HOUSTON -- When he was going through his long rehabilitation from Tommy John surgery, Chris Sale instinctively understood that his progress wouldn't always be linear.
It was no guarantee that he would get better and stronger every time he took the mound. Recovery from such a procedure doesn't work that way. Sometimes, it's two steps forward, followed by one step back. If he needed any reminding, he got it recently. On both his final start of the regular season and his first postseason appearance since 2018, Sale was highly ineffective, lasting a combined 3.1 innings in the two outings.
"It was just one of those things,'' said Sale by way of explanation, after being named Game 1 starter in the ALCS against Houston. "It kind of got out of whack. You know, I'm not one for excuses, but I had two years off. You know, I didn't do much pitching. I did zero pitching, actually, so I needed repetitions. Any time you want to be good at something or any time you want to be consistent at something you need reps. You just have to do it.
"You can't run a marathon without running a marathon. You can't just wake up one day and say, you know what, I'm just going to run 26 miles and then do it and think you're going to be successful at that. You have to practice that, and you have to just day in and day out just relentlessly, tirelessly work on that, and over the last week I've had enough time to do that, and we'll see what we get tomorrow, but I like where we're at.''
Sale diagnosed his problems in the outings as two-fold -- he didn't have a good feel for his changeup, his third pitch. But the bigger issue was fastball command. No matter how many weapons a pitcher might have, the inability to throw his fastball where he wants it is a significant sticking point.
It helps to explain the hard contact against him in those two starts.
If nothing else, Sale will be better prepared for his start Friday than he was for his first postseason start -- which also took place at Minute Maid -- in 2017. In that one, Sale was shelled for seven runs -- including three homers, two from the first three hitters of the game -- in five innings.
"I think experience helps,'' said Sale. "You know, knowing what you're coming down into. Like you said, we've been here before a couple of times in the postseason, so just more of the same. I got to be aggressive. I know these guys have a good lineup. I also know what we're capable of. I just got to go up there and throw up as many zeros as I can, keep it close, and let our offense shine and do what they do.''
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When J.D. Martinez returned from a sprained ankle that kept him out of the wild card game and Game 1 of the Division Series, Alex Cora decided to play it safe by hitting him a little lower -- sixth -- in the Red Sox' batting order, with Martinez dropped behind lefty Alex Verdugo. During the season, Martinez frequently hit third, fourth or fifth.
A week later, Martinez is mostly recovered, but it appears Cora is keeping Martinez where he's been -- hitting sixth. And why not? Martinez is 6-for-14 since returning with a homer and four RBI in his three games back.
"Honestly, I think it's better,'' said Martinez of the new lineup. "I think being able to split righty, lefty, righty, lefty, I think it's -- especially with the team with Tampa and the team with Houston, a very analytic team, they're going to be looking for the best matchups constantly. And I think they're going to have to choose at some point if they want a righty to face Verdugo or a lefty to face either me or Bogey. You know what I mean? They've got to bite the bullet somewhere. For me personally, I think it's a better lineup for the team.''
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The focus is on baseball for the ALCS, and both teams being four games away from the World Series.
But inevitably, the topic of the sign-stealing scandal that rocked the Astros in 2017 and, to a lesser extent, the Red Sox in 2018, is going to come up. And Alex Cora is ready for whatever reception he gets the rest of the way.
It's not his favorite topic, but he knows it can't be avoided.
"I made a mistake and paid the consequences. I'm still paying the consequences,'' he said. "I addressed this during the season, and if you get booed because you are a great player, yeah, I understand that. But certain people obviously they don't like them because of what we did in 2017, so that part, you know, for me is a little bit hard, but, you know, it's what we did. We put ourselves in this situation.
"And for those that think it's in the past, no, we live it every day. We live it every day. I live it every day. I mean, we made a mistake, and we're paying the price. For the fans to let them know how they feel, I understand. I live it, you know. Not as loud as they get it, but I get it on the road all the time. It's weird, right, because I was part of it, but like I said, I've been addressing this the whole season. I haven't hidden. I'm here. I've been talking about it.
"Hopefully, hopefully, people will talk about the players and what they do and the talent that is on the field. I can handle this. You know, I've been doing it for, what, 12 months or a year and a half. I've been able to deal with this. Like I said, you know, I'm sorry. I made a mistake, you know, and I'm living it. So it's uncomfortable because I know that when they get booed or they scream at them, I'm there. I was part of that, so it just happens.''