Chris Sale made history again on Friday night, tying Pedro Martinez’s 1999 record and his own 2015 record for the most consecutive starts with 10 or more strikeouts. He whiffed 10 of 27 batters during the Red Sox’ 3-2 loss to the Athletics, marking his eighth such start in a row.
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Sale kept the game scoreless through 4 1/3 innings, losing his shutout on Mark Canha’s RBI triple in the fifth. He allowed another run on a Khris Davis double in the sixth, but returned in the seventh to induce back-to-back strikeouts from Chad Pinder and Josh Phegley and polished off his outing with his ninth and tenth whiffs of the night.
The Red Sox’ southpaw will still need another 10 strikeouts to set a new all-time record, something he’ll get the opportunity to do when the Rangers come to town next week. He’s 4-2 against Texas in 11 career appearances, touting a 3.33 ERA and 60 strikeouts over 51 1/3 innings.
