McAdam: Chris Sale's return to the mound Tuesday is only the beginning

On Tuesday, Chris Sale will pitch in a game for the first time since mid-August. He'll be limited to just two innings against the Toronto Blue Jays as the Red Sox borrow a page from the Tampa Bay Rays and designate Sale as their "opener'' — a pitcher who starts the game, but is limited to just a couple of innings.

Nathan Eovaldi will follow Sale to the mound, and if he's lucky, will pitch about three times longer than Sale.

Eovaldi, who has suffered a big drop-off in effectiveness after 15 shutout innings at the start of his Red Sox career, is likely pitching to determine if he can be part of the Red Sox' postseason roster. A strong five or six innings could go a long way in determining that.

But it's Sale, sidelined with mild inflammation in his left shoulder, who will be pitching with far more at stake and whose outing will really be significant. He's not pitching to see if he's part of the Red Sox postseason roster; rather, he's pitching to, in effect, see how successful the Red Sox' postseason is going to be.

It's really rather simple: if Sale can approximate being the pitcher he was for the first four months of this season, the Red Sox' chances in October will be enhanced significantly. In his first 23 starts, Sale was 12-4 with a 1.97 ERA with an .849 WHIP and 13.5 strikeouts per nine innings. He was easily the best starting pitcher in the American League.

With Sale leading the rotation, the Red Sox, who also boast the game's best offense, stand as good a chance as any team to win the 2018 World Series. Without him, they're just another postseason entry.

And here's the important thing: Sale could strike out all six Toronto hitters Tuesday night and it won't mean a thing.

That's because Sale has already come back once from this ailment and shown utter dominance. On Aug. 12, Sale was as good as a major league pitcher can be, toying with the Baltimore Orioles. He faced 16 hitters, allowed one hit and fanned 12 without walking a batter. And he did it on just 68 pitches.

He was everything the Sox hoped he would be: explosive and economical.

But as Sale prepared for his next start, he felt some discomfort in the shoulder again. It wasn't as serious as the first time, when he was initially shut down on July 31, but it was present nonetheless. So Sale was wisely shut down again and hasn't pitched since.

Ever since, the Sox have been ultra-cautious, determined to take their time with Sale the second time around. He spent longer strengthening his shoulder, more time ramping up before throwing and undertook more rest between mound sessions.

So how Sale looks and how he feels won't be the primary issue Tuesday night, though undoubtedly, there will be plenty of interest and attention paid to his start.

The real test will come in the days following, as Sale resumes his between-start routine in preparation for his next "opener'' assignment Sunday against the New York Mets.

It's the ability to recover from an outing -- and not necessarily the outing itself -- that will determine Sale's readiness.

In a perfect world, Sale will look sharp Tuesday night and find his shoulder loose and pliable in the days that follow. He'll then throw three innings Sunday and repeat his routine working up to a more conventional start five or six days later in Cleveland. Then, assuming there are no setbacks, there will be time for one more regular-season start before the end of the season.

So, keep your expectations in check Tuesday. If Sale flashes his trademark upper-90s fastball and his typical hard, biting slider, the Red Sox will be allowed to exhale a bit.

But save your real evaluations for later in the week. That's when Sale will know whether his shoulder woes are truly behind him and also, more than coincidentally, whether the Red Sox will go into this post-season as the favorites, or, just another team with a chance.