Sounds as if the number of starts Chris Sale makes the rest of the way is dependent upon what he reports to the White Sox.
With his next turn coming Friday in Cleveland, Sale, who is 50 strikeouts shy of 300, could make as many as four starts the rest of the way.
Or it could be three.
Well out of the postseason picture, the White Sox intend to monitor the workloads of all of their pitchers the rest of the way, Sale included. Sale’s pursuit of becoming baseball’s first 300-strikeout pitch since 2002 wouldn’t afford him a final start if the left-hander isn’t up to par.
“It’s mostly how he feels,” White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. “That’s the most important thing. We wouldn’t push him to do something. You’re not running him out there for that stats. You’re looking at his health, how he feels. He feels good you keep him on his schedule and he’ll pitch it out. If anything looks like you’re trying to push it for statistical stuff that’s not going to happen. It’s going to be by how he feels.”
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Sale is still 26 2/3 innings shy of the career high (214 1/3) he posted in 2013.
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But he has never made more than 30 starts in a season and currently sits at 28 with possibly four turns left.
Sale has always looked to finish strong and making four starts over the team’s final 20 games could be a point of emphasis for the four-time All-Star. After all, he missed several starts in 2014 when he went on the disabled list and in the previous two seasons didn’t make a few as the team monitored his workload.
While Sale missed his first turn in the rotation this season because of a broken bone in his right foot, he’s made each one the rest of the way.
“He’s always had a stretch where we gave him a breather,” Ventura said. “He’s had a better understanding of how it is to go through it. He understands physically what he does better. For that it’s been a good year for him going through it, he has a better sense of going through it and what it takes and understanding how to get through it. There’s no pain to it.”