Sale ends spring on a high note

“It was a good one to end on,” Sale said. “The first couple innings were kind of stressful. The command was spotty at times, my pitch count was getting up there and then kind of figured some stuff out after the second inning and was, just, a little bit more efficient. It was good.”

Sale fired 86 pitches Saturday, 55 of which went for strikes. His fastball and slider were crisp with the former topping out at 97 mph and the latter keeping Sox hitters off-balance.

The start catapults Sale into next Friday, where he’ll go up against the Royals as the Braves opening day starter. He said getting the nod for a home game will be special — Sale was on the mound for the 2025 opener against the Padres, but that one was in San Diego.

“I understand what it is to be an opening day starter, and I appreciate that they’ve giving me the ability to do that. It never gets old. It’s like Christmas,” he added. “You’re never not looking forward to it. I appreciate the honor that comes with it, but just excited to get out of here and start the season.”

With Jonah Heim behind the plate at catcher Saturday, Sale issued a six-pitch walk to start his day. But in a sign of things to come, he saw third baseman Austin Riley dive to his left to snag a 107-mph grounder that turned into the game’s first out. Eli White followed that up with a running catch into the right field corner.

After a solid single and an infield hit to start the second, Matt Olson made a slick backhanded stab on a short hop before throwing to second for an out, then Riley charged as slow chopper and scooped the ball off the grass before throwing to first for the inning’s second out. That fielder’s choice plated a run, but it was the only run Sale would allow.

Michael Harris II made a leaping catch into the green monster in left center to start the third, and Olson flipped the ball to first with his glove for covering Sale to get the first out of the fifth. Sale threw just eight pitches in the fourth and just six in the fifth.

“I just wanted to end spring on a positive note,” Sale said. “It was good to run into the early (trouble) — I think I threw, like, over 20 pitches in the first two innings (each). To have that, be able to kind of get through that and be able to get back on track was nice.”

Sale ended his Grapefruit League season with a 2.75 ERA over 19.2 innings, struck out 15 batters and held the opposition to a .233 average while finishing with a 1.02 WHIP.