Chris Sale will make his first start after his five-game suspension Thursday against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, adding an intriguing storyline to the finale of this year's City Series.
The Sox suspended Sale on Sunday "for violating team rules, for insubordination and for destroying team equipment" after he cut up the team's 1976 throwback jerseys in protest because he didn't want to wear them in his scheduled start Saturday night.
Instead, the Sox sent Sale home Saturday, and he will pitch for the first time in 10 days on Thursday.
Sox manager Robin Ventura said he doesn't think there needs to be "a big meeting or anything" with the team upon Sale's return to talk about the fact that Sale's actions left the team without their ace against the American League Central rival Tigers.
"We'll deal with that when he gets here," Ventura said. "Guys have seen a lot of stuff, and it's about playing. I think they're about playing and we'll go with that until something needs to be address. ... I'm sure they'll have conversations about it. But I don't think we need to have a whole team meeting and address it that way."
Ventura said he thinks Sale would throw a side session on his own to prepare for the start. He deferred to pitching coach Don Cooper, who said he didn't want to talk about Sale but added he would be ready to pitch.
The Sox at least felt good about winning two games against the Tigers on Sunday, including the completion of Saturday's game, which was suspended because of rain.
"It has definitely been a swing of emotions," Sox right fielder Adam Eaton said. "We love Sale. We love his competitiveness. We love the way he goes about his business. Tough go at it for sure, but at the end of the day, the team stepped up and got two wins, which was huge. That's what we wanted to do here. We wanted to win ballgames.
"He'll agree with me 110 percent. That's what our main focus should be is winning baseball games. ... To have that type of day and then come back and win two games, I'm sure wherever he is, if he's in Florida or if he's still here, I'm sure he's happy we're winning, and we'll be excited when he gets back for sure."
Ventura also announced that right-hander Anthony Ranaudo would start against the Cubs on Wednesday instead of right-hander Jacob Turner, who gave up 12 earned runs over 7 1/3 innings in two starts.
Ranaudo joined the Sox via trade with the Rangers for right-hander Matt Ball on May 12, and he has appeared in parts of three major-league seasons with the Red Sox and Rangers, posting a 6.33 ERA. The 26-year-old has posted a 3.20 ERA, two complete games and 53 strikeouts over 13 starts with Triple-A Charlotte since then.
"You've seen some velocity, a good breaking pitch," Ventura said. "I think he's refined it a little bit more to be able to throw some strikes and have command. You're going to have to have it, especially if it's warm, so hopefully he's got it."
