Chris Sale strikes out zero batters, throws nutty in dugout, searches for answers

BOSTON -- If you've grown frustrated of watching Chris Sale deliver ineffective performances for the Boston Red Sox, then you're not alone. Chris Sale himself counts himself among that group.

The veteran left-hander made his fifth start of the 2023 season on Monday night in Baltimore. Coming off his best start of the season, there was reason for some optimism in this one. But Sale was not good at all, allowing five runs in five innings off nine hits and a walk. Incredibly, Sale recorded zero strikeouts, the first time he's ever done that in a start that wasn't shortened due to injury.

It wasn't just that Sale wasn't getting strikeouts. He wasn't even getting swings and misses.

Per Baseball Savant, Sale got just two whiffs on his 83 pitches on the night. He got one whiff on 14 swings on his slider, and he got one whiff on six swings on his changeup. With 19 swings coming against his fastball, he got zero whiffs, and he likewise got zero whiffs on three swings against his sinker.

In the midst of it all, Sale made sure to take out his frustration on an unsuspecting cooler in the dugout.

Sale had been staked to a 4-0 lead, but let it slip away by giving up a run in the third, three runs in the fourth and one more in the fifth. The Orioles held that 5-4 lead through the end of the game, dropping the Red Sox back to .500 on the season and making Sale 1-2 with a grisly 8.22 ERA.

After the loss, Sale said all the things that he's grown accustomed to saying after underwhelming performances over the past several years.

"It was just bad. I wish I had more for you, I really do," Sale said, per RedSox.com. "It sucks to work this hard and get nothing in return, you know? I'm putting in the work. It's just not showing up. Again, I could sit here and try to find something, but it's pretty black and white. You either get it done or you don't. Unfortunately, for the most part this year, I haven't gotten it done."  

He added: "You've just got to keep working. But this ain't the Try-Hard League. This isn't the Do-Good League. People only care so much about trying hard, working hard. It's got to be out there when the lights flick on. I've got to step up. I've got to find a way. That's who I am. That's who I have to be."

Sale was also asked what his takeaway was from not striking anyone out for the first time of his career.

"It tells me I sucked," he answered.

Fair enough.

The 34-year-old Sale has never shied away from accountability, as such self-flagellation has become somewhat of a norm for the lefty after disappointing starts. The issue isn't Sale failing to own up to the reality of his situation. It's more an issue of the frequency of these moments.

Since signing his five-year, $145 million extension before the 2019 season, Sale is 12-15 with a 4.53 ERA. He missed the shortened 2020 season and most of the 2021 season due to Tommy John surgery, and he missed the majority of the 2022 season with a rib fracture, a broken finger, and then a broken wrist from a bicycle crash. And though his 11-strikeout performance last week against the Twins offered a glimmer of hope, Monday's dud dissipated that positivity in a hurry.

Sale's dugout outburst -- much like his TV-bashing in Worcester last year -- is evidence that he's tremendously frustrated by his lackluster showings. Sale being his own worst critic is surely appreciated, as is his brutal honesty. But at a certain point, all that will really matter is whether or not Sale can perform reliably on a regular basis for the Red Sox. Thus far in 2023, Sale remains a bit perplexed why that's not happening.