AL DIVISION SERIES: RAYS VS RED SOX

October 7, 2021

Chris Sale

Tropicana Field

Boston Red Sox

Pregame 1 Press Conference

Q. Chris, Alex has said a couple of times that maybe the change-up is the one part of your repertoire that hasn't come fully back yet. Where do you think that is? What hasn't worked with it for you so far, and what can you do to maybe bring that into line to where it should be?

CHRIS SALE: I think the biggest flaw in that is the consistency. You know, if I throw ten of them, four of them are really good. Two of them are, eh, and the other ones are, you know, batting practice. So I just have to find a way to get more consistent with that pitch.

You know, I worked a lot this week. I was able to work a lot this week on my mechanics and, you know, getting a better arm action and just feeling more comfortable on the mound and being able to -- not so much just that one, but everything as a whole, feeling more comfortable standing on a mound and getting back to more of my old self and some of the habits I was doing then.

Q. Thanks, Chris. I wonder if you could share what you were doing and where you were doing it this time last year? Last October the playoffs are going on. Were you watching the games? You were still working your way back from surgery, but what was life like for you in October of 2020?

CHRIS SALE: I don't even remember, honestly. Probably -- I was definitely watching the playoffs, but, yeah, I try to forget all that. That wasn't a fun time for me, so kind of try to erase that from the memory bank and move forward from that.

Q. Chris, how tough was that for you on Sunday just given how big a game that was? How pleased were you that these guys came back and gave you a shot at redemption tomorrow?

CHRIS SALE: That was big. You know, what I saw in that game was a lot of momentum, a lot of energy shift, and guys just being dogs, man. I mean, that was -- I did absolutely nothing to help our team win. I actually put us in a horrendous spot in that game, and our guys could have taken that one of two ways, you know, and gotten down that me going out there doing what I was supposed to do and plan not unfolding.

Being down late in the game, coming back, rallying back, that was huge. I was obviously very appreciative of that because that would have been a not fun -- been a not fun last game of the year, and, you know, they ended up rallying up and giving us home field advantage. I mean, we saw the scoreboard. We know what the deal was. We knew our backs were up against the wall to win that game, and to be able to do that, tell yourself, hey, we have to win this game, and then proceed to win that game says a lot about who we have in this clubhouse, who is leading this team, and what we can do when it's a necessity.

Q. Chris, I think this year you have had one of your highest ever ground ball rates of your career. When you look at your repertoire and how you bounced back, what do you think the reasons are for that?

CHRIS SALE: I don't know, actually. That's a good question. I know that typically I'm not much of a ground ball pitcher, and I have been able to get a lot of double plays, and obviously, with analytics and our coaching staff as much as -- or as hard as they work and as much emphasis as they put on that, having guys in the right spot helps me out a lot. Some of those ground balls I'm sure were up over 95, maybe even 100 miles an hour. It wasn't necessarily what I was doing as much as it was what my guys around me were doing.

Q. Hey, Chris. Just wondering, going back to the change-up thing. You know, you're coming back from Tommy John surgery, and maybe some of your pitches aren't quite where you want them to be at. What's this been like for you to pitch with maybe not quite all of your -- all of the pitches that are you're used to having basically?

CHRIS SALE: It's been a lot more fun for me because I'm almost -- not relearning, but, like, I'm figuring this stuff out as we go. You know, I say it a lot. I'm not really fighting against anybody as much as I'm fighting against myself trying to sharpen my tools and make better pitches and be -- like I said, just consistency.

I had a lot of time off, you know, and with that comes a little bit of hiccups and things like that, but with who I have in my corner, obviously, the drive that I have myself and just the -- it's just relentless. It's every day. Every single day I come here to get better, and every single day I have literally a team of people helping me get better, and that -- that's everything in this process throughout this is not feeling alone and knowing that, hey, even if it's not great, we still have a lot of good things going.

And I've appreciated -- I've been able to appreciate this process because of that knowing that, A, I'm not alone, B, it's going to get better, and we're moving in the right direction. So we just keep swinging the ax and whenever we're done, we're done.

Q. Chris, given the way that Alex has used starters out of the bullpen in the postseason, do you have a feel for you physically if you would be capable someplace in between starts of being able to give an inning or two?

CHRIS SALE: Absolutely. I think experience helps out a lot in this situation with the playoffs and the postseason. You know, it's what we did in '18. You know, we were a little bit more prepared then because we could kind of rest some guys getting into the playoffs, but, I mean, there's no reason to save an arm to go sit on the couch, you know what I mean? This is all the baseball we have left, and we're going to get to certain points in these series where tomorrow might not come, so if that's the case and it's what's called upon, you know, it's my job. It's what I signed up to do. I know a lot of people like to think about the glitz and the glam of what it's like being this, but the grit and the grind is what we're here for. And this is what we actually signed up to do, and this is what we live for, so if it's the first 15, 18, 21 outs or the last two, three, six, whatever it is, we got a bunch of pitchers in there that have the same mindset. It doesn't matter when or where. Just hand me the ball, and I'm going to sling it until you take it.

Q. Chris, Alex was saying that in that start in the middle when you guys were last here and you kind of came out threw six innings against the Rays and guys ended up picking up those two wins in the middle of the outbreak and everything like that, that that series sort of helped you guys just pick yourselves up and kind of know that, you know, the next month was going to be a grind, but maybe you were going to be able to pull it out. Did you guys feel that as players in the clubhouse that series? Was it sort of a turning point?

CHRIS SALE: Absolutely. I think there's a couple of things throughout the year that you can look at and say, okay, that -- that's a reason. Okay, that's a reason. Okay, this is a reason. You know, coming here, I mean, we had probably one of the worst COVID outbreaks in baseball, right, and at one of the most inopportune times, and, I mean, you saw it. It was a revolving door. This guy was up. This guy was here. It was a new teammate every day it seemed like for two weeks. And you're right, when that happens, again, you're staring down the Y in the road, and you can go this way or this way, and that was one of those moments where you got to toughen up. No one is going to feel bad for us. We're the Red Sox; no one ever feels bad for us, you know?

We have to take this opportunity in our own hands because no one is going to help us. No one is going to say, oh, it's okay because it's not. We still have to win games. It doesn't matter who is in this clubhouse, who is the starting pitcher, who is the shortstop. We have to win these games, and to be able to come out the way we did, it was incredible.

Even another shifting in momentum, you know, we got crushed by the Yankees. We go down to Baltimore and lose the first game. That was a big -- that was a gut punch, and that was late in the year. That was, what, a week and a half ago, something like that. Even after that, you saw something happen, and like I said, we talked about it earlier, but that last game in Washington, that could have got out of hand quick, and just I think when you see a team like us come together with all the odds, everything stacked against us, you know, the COVID, the media, the fans, you know, people saying who we are when we know who we are, you know? That's big, and that gives everybody in the clubhouse a huge boost of confidence.

And, I mean, you see A.C., he didn't flinch once, and when you see the leader of your team going, all right, okay, well, he is going to play today. What it does that mean? We're still going to win. That carries confidence, and, I mean, that just oozes through the clubhouse.

Q. Chris, I think Devers when you won the World Series in '18, it was his first full season, and you think about him now. He makes the All-Star team this year. How have you seen his game and just him grow as a person and a player the last few years?

CHRIS SALE: It's been incredible. Another guy that has just put in the work, and I think a lot of credit should go to Bogey and A.C. with him because he has had, you know, obviously an incredible mentor in Bogey being on the same side of the infield as him. He just started to realize who he is, and that's dangerous, man. I mean, you see the last few years what he has done. I mean, even in '17 when he first came up, you saw the greatness. Now it's almost an everyday thing.

Everyone has stuff to work on. We're Big Leaguers. We make mistakes, but, I mean, he is on the road going straight uphill, and it's been fun to watch. I'm glad he is on my team.

THE MODERATOR: Chris, great to have you back in the postseason. Thank you.

CHRIS SALE: Thank you, guys.