Mastrodonato: Chris Sale hasn’t been a key contributor for the 2021 Red Sox, but he still can be

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Chris Sale has meant a lot to the Red Sox over the years, but this can also be true: Sale is pretty far down on the list of most important guys on the Sox’ playoff roster.

And it’s not just because he missed more than half the season recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Sale will take the ball against the Rays for Game 2 of the American League Division Series on Friday night, when he’ll be looking to prove his value to a team that didn’t use him in the Wild Card Game on Tuesday night and hasn’t seemed particularly encouraged by his performances this year.

Manager Alex Cora explained that Sale wasn’t in the bullpen Tuesday in part to protect his arm after coming back from Tommy John surgery.

Cora said Sale would be in the bullpen Thursday night, but it didn’t seem like he’d use him.

“With him we’re going to be very careful as far as if he is going to be in the bullpen or not, for obvious reasons, right?” Cora said. “But if it’s up to him, he probably would be out there. He will be in the bullpen today, but these guys are important for the present and obviously for the future of the organization. It’s been two years trying to get to this point, all the hard work, all the tears and sweat throughout the process. So we have to take care of him.”

Sale doesn’t want to be taken care of.

“It’s what we did in ’18,” Sale said of throwing out of the bullpen between postseason starts. “We were a little bit more prepared then because we could kind of rest some guys getting into the playoffs, but I mean there’s no reason to save an arm to go sit on the couch. This is all the baseball we have left, and we’re going to get to certain points in these series where tomorrow might not come, so if that’s the case and it’s what’s called upon, it’s my job. It’s what I signed up to do.”

Sale has actually pitched great in his two postseason relief appearances that occurred between starts, throwing a perfect eighth inning to secure a win against the Yankees in the ‘18 Division Series, and striking out the side in the ninth to close out the final game of the World Series against the Dodgers.

“I know a lot of people like to think about the glitz and the glam of what it’s like doing this, but the grit and the grind is what we’re here for,” he said. “And this is what we actually signed up to do, and this is what we live for, so if it’s the first 15, 18, 21 outs or the last two, three, six, whatever it is, we got a bunch of pitchers in there that have the same mindset. It doesn’t matter when or where. Just hand me the ball, and I’m going to sling it until you take it.”

It’s been a grind for Sale to get back to being the pitcher he once was.

His regular season numbers weren’t bad: 5-1, 3.16 ERA, 52 strikeouts, 12 walks in 42-2/3 innings. But seven of those starts were against losing teams, and the two other starts were against the Rays, who knocked him around for 16 hits and seven runs (three earned) in 9-2/3 innings.

He said his changeup has been a bad pitch for him and he’s been working on it all week ahead of this start.

He was also the first to acknowledge he hasn’t done a lot to contribute this year, especially after his ugly start against the Nationals in Game 162.

“I did absolutely nothing to help our team win,” he said. “I actually put us in a horrendous spot in that game, and our guys could have taken that one of two ways and gotten down after I went out there not doing what I was supposed to do and the plan not unfolding.

“Being down late in the game, coming back, rallying back, that was huge. I was obviously very appreciative of that because that would have been a not fun — been a not fun last game of the year.”

Sale knows he’s not the most important player on this team anymore. He’s not even in the top-five.

But a good start on Tuesday would still mean a lot for the Red Sox’ chances.

“I’m figuring this stuff out as we go,” he said. “I say it a lot. I’m not really fighting against anybody as much as I’m fighting against myself trying to sharpen my tools and make better pitches and be — like I said, just consistency.

“I had a lot of time off, you know, and with that comes a little bit of hiccups and things like that, but with who I have in my corner, obviously, the drive that I have myself and just the — it’s just relentless. It’s every day. Every single day I come here to get better.”