In between pitches, Xander Bogaerts tucked his throwing hand into his back pocket to keep warm. At third base, Pablo Sandoval covered his ears and mouth with cold-weather gear. By the ninth inning, Craig Kimbrel could see hisbreath on the mound.
Chris Sale went out there with short sleeves.
Of course, there will be colder games at Fenway Park, but 40 degrees at first pitch last night was a lot colder than any of those spring training affairs, and Sale looked just as comfortable as he’d been in the Florida sunshine.
That was his first impression on a fan base that’s been let down before. Sale arrived with such credentials that he can be questioned only by pointing out he’s never pitched in a situation quite like this.
Well, did he look comfortable to you?
“I get nervous before every game,” Sale said. “Tonight was a little bit different (because) obviously it’s my first time pitching here in the home whites. Running out of the first base dugout is pretty awesome. It was special. I appreciated it, too. I tried to go through my routine and do everything I normally do but also soak it all in.”
Sale was long gone by the time the Red Sox offense finally thawed and catcher Sandy Leon hit his walkoff home run in the 12th inning for a 3-0 win, but even in the postgame euphoria, the lefty’s debut was impossible to forget.
In the grand scheme of things, it was the best part of the night, when the new guy was no different than when his Sox were White.
Dominant Chris Sale comes as advertised for Red Sox
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Dominant Chris Sale comes as advertised for Red Sox
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