It’s Chris Sale Day! Breathe it in, folks. This is it. The season is dying and Chris Sale Day is going on hiatus. Tonight is the last night we’ll be able to watch Chris Sale throw baseballs from a mound with the purpose of making men with bats look foolish for many months. His Cy Young candidacy is also on life support. Buried under poor hitting and an occasionally spotty bullpen has hung him with tough luck losses and no-decisions. Of course a few stinkers against Cleveland didn’t help matters much either. Still we will watch this last 2013 start of his, the last Chris Sale Day. We will watch it and we will enjoy and we will appreciate. And in December as we sit and stare out of the window Rogers Hornsby style we will remember Chris Sale Days past, and imagine Chris Sale Days future. And we’ll smile.
Chris Sale has had 4 games this season in which he failed to complete the 6th inning. 3 of these 4 came against the Indians, including two starts ago when he went 5.2 while allowing 6 runs to score and serving up 3 homeruns. His 7 strikeouts that game are likely no consolation to him. He bounced back in his last start against the Tigers by going 7.2 and allowing no runs to score while striking out 7 more. Incidentally the White Sox lost this game. The main idea here is that against the the Royals, a decidedly less accomplished foe than the Tigers, Sale has a good chance to impress.
James Shields has thrown more innings than anybody in the American League. He’s coming off a scoreless no-decision start of his own too. He went 8 against the Tigers at Kauffman stadium without allowing a run. His offense did not seek out any runs of their own until the 9th either, when they put a 4 spot on the board via Justin Maxwell grand slam to win the game. A fact shown on baseball-reference that has somehow eluded me today states that Shields is the cousin of Aaron Rowand. Which I guess makes sense since they both receive adoration and credit far above their actual skill level, even as possessors of fair amounts of skill.
There is still the matter of chasing down that 63rd win. If not today, when?
Today’s Lineup:
1.Danks – CF
2.Beckham – 2B
3.Ramirez – SS
4.Adam Dunn – DH
5.Konerko – 1B
6.Avisail Garcia – RF
7.Viciedo – LF
8.Semien – 3B
9.Phegley – C
Kansas City Royals Lineup:
1.Alex Gordon – LF
2.Emilio Bonifacio – 2B
3.Eric Hosmer – 1B
4.Billy Butler – DH
5.Salvador Perez – C
6.Justin Maxwell – RF
7.Lorenzo Cain – CF
8.Jamey Carroll – 3B
9.Alcides Escobar – SS
Where to Watch
Today’s game will be broadcast on CSN+ and Fox Sports KC. 7:10 Central start time.