Sale fans 13, reaches 300 strikeouts as Red Sox romp over Orioles

BALTIMORE — Chris Sale insisted he was unaware of the numbers when he went out for the eighth inning Wednesday night. He only knew that he was closing in on history.

But after he fired a called third strike past the Baltimore Orioles’ Ryan Flaherty, he was very much aware of the rarified air he now occupied.

After all, pitchers who record 300 strikeouts in a single season are far from common, and Sale understood that. In Red Sox history, there are but two: Sale and Pedro Martinez, who holds the club record of 313 in 1999.

He's the first American League pitcher to reach 300 strikeouts this century.

“That’s special,’’ said Sale, who fanned 13 while tossing eight shutout innings in a 9-0 whitewashing of the O’s. “We all know that’s about as good a company as you can get. I’m just appreciative of it. It’s fun. Being here and having that name thrown around is special to me; I don’t take it lightly. (Pedro is) one of the best to ever step on that mound. To be in the same sentence as him is pretty crazy to me.’’

After a stretch of starts in which Sale was rather ordinary, he looked to be at the peak of his game Wednesday night. He threw one pitch at 99 mph, the highest velocity he’s posted this season, and even in the final two innings, was pumping his fastball in at 97-98 mph.

“I felt strong throughout,’’ said Sale. “We’ve put in a lot of work, and when I say ‘we,’ I mean that. This isn’t just me showing up, doing my thing and rolling out there and doing this. There are a lot of guys in my corner – the weight room the training room, my teammates.’’

There were hints that this would be a special night early when Sale carved through the Orioles lineup with ease in the early going. He posted two strikeouts in the first, another in the second, two more in the third, another two in the fourth and one each in the fifth and sixth.

After six, he had allowed two hits – one which ricocheted off his own body – and faced one batter over the minimum. He was on a roll.

“He was dominant, he was powerful for the entire time that he was on the mound,’’ said John Farrell. “He had the game under control. He never had innings where he labored or overworked. He pitched with complete conviction and maybe (had) the best overall stuff that he’s had the entire season.’’

Farrell said he considered pulling Sale earlier with the Sox comfortably ahead, but let Sale keep going, knowing that he will get an extra day of rest before his next start, and, that he was nearing history.

“All those things were brought into play,’’ Farrell said. “We know what the final out represented – him getting to 300 strikeouts. I was aware of that, and you know what, I felt like he was in complete command of this game and had the ability to go out and get that opportunity, he recorded it.’’

Sale was at 99 pitches after seven, and with the Sox up 8-0 heading into the bottom of the inning, the two conferred late in the game, and Sale assured Farrell that, record aside, he had plenty of gas left in the tank.

“He came up and asked how I was doing,’’ said Sale, “and I told him I was doing fine, so we kept rolling with it.’’

“I wanted to check with him,’’ said Farrell. “An additional 12 pitches (were needed to get the final three outs and) he was in really good shape to do it tonight.’’

Farrell grabbed Sale in the dugout tunnel and offered his congratulations after the mark was reached.

“I mentioned to him that it’s been a pleasure to watch,’’ Farrell said. “We know that there’s going to be a lot more ahead. But to see that plateau reached, it’s obviously very unique. The person that he is, the teammate that he is, he represents this organization and the city of Boston in a tremendous way.’’

Now that he’s made the 300 Club, Sale doesn’t’ want to diminish the achievement, but also, doesn’t want to lose focus.

“I appreciate it,’’ said Sale of the feat. “I don’t want to downplay it or anything. But we still have a lot of work to do. We still have quite a few games left and hopefully (more) beyond that. So, just keep your eye on the prize and look back on this when it’s all said and done.’’

Further reading — Pedro: Chris Sale having ‘most amazing year I’ve ever seen’ from a pitcher