SCRANTON — Chris Sale made likely his final rehab start Saturday night, as the 32-year-old southpaw tossed 4 2/3 scoreless frames for Triple-A Worcester against the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate.
Sale struck out Estevan Florial, the leadoff hitter, but walked the second hitter, Andrew Velazquez, after the No. 2 hitter worked a nine-pitch at-bat. The lefty got out of the first inning with a popout.
The veteran yielded a two-out double in the second, but fanned the No. 8 hitter Cristian Perez to end the second.
After Sale punched out out the first two batters to start the third, Andrew Velazquez socked a two-out triple into center, but the lefty punched out Ryan LaMarre to make it a run-less third.
The veteran ran into some trouble in the fourth, walking the first two batters of the inning but got out of it by shutting down the bottom half of the RailRiders lineup.
With one out in the fifth, Sale notched his eighth strikeout of the ballgame as he fanned Estevan Florial, but was relieved as his pitch count was up to 89.
Sale ended his night tossing 89 pitches (59 strikes), surrendering just two hits but did end up walking three batters.
The WooSox ended up grabbing the 2-1 victory over the RailRiders, as it was 0-0 entering the ninth, but Tate Matheny jacked a two-run homer in the top of the ninth, and Zack Kelly would end up grabbing the save for Worcester, as he allowed a run but captured the victory.
Tonight’s start likely marks Sale’s last rehab outing, as the 32-year-old is expected to rejoin the Red Sox and pitch for them in the range of August 12-14.
(Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)