Chris Sale was called upon for the Boston Red Sox in Game 2 of the ALDS against the Tampa Bay Rays in what was his first postseason start since the 2018 World Series. Sale did not turn back the clock with a vintage performance but rather had an outing that he sure would like to forget.

Sale only completed a mere one inning against the Rays, as he allowed five earned runs and four hits through 30 pitches. The knockout blow for Sale was essentially the grand slam allowed to Jordan Luplow that opened up an early 5-2 lead for Tampa Bay.

Boston did pick up for him over the course of the game, as the offense posted a four-run fifth inning en route to a 14-6 comeback victory.

After the game, Red Sox manager Alex Cora reflected on where it went wrong for Sale, as he gave credit to the Rays and their key situational hitting.

“It’s a good-hitting team,” Cora said. “They took advantage of certain pitches, and they put some swings on it. Yandy goes the other way and then the grand slam on the fastball that was above the strike zone. Sometimes, teams game-plan on people and they do a good job with it. That 0-2 pitch was above the zone, and [Luplow] got to it.”

Even after such a sluggish outing, Cora is not throwing in the towel on the seven-time All-Star. Cora did not hint at plans for Sale over the remainder of the series but simply made a note of his confidence that he will soon be able to turn it around.

“We count on this guy,” Cora said. “He is going to be a big part of what we’re trying to accomplish. We’ll get him right.”

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It will be noteworthy to see whether Sale may be used once again in this series, such as in key situations out of the bullpen.

Success for Sale against the Rays may hinge on his fastball. Over his inning of work against Tampa Bay, he threw 13 fastballs and generated zero whiffs from them. More so, the inning-changing grand slam came off of a 94 mph fastball from the veteran pitcher.

The series now shifts to Fenway Park, where Nathan Eovaldi will earn the start for Boston in Game 3.