NEW YORK — Three hundred fifty-nine days and six miles from Alex Cora’s promise to the Red Sox front office that he was prepared to manage aggressively, ace Chris Sale jogged to the mound to begin the eighth inning of Game 4 of the ALDS.
In the dugout, utilityman Brock Holt had done almost a cartoon double-take an inning earlier, when he saw his team’s projected Game 5 starter warming up. Is that Chris Sale? he wondered. Then he grinned. That’s Chris Sale! Hell yeah!
In centerfield, Jackie Bradley Jr. turned to his right and quickly scanned the visitors’ bullpen.