McAdam: Alex Cora opts for the big picture and Chris Sale's bid for history is put on hold

Alex Cora was watching, carefully, two sets of numbers as Chris Sale kept overpowering the Colorado Rockies Tuesday night: the 'K' cards being displayed by fans in the center field bleachers, and more ominously, Sale's climbing pitch count on the center field scoreboard.

Sooner or later, something was going to have to give.

"First time I've been in something like that,'' Cora would say later, "watching the strikeouts and watching the pitch count.''

It was a constant tug at Cora's emotions. On the one hand, Sale was utterly and completely dominant. He fanned the first six hitters of the night and eight of the first nine. He didn't allow a baserunner until the fifth and after he struck out the side in the sixth, the Rockies had put the ball in play five times and just twice did they manage to get the ball out of the infield.

Sale's combination of mid-90s fastball, sweeping slider ("probably the best it's ever been,'' Sale said) and changeup was too much for the Rockies.

So Cora watched and fidgeted, knowing a reckoning was, at some point, inevitable.



"There was an at-bat with Nolan (Arenado, All-Star third baseman) and (Sale) got him on, like, three pitches,'' recounted Cora. "I was like, 'Thank God.'"

In the seventh, Sale allowed a leadoff single to Trevor Story and then a two-run homer to Arenado, a ball that cleared The Wall by inches and landed in the first row of the Monster Seats. That belt made it a one-run game, 3-2.

Sale, true to form, recovered and fanned the final three hitters that inning, boosting his total to 17 and establishing a career high. But his pitch count had grown to 108 and Cora had a rested bullpen with plenty of options.

Decisions, decisions.

"In the tunnel, he goes, 'You're not going to let me get 20?''' said Cora. "Sarcastic ... but probably serious, too.''

After all, only three pitchers have registered 20 strikeouts in a major league game. Roger Clemens did it twice, both times for the Red Sox. So did Kerry Wood, and more recently, Max Scherzer.

"I love this game,'' said Sale, "and to be able to have a chance to do something like that is special. I don't think there's a pitcher on the planet who, when you have 17 punchouts, you definitely want to go back out for the last inning.''

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History was just an inning or so away, and Cora felt the push and pull -- personal glory vs. long-term health of his most important pitcher.

"It's hard,'' conceded Cora of the call. "But at the same time, he understands. He's coming off a long one in Baltimore (in his last start) and there was a lot of effort there. I don't know ... it's one of those that it's not a win-win situation. It's one of those that's tough on anybody, regardless.''

Ultimately, Cora chose to lift Sale after seven. He had Brandon Workman ready for some lefties in the Colorado eighth and Workman had not allowed a base hit to a lefty all season, holding them hitless in 39 at-bats.

That the move backfired when Workman gave up a go-ahead, two-run homer -- to a lefty, of all things -- and the Sox went on to lose in the 11th, 5-4, was almost incidental.

Cora wasn't about to second-guess himself for putting the health of his ace first and foremost.

"You've got to be careful,'' concluded Cora. "There's a bigger goal here and we've been very disciplined throughout the process and you still have to be disciplined. I think he understands. Like I said, it's one of those, as a manager, you balance. And we need this guy to pitch deep into the season.''

The move had the full endorsement of Sale, too.

"I respect (Cora) as much as anyone on the planet,'' said Sale, "and I'll never question anything he does, even in regards to me, with that. You look at where we're at in the game and who we've got coming in ... our bullpen has been as good as its ever been and they've been a strong point for our team all year, and Workman especially has probably been the most consistent guy down there all year.

"At the end of the day, obviously you want a shot at it, but it's an easier pill to swallow, knowing the situation.''

Increasingly, managers wrestle with these calls. Former Mets manager Terry Collins still regrets allowing Johan Santana to complete a no-hit effort with 134 pitches in 2012, knowing that the lefty was never the same after that night. A few times this season, managers have lifted starters from no-hitters in progress in the late innings, ever mindful of pitch counts and health.

So Cora made the tough call, choosing to protect his pitcher. His faith in the bullpen wasn't rewarded on this night.

That made it feel like a double loss, as both history and the win slipped away.