White Sox blowout affords ace smooth Sale-ing

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DETROIT -- The overwhelming run support afforded Chris Sale the rare chance to shift into coast mode.

By virtue of an offensive onslaught from his teammates, the White Sox pitcher swapped strategies midway through Saturday’s 12-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers. After throwing 56 pitches in three stressful innings against the Tigers’ loaded lineup, Sale was afforded a rarity, going into conservation mode.

“At that point you’re trying to eat as many innings as you can,” Sale said. “You can go out and give up a few more runs and it’s really not going to hurt. The main thing from then on out is saving the bullpen.”

Many of Sale’s 56 early pitches came against Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez in showdowns that are never for the faint of heart. He kept one of baseball’s better offenses in check, but also had to work hard to do so.

[SHOP: Gear up, White Sox fans!]

After the White Sox poured it on in the third and fourth innings, Sale, who threw fastballs between 96-98 mph at the start, began to coast. His fastball range sat between 88-94 mph for much of the rest of the game.

Sale yielded a solo homer to J.D. Martinez to start the fourth inning but retired the final nine hitters he faced. The left-hander allowed two earned runs and four hits with a walk in six innings while striking out six. He only needed 45 pitches over his final three innings.

“You have to bear down a little bit,” Sale said of the first three innings. “That trio, now there is four of them from (Ian) Kinsler to (Yoenis) Cespedes and even JD Martinez. Those guys are tough. So you want to do what you can, but not let it get out of control because they can get it out of control in a hurry.”

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