Those who braved the dreary conditions at Fenway Park on Tuesday night were rewarded with a performance for the record books.
Red Sox ace Chris Sale rifled through the Colorado Rockies, striking out 17 batters over seven innings of zero-walk baseball to become the first pitcher in MLB history with 17 or more strikeouts in seven innings or fewer.
But Sale's incredible outing was hardly a fluke. In fact, it followed the left-hander's 14-strikeout, zero-walk gem against the Baltimore Orioles last week.
For those scoring at home, that's 31 strikeouts and no walks for Sale in his last two appearances. Only one other pitcher in MLB's modern era has strung together two such starts: the New York Mets' Dwight Gooden in 1984.
Sale also joins the company of legendary Red Sox pitcher Cy Young (whose award he somehow still hasn't won).
Unfortunately for Sale, Boston's bullpen couldn't hold onto a 3-2 lead, leaving him with a no-decision in an eventual 5-4 loss.
But the 30-year-old appears to have regained his form during a torrid stretch in which he's struck out 54 percent (41 of 76) of batters he's faced over his last three outings.
Boston Red Sox
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