Record Polar Park Crowd Sees Sale Grab First Victory of 2021

WORCESTER, M.A. — A record crowd of 9,508 saw Chris Sale make his Polar Park debut on Saturday afternoon, and the left-hander sparkled by tossing five innings of one-run ball to notch a win in a 4-2 Worcester Red Sox (40-35) victory over the Buffalo Bisons (46-28).

Sale (1-0) threw 81 pitches, 51 of which were strikes over his five innings, striking out seven and allowing five hits. The left-hander worked out of trouble in the fourth, when Buffalo cracked back-to-back doubles for their lone run off Sale, but he then recorded his final strikeout of the day to strand the runner in scoring position.

“I said it felt like my first real day of work in two years,” Sale said. “That felt good. That felt normal. I was out there competing like I always do, throwing all my pitches.”

The final line for Chris Sale ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/N8Qtq3D0BF

— Worcester Red Sox (@WooSox) July 31, 2021

Tate Matheny delivered the biggest defensive play of Sale’s outing, robbing a home run from Kevin Smith to lead off the fourth inning in deep left-center field by jumping over the fence with a perfectly-timed leap and bringing the ball back in. Matheny also came through with the most important swing of the afternoon, a towering two-run home run to left in the bottom of the same inning (3) to put the WooSox on top 3-1, a lead that would hold for the remainder of the game.

OH MY TATE MATHENY pic.twitter.com/gbUqeFbFoP

— Worcester Red Sox (@WooSox) July 31, 2021

Worcester took the original lead in the first on a solo shot from a Major League-rehabbing Marwin Gonzalez. The homer banged off the Country Bank sign above the Worcester Wall, a ball that went 108 miles-per-hour off the bat and traveled an estimated 457 feet.

The Bisons tied it back up in the fourth on a pair of doubles against Sale. Cullen Large lined the first down the left field line, then Nash Knight brought him home with a two-bagger to left with two outs. Matheny’s two-run long ball came in the bottom of that inning, and in the fifth Jeter Downs put a first pitch off the video board in left for his second long ball in as many nights to put the WooSox up 4-1.

The Bisons got one back on an RBI groundout from Rodrigo Vigil after a Knight triple, but Durbin Feltman delivered two innings of scoreless relief for his first Triple-A save.

The WooSox conclude the six-game series Sunday at 1:05 p.m. against the Buffalo Bisons at Polar Park. Television coverage is on NESN+, while radio coverage starts live at 12:45 p.m. on 100 FM The Pike and the WooSox Radio Network. Zach Logue (3-1, 4.01) is the scheduled starter for Buffalo.