Chris Sale on Early Struggles: 'I Don't Know If I've Ever Pitched Like This'

Boston Red Sox ace Chris Sale said he's got to "keep fighting" despite a sluggish start to the 2019 MLB season that includes a 9.00 ERA through three starts. 

NESN provided comments from Sale after he allowed five earned runs in four innings during a 7-5 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday night:

Most of Sale's early problems can likely be linked to a drop in velocity.

The 30-year-old Florida native averaged 95.7 mph on his fastball in 2018, but that number has dropped to 91.6 mph during his first three outings this season, per FanGraphs. The speeds of his changeup, slider and sinker have also decreased from last year.

In turn, opposing hitters are making contact on 75.7 percent of his pitches when they swing, which is up from 66.9 percent in 2018, according to FanGraphs.

Along with his 9.00 ERA, Sale has also posted a 1.54 WHIP with just eight strikeouts in 13 innings.

It's a sudden drop off from the lefty's dominant 2018 campaign when he finished with a 2.11 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 237 strikeouts in 158 innings across 27 starts for Boston. He also struck out 24 batters in 15.1 postseason innings in five playoff outings to help the team win the 2018 World Series.

"He wasn't able to put hitters away," Red Sox manager Cora told reporters Tuesday. "Velocity was 91, 92. Showed some flashes of 94, 95 at the end. But as far as the off-speed, slider, a little inconsistent … the changeup wasn't great. He didn't have too many swings and misses, and we paid the price."

Sale has never finished a season with an ERA higher than 3.41 and he's less than 1/10th of the way through a typical allotment of yearly starts, so it's too soon for the Red Sox to panic.

Boston will want to see a consistent uptick in velocity in the coming starts to gain confidence he'll return to his usually All-Star level of performance for the rest of 2019.