Chris Sale had his fifth start, and for the second start in a row he continued to struggle. I watched last night’s start against the Tigers and the previous start against the Twins, during which he gave up nine runs in three innings. The fastball still looks good and the quality of the secondary pitches also look good, so why has he been struggling this year?
Entering last night Sale had the lowest strikeout rate of his career (21.1%). Why is the strikeout rate so much lower? Because he’s not throwing the slider as often. In fact, it’s the lowest percentage of his career.