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.