Chris Sale's poor 2019 campaign continued in the Boston Red Sox ace's return from the All-Star break. Against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Sale struggled once again and only lasted 4 2/3 innings, allowing five earned runs while picking up his ninth loss of the season.
Sale's loss also ensured that he would reach a dubious mark in MLB and Red Sox history. He now holds the longest streak of starts without a win at Fenway Park, according to Alex Speier of The Boston Globe.
Sale broke the record after being tied with five other pitchers with 12 straight Fenway losses. The most recent to achieve that feat before Sale was his current teammate, Eduardo Rodriguez.
The last time that Sale won at Fenway was on July 11, 2018, when he pitched seven shutout innings in the Red Sox' 4-2 win over the Texas Rangers.
Frankly, this stat just piles on another insult to what has been a rocky season for Sale. He has had his share of issues this year -- his command hasn't been great and he currently has a career-high 4.27 ERA -- but the team has only provided him with an average of 3.65 runs per start. So, there have been some factors out of his control that haven't been working out well either.
Still, Sale has placed all of the blame on himself and was particularly hard on himself after Saturday's loss to the Dodgers. He will have to step up moving forward if the Red Sox want to make any postseason noise. If he keeps pitching like this, it will be hard to trust him come October.
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