White Sox lefty Chris Sale entered Wednesday’s start against the Angels having tossed a complete game two-hitter versus the Rays last Friday. He was nearly as dominant, holding the Halos to an unearned run on two hits while walking none and striking out three in seven innings. He’s put up 16 consecutive scoreless innings now, leaving him with a minuscule 1.80 ERA.
One wonders if this might be the year Sale finally wins a Cy Young Award. The 27-year-old has been a top-five finisher in each of the past three seasons, including a third-place finish in 2014. This past season, despite posting elite strikeout and walk rates, Sale compiled an uncharacteristically high -- for him -- 3.41 ERA.
Funnily enough, Sale doesn’t even have the best numbers on his own pitching staff right now. Mat Latos, who signed with the White Sox on a one-year, $3 million deal in February, has a 0.49 ERA over his first three starts. Though unlike Sale, Latos doesn’t have the strikeout and walk rates -- the best predictors of future performance -- to back it up.
