Red Sox Notebook: Sale's first start a strong one; Turner hit in face by pitch

As always, some context is important.

First, it was only spring training.

Second, it was only two innings.

Third, it was -- did we mention this? -- only spring training.

But for those looking to read the tea leaves from Chris Sale's first Grapefruit League start of the season, it was impossible not to feel good about what took place at jetBlue Park in Fort Myers Monday afternoon.

Sale, making his first appearance in a game since last July 17, pitched two scoreless innings against the Detroit Tigers in a 7-1 Red Sox win. The appearance featured a little bit of everything, including a pitch-clock violation, two hits allowed, a failure to cover first base, two strikeouts and the use of all three of his pitches. It included 31 pitches, 24 of which were thrown for strikes.

It was also notable for what it did not include: any physical setbacks.

And because he got through the outing without any complications, the look on Sale's face as he came off the mound after the top of the second said it all:

Speaking to reporters later, Sale was joyous.

"Today,'' said Sale, "was a good day. Felt good. Any time you can throw out a couple of zeroes, it's a good thing. Nice to get that first one out of the way. Obviously, there was a lot of excitement around it. Obviously, very appreciative to be out there.''

Sale's fastball regularly hit 95-96 mph in the outing, but while that was encouraging, the velocity wasn't what he was focused on. Instead, it was his ability to be around the strike zone.

"If I'm commanding the ball,'' he said, "that means everything else is lined up the way it needs to be. If I'm commanding the ball well and the shape of my pitches is the way I want them to be, it means my mechanics are in sync.''

Still, given how little he's been on the mound over the last three seasons -- a grand total of 48.1 innings -- Sale was happy to just be on the mound again competing -- Grapefruit League or no Grapefruit League. That opportunity was stripped from him too often in recent years.

"I got it back,'' he said. "I appreciate it more. I'm trying to have fun with it. I'm trying to be more open-minded. I'm trying to kind of soak some things in and really appreciate it.''

Days like Monday make that easier.

Oddly, Sale, usually one of the quickest-working starters in the game, was called for a pitch clock violation in his first outing under the new rules.

"It's definitely quicker (in pace),'' Sale told NESN of the new pace-of-play initiatives. "But I'm a huge fan of it. I love it. It keeps the game rolling, keeps people into it a little better, not as much lag time. I ran into a little bit of a problem in my first one, but this is what we're here for. It's going to take some adjustments under our belts, we'll be fine.''

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Amid the celebration of Sale's return, there was an ominous development for the Sox as Justin Turner was struck in the face in the first inning by a pitch from Detroit starter Matt Manning.

Turner immediately dropped to the ground and blood poured from his face. Attended to by the training staff and manager Alex Cora, Turner was able to walk off the field under his own power while holding several towels to his face to stanch the blood flow.

He was taken to a local hospital by ambulance. The Red Sox later released a statement on his condition:

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Over the weekend, Cora said the Red Sox could use a left-handed hitting outfielder on the roster. The Sox already penciled in Rob Refsnyder as a righthanded-hitting reserve in the outfield, but for the same of flexibility, Cora would also like a depth outfielder who can hit lefthanded.

Enter Raimel Tapia?

Tapia, who has parts of seven seasons of experience in the big leagues, didn't exactly crush righty pitching last year with Toronto, posting a .679 OPS, But he's off to a terrific start this spring as a non-roster invitee signing to a minor league deal.

Tapia entered Monday with four doubles among his five hits and continued his torrid stretch with two homers against the Tigers -- a two-run shot in the first and a solo blast in the third. Both were well struck.