Red Sox News: Chris Sale Says He's 'Not Worried' About 0-4 Start

The Boston Red Sox have followed up their 2018 World Series win with a slow 9-14 start to their 2019 campaign, and ace Chris Sale is still in search of his first win.

However, Sale was calm, cool and collected when addressing his 0-4 record Tuesday afternoon. "I know who I am," the 30-year-old said, according to WEEI's Rob Bradford. "I know what I can do on a baseball field. I know it's y'all's job to freak out, but I'm not worried about where I'm at or what I'm doing."

Sale's comments followed his most encouraging outing of the young season in which he struck out a season-high 10 batters across five innings. The southpaw gave up two earned runs before Heath Hembree relieved him.

The Red Sox fell to the Tigers 7-4, but Sale avoided another loss because the game was tied 2-2 when he exited.

While Sale, who signed a five-year extension worth $145 million in March, isn't panicked, he also isn't satisfied. 

"I'd definitely say that this is a step in the right direction," Sale elaborated to media Tuesday, per Justin Leger of NBC Sports Boston. "Not exactly where we want to be, but better. ... I need to clean some things up around the edges, but we'll get there."

The 10 strikeouts are a positive takeaway, but both Sale and manager Alex Cora credited those Ks as a result of Detroit swinging and missing. Sale needed 97 pitches to get through his five innings, which forced Boston to rely on a tired bullpen.

"We've been leaning on those guys down there a lot, myself mostly," Sale said, per Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald. "It would just be nice to go out there and fill up seven or eight innings or finish a game for these guys and give them a day off or give a few of them a day off.

"It seems like every time I'm out there, I'm just leaning on these guys and that's just a tough spot to put them in."

This is Sale's worst start to a season since joining the Red Sox in 2017. That season, he began 1-2 before rattling off seven wins in a row.

 Now, as Sportsnet Stats points out, he's in a career-worst slump of nine starts without a win.

Sale's last win on the mound came on Oct. 5 in ALDS Game 1 against the New York Yankees. The club can only hope he soon turns it around like he did in 2017.

As for the Red Sox, their next shot at a win will be in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader against Detroit at 7:10 p.m. EST.