Whatever it was that sidelined Chris Sale last week -- Sale jokingly revealed that it was an infection from a belly ring -- he's ready to take the ball for the first game of the 2018 World Series Tuesday night at Fenway against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
"He's ready to roll,'' said Alex Cora. "I think all these off days are going to help him out physically. We're very excited that he's going to throw the first pitch (Tuesday). It's a great opportunity for us to compete against a great organization, a great team and we have the right guy on the mound.''
"This is what we sign up for,'' said Sale. "This is what we prepare for all year, a chance to win a championship and that's where we're at right now. We're all excited right now.''
Sale pitched poorly in Game 1 of the ALCS, then spent time in the hospital with a stomach ailment. He was due to pitch Game 6 if one was needed, but the Red Sox took care of that by wrapping up the series in five in Houston.
When Sale takes the mound for the Series opener, he'll be pitching on nine days' rest, which is hardly typical. But he expects to be fine.
"Having these extra few days has been nice to be able to get back on that routine,'' said Sale, "get a little more normalcy back. There's no holding me back now, I think. My job's been the same since I got here -- you hand me the ball when you want me to throw it and take it out of my hand when you want me to stop. That's what I'm going with.''
As expected, Cora revealed that he'll tab David Price for Game 2. Sale and Price has each pitched the first two games of the first two rounds of the postseason
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