Oct. 03--When Chris Sale's 3-2 slider whizzed by James McCann for a called strike in the second inning Friday night, many in the crowd of 18,030 and in the home dugout at U.S. Cellular Field rose to their feet.
On a windy, chilly night, in a throwaway game between two losing teams, those fans witnessed Sox history.
Sale's third strikeout of the night was also his 270th of the season, breaking the franchise single-season strikeout record set by Ed Walsh in 1908. Sale didn't react immediately to breaking the mark, but he did eventually smile and glance around the ballpark at the ovation before carrying on with his seven-inning outing in a 2-1 Sox victory over the Tigers.
He finished with seven strikeouts, so the club record now stands at 274.
"I looked over to the dugout and saw everybody standing up, and the crowd was going crazy," Sale said. "I took a little bit to soak it in, and looked around, just to be able to appreciate that moment. It comes and goes real quick, but I'll never forget that."
Sale struck out Rajai Davis and Nick Castellanos in the first inning to tie the record. Just before the strikeout against McCann, he gave up a solo home run to Jefry Marte for a 1-0 Tigers lead.
When he reached a 1-2 count against McCann, Sale tried to strike him out with a 50 mph eephus pitch that was high and inside. It was a playful nod to Dave LaRoche -- the father of Sox designated hitter Adam LaRoche -- who used to throw the pitch.
"I wish that eephus fell in there for a strike," Sale said. "There was a lot of stuff going on. I couldn't really pitch until I got it, and after that I settled in. It was fun."
Adam Eaton's two-run double in the third gave the Sox the lead, Matt Albers pitched out of a Sale-created jam in the eighth and David Robertson recorded the save to preserve Sale's 13th victory. Manager Robin Ventura took a little extra time on the mound with Sale before he pulled him out after 95 pitches in the eighth.
"He was gassed," Ventura said. "At the start, you saw how hard he was throwing, how hard he was working. ... I was just telling him I was proud of his season."
Sale might not be big on stats, but he recognized what it meant to break a record that has stood for so long. Walsh pitched 464 innings and piled up 40 victories over 66 appearances in the season he broke the record.
Sale afterward credited catcher Tyler Flowers, whom he said "called every single one of (the pitches)" this season. Flowers, who will have offseason surgery on his right knee to remove a piece of floating cartilage, was proud to have caught Sale throughout the record-setting run.
"We had some bumps in the road for sure, but overall it was a pretty impressive year for him," Flowers said. "It means a lot for me to be involved in that, and I take a lot of pride in that."
