Levine: Chris Sale Picks Up MLB-Best 11th Win
By Bruce Levine--
CHICAGO (CBS) -- With ace Chris Sale in charge, the White Sox squeaked by with a 5-3 victory against the Tigers on Wednesday night at U.S. Cellular Field. It was a notable victory, as it gave Chicago its first divisional series win since early May and Sale won his MLB-best 11th game by throwing seven solid innings.
Sale's performance was much needed after starters James Shields and Miguel Gonzalez had struggled in back-to-back outings and forced the bullpen to be taxed. Sale did what aces do, allowing three runs on six hits and one walk while striking out seven in 119 pitches across seven innings.
His only hiccup was allowing a three-run third inning, but he persevered.
"That is my goal every time out," Sale said of going deep in the game. "We use our bullpen quite a lot.Those guys are tough down there. You really want to give them a break when you can. That is what it boils down to. You really want to help them out, especially after the last two games. We had a lot of long games, extra-inning games. I tried to pick up the pace a little bit. At the same time, you try to pick up your guys too."
The White Sox (33-33) are back to .500 and now trail the AL Central-leading Indians by 2.5 games. Winning a series against a division foe for the first time in weeks was a big boost.
"They took care of us pretty good when we were over there," manager Robin Ventura said about having been swept by Detroit recently. "With Chris going you want to be able to win now and feel good about it going into an off day. We have our work cut out for us. We have to keep grinding."
The recent promotion of rookie shortstop Tim Anderson has jump-started a lethargic White Sox offense. Playing his sixth game and leading off for the third straight time, Anderson had three hits and scored two runs on Wednesday. Four of his first eight hits have gone for extra bases.
"He has been very professional," Sale said. "He had come hot out of the gate. He than scuffled a little bit. Now he is right back hot again. There is very little up and down with him. He controls himself and shows very little emotion. He keeps himself in check. It's a very positive thing to see from someone like that. It is not easy coming up here and fitting in, especially with all the other hoopla that goes with it. Seeing what he has done, he basically won the game for us."
Sale (11-2, 2.94 ERA, 1.01 WHIP) is on his way to a fifth consecutive All-Star selection, and he should be at the top of American league manager Ned Yost's list for the starting assignment in San Diego on July 12.
For now, Sale is trying to keep perspective and focus on the present.
"We are not going to the World Series tomorrow," Sale said of the up-and-down season so far by the White Sox. "We weren't going yesterday either. We have a long way to go. This will be a dog fight. Everybody in our division are grinders and fighters. Just when you think you are down and out, you come right back in it and win a ballgame and a series. This is big for us before we go on the road."
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.