McAdam: Chris Sale comes up short vs. Astros

HOUSTON -- It wasn't horrible, of course, especially not after the bizarre first inning when the Houston Astros managed to score two runs despite getting the ball into the outfield just once, a trick they seem to have mastered in this series.

But Chris Sale's start wasn't near good enough, either -- not when the other starter entered the game with a 2.05 ERA and when the opponents are the defending world champions.

And these are the games Sale is supposed to win, or, at the very least, give the Red Sox a better chance to win. Instead, he fell behind 2-0 five batters in, and after his team had managed a run in the second, proceeded to give two more back to Houston in the next inning.

Sale is the Red Sox' ace, and aces are supposed to bend without breaking, supposed to shut down good teams in big games, and Sale failed on that measure Friday night.

Four runs allowed in six innings doesn't represent a poor outing. Then again, it wasn't the kind of start the Red Sox needed Friday.

In fact, the Sox had already gotten a start like that on Thursday in the series opener, from Drew Pomeranz, who, at the time, was clinging to his spot in the rotation the way a drowning man clings to a flotation device — barely hanging on.

Sale was expected to be better. He was, marginally, but not by nearly enough.

There was the leadoff walk to the first hitter he faced, and then a single, and then, a batter later, a wild pitch on a strikeout, enabling one runner to score from second and another to take third. After that came a dribbler to third, placed well enough to score the runner from third. And like that, the Sox trailed 2-0.

"Tough to put the boys in that kind of situation,'' lamented Sale. "Two (runs) out of the gate to a team like that is not where you want to be. Kind of a strange inning, but I've got to deal with it, got to find a way to get through it. I've got to grind, got to find a way.''

Sale is nothing if not accountable, and so, there was no recitation of bad breaks or bemoaning a funny bounce or an itemized account of missed calls by the umpire. Instead, there was the acknowledgment that this is a bottom-line business and no one wants to hear excuses or listen you list the poor luck you encountered.

It was more of the same in the third when Sale yielded a solo homer to George Springer and then two singles, sandwiched around yet another wild pitch, resulting in two more runs.

Before and after, he looked like the Sale the Sox had pinned their hopes to in an effort to tie up the series. He carved up the bottom third of the Astros lineup with ease, needing seven pitches to get three quick outs in the second and a mere six to get the same three guys in succession in the fourth.

But by then, the damage had been done and the hole had been dug.

"It's frustrating,'' sighed Sale, "to have two bad innings and cost your team the game. I've just got to be better.''

And that, perhaps, is the salient point. Sale has been better in the past. He's attacked good lineups and limited them to a run or two, and racked up strikeouts and gone deep into games and emerged with a win. But this was not that kind of night for Sale. Rather than be as good as he had to be, he wasn't quite good enough.

He wasn't what Gerrit Cole was Friday night, overcoming a couple of solo homers and one other run allowed, and carrying his club through the seventh, handing off a lead to his bullpen, his mission accomplished.

Again and again in post-game remarks, Sale beat himself up more than the Astros had beaten him up, lamenting the 2-0 sinkhole he had created for his team.

That sort of candor and sense of responsibility is admirable and exactly the sort of attitude you want from your No. 1 starter. You want him relishing the challenge of snapping a losing streak or carrying his teammates in a big matchup. You want him to rise to the occasion and not shrink from it.

Sale knew what he needed to do. He also knew that didn't do it. And on the scoreboard — the only place that counts — was all the evidence he needed.