Rafaela, just kind of threw a cut hanging change-up. Other than that, felt like my rhythm was good, everything was great.”
Sale’s day began with a strikeout of Roman Anthony on a 97 mph heater up in the zone. Sale then froze Rafaela on a back-door slider at 79 mph. But Sale’s second pitch to Duran was crushed out to right field, a 409-foot bomb that put the Red Sox up 1-0.
After a leadoff walk in the second, Sale got a grounder and line-out before fanning Vinny Capra with a slider. Sale then gave up a one-out single in the third before Rafaela’s two-run homer to center.
Sale threw 45 pitches, 30 of which went for strikes. He went over 97 mph with his fastball and admitted he was surprised to see that high of a number when breaking down his tape between innings in the dugout.
“I feel like if I was overexerting myself, maybe,” Sale said when asked if the velocity could have been too high at this point in spring training. “But again, I just felt like everything was — my delivery was clean, it felt smooth. I just felt really good with my command. Those are the things I’m really focused on right now. Velocity is just kind of a cherry on top.”
Sale’s sword
Earlier this week, Sale was presented a custom sword by Mizuno, the sports equipment and sportswear company that has had Sale as a client for the entirety of his professional career.
What does one do with a sword?
“Whatever I want, if you get my drift,” Sale said with a hearty laugh.
ABS update
The Braves are feeling their way around ABS, the automated ball-strike challenge system in place that allows pitchers, catchers and hitters to challenge called ball and strikes.
Through five games ahead of Friday, the Braves had challenged 14 pitches and were successful on nine of those calls. They started the spring 0-for-4.
On Wednesday’s game against the Pirates the Braves went 6-for-6, including 3-for-3 in the first inning against Pirates ace Paul Skenes.
“We came around. We didn’t win a challenge for awhile there. We got on a roll,” Braves manager Walt Weiss laughed before Friday’s game. “Didn’t start out well, but it’s all about how you finish.”
Braves first baseman Matt Olson had the most notable challenge Wednesday against Skenes, challenging a strike call that, upon review, missed the strike zone by less than one-tenth of an inch. Braves hitters have gone 4-for-4 in challenges, while the team’s catchers are 5-for-10.
“We told them, ‘Err on the side of challenging down here.’ We’ll come up with a strategy before we break camp,” Weiss said. “But just, ‘Figure this thing out while you’re down here. I don’t care what point in the game it is and all that stuff. You gotta feel this thing out.’”
Alvarez to play for Mexico
Another Braves player will be present at the World Baseball Classic when that competition begins in March.
Nacho Alvarez Jr. has been added to the Mexico roster, the team announced earlier this week. Alvarez was born in California, but both parents are Mexican.
An infielder who has added catcher to his repertoire this spring, Alvarez will play for a Mexican team coached by Benji Gil that begins pool play March 6 against Great Britain.
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