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The Boston Red Sox Sunday, June 16, 2019 * The Boston Globe Chris Sale got his start in Baltimore — and he won’t forget it Julian Benbow Some things always stick with you — even after 10 years in the big leagues, seven All-Star appearances, just as many Cy Young-caliber seasons, and a World Series run. In the case of Red Sox starter Chris Sale, it’s his 2010 major-league debut that always comes to mind whenever he’s at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. He was 21 years old when he got the call from the White Sox. He thought he might pitch in Detroit as soon as he got the call, but his first action was in Baltimore. “And it was terrible,” Sale said. He didn’t record an out. He gave up a hit and a walk. He only threw seven pitches. The White Sox lost, 2-1. And in a way that explains Sale as much as anything else, it’s part of the reason he’s thrived in Baltimore ever since. “I think about it every time I come here,” Sale said. “It’s something I’ll never forget.” He dominated in a 7-2 win on Saturday, racking up 10 strikeouts in six innings while holding the Orioles to two runs on six hits and one walk. Since the start of 2015, Sale is 8-0 with a 1.82 ERA in 11 starts against the Orioles. Sale’s teams have won his last eight starts at Oriole Park. “This is where I made my major-league debut,” Sale said. “So I always tell myself after that, I’d try to clean it up here. I’ve obviously had my fair share of bumps in the road here, but I don’t know, I always like playing here. It’s a cool ballpark, good mound. So I guess I just get a little more lucky here than other places, too.” Sale’s nine double-digit strikeout performances are the most in the majors. He’s done it while putting something of a governor on his fastball. Instead of flirting with triple digits, his heater averaged 93.1 miles per hour and maxed out at 95.6, according to BaseballSavant.com. Velocity isn’t something he stresses. “Not when you’re getting results,” he said. “I think, more so than anything, the most important thing about a starting pitcher is, a, getting deep into games and throwing up zeroes. So as long as I can keep doing that, just trying to pitch effectively and get deep into games — because early on, I wasn’t doing that — so I try to pick up our down guys in the bullpen when I can and try to get as deep as I can.” Pedroia finds peace Dustin Pedroia’s future is still uncertain. But, if there’s any consolation, he did stay at a Holiday Inn Express. Manager Alex Cora said he’s stayed in contact with Pedroia since he made the decision last month to shut down his attempts to return this season. Pedroia’s spent most of his downtime with family, including a trip to California to visit his parents. “I think it was at a lake or something, a Holiday Inn Express,” Cora said. “I was like, ‘You’re staying there?’ He was like, ‘Yeah, this is life.’ ” Cora said Pedroia’s still very much plugged into the team. “He’s paying attention,” Cora said. “The other day, in one of the hitting meetings, he FaceTimed the guys and all that. So he’s in a good place.” In May, Pedroia said he was unsure if he’d be able to return from a left knee injury that’s kept him sidelined much of the past three seasons. After several start-and-stop rehab attempts, he left the team to clear his head. “[He’s] hanging out with family and the kids and disconnecting himself from this madness and just relaxing, which is good,” Cora said. “I think he has an awesome family. Kelli, she’s been there the whole time. “He made it a time with the kids. Instead of the kids watching Dad just icing and doing all this stuff to get ready for the next day, now it’s just, ‘Let’s see what we’re going to do.’ So I think it’s refreshing for him and something the family, they needed that.” Bradley’s back Jackie Bradley Jr. extended his hitting streak to six games with a second-inning single. Entering Saturday, he’d homered in back-to-back games and three times in his past seven. After slogging through the early part of the season, Bradley has a .279/.380/.581 slash line in June. “What he’s doing now is unreal,” Cora said. “You can see it. The cool thing now is he’s smiling, he’s happy. Like he said, it’s not cool to smile when you’re struggling. It’s not easy. “I want them to have fun, whatever, but I understand. I went through that. Probably three-quarters of my career, I struggled offensively, so I wasn’t happy. But I had to show up. But it’s good to see him. You see his body language. He’s in a great place.” Bradley’s been a mainstay in the bottom third of the lineup, and Cora didn’t seem like he had reason to make any chances. “You never know,” Cora said. “He stays this way and we might [move him up], but, as of now, I think it feels right and it gives us somebody who’s getting on base for those guys at the top of the lineup and a guy that can drive in runs with traffic. So we’re just happy that we stuck with it. “What he does defensively is a plus. We know he’s going to bring that on a daily basis. But we know that he’s going to get it, he’s going to find it, it’s just a matter of when. And it seems like this year it’s going to be sooner than last year, so it should be fun. Just stay with it.” Minor matters Darwinzon Hernandez was promoted Sunday to Triple A Pawtucket. The 22-year-old lefthander will be used as a starter with the PawSox. He’s made 10 appearances (nine starts) for Double A Portland this season, going 1-4 with a 5.13 ERA in 40⅓ innings. He made two appearances for the Red Sox this season. He threw 2⅓ scoreless innings against the Tigers in April. Then, on June 11 against the Rangers, he made his first major league start. He last three-plus innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on three hits and five walks with seven strikeouts. The Red Sox signed their first pick of the draft, University of Arizona’s Cameron Cannon, for a below-slot $1.3 million. The 21-year-old infielder, who will be assigned to Single A Lowell, was the 43rd overall pick — an assigned value of $1,729,800. The team also signed seven other picks: Catcher Jacob Herbert (18th round), righthander Dylan Spacke (21st round), first baseman Dominic D’Alessandro (22nd round), center fielder Leon Paulino (23rd round), outfielder Dean Miller (24th round), lefthander Brandon Walter (26th round), and righthander Devon Roedahl (27th round). Wright progressing Steven Wright, who is eligible to return from his 80-game PED suspension June 25, will make another minor league start Sunday. In his first outing June 9 with Triple A Pawtucket, he threw 1⅔ innings, giving up a solo homer while notching two strikeouts. He went out again June 12 and threw three scoreless innings. With the plan being for Wright to come out of the Red Sox’ bullpen, Cora said the next step will be for Wright to see situations with runners on base, which was a point of emphasis a year ago. “For him, it’ll be good,” Cora said. “But in the end, we have to do it here at the big-league level.” . Hector Velazquez made his first rehab start with Single A Lowell, going just one inning, with one hit and two strikeouts. Steven Pearce was back in the Lowell lineup, batting third and playing first base . Ryan Brasier is expected to return from the bereavement list Monday. Chris Sale dominant again, this time with run support Julian Benbow Alex Cora’s Wall of Wins took an entire season to build. Not the photos themselves. But the moments frozen in time. A year later, the memories still mean something, but it’s also a reminder of all the footprints on a long journey. Cora was shuffling through packed boxes in his new office when he came across a gift from a friend back home. It was a block-shaped keepsake, the kind with phrases packed with just the right dosage of pith (“If everything’s seems under control, you’re not going fast enough”) and inspiration (“Go as far as you can see; when you get there, you’ll be able to see further”) to remind them why they wake up in the morning. When Cora read the message on the block — “Talent wins games. Teamwork wins championships” — a light bulb went off. “I decided to take it out,” Cora said. After J.D. Martinez blasted two homers and threw out a runner at home plate in the Red Sox win over the Orioles on Friday, the block was sitting above his locker.

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