Boston Red Sox ace Chris Sale has been named the 2019 Opening Day starter. Manager Alex Cora told reporters Sunday at JetBlue Park it was a “very easy” decision. Boston opens March 28 at Seattle. This marks Sale’s second straight Opening Day start for Boston. Rick Porcello made the 2017 Opening Day start. Sale also is on schedule to start the home opener at Fenway Park on April 9 vs. the Blue Jays. The Red Sox begin the regular season with 11 games on the road: four in Seattle, four in Oakland and three in Arizona. But Cora plans to use a sixth starter the first time through the rotation (April 2 at Oakland). Sale recorded a 2.11 ERA, 1.98 FIP and 0.86 WHIP in 27 starts last year. The averaged 13.5 strikeouts per nine innings compared to 1.9 walks. The opposition slashed only .181/.243/.288/.532 vs. him. But he pitched just 29 innings during the second half because of two DL stints (shoulder inflammation). He dominated in his first spring training start Saturday, striking out seven in four scoreless innings.<doc-sep>The Telegraph Two of the surprise packages of this clay-court season have been British – initially Dan Evans, who made a deep run in Monte Carlo, and more lately Cameron Norrie, who played his second final in three weeks on Sunday. Unfortunately, Norrie wasn’t able to land a maiden ATP title in Lyon. But then he was up against Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has been the dominant force of 2021 outside the slams, and now stands at No 1 in the table of most rankings points gained since January 1. Nevertheless, it had been a hugely creditable effort for Norrie to go this far, especially when you consider that he took out top seed Dominic Thiem on Thursday, and then trounced big-hitting Russian Karen Khachanov in Saturday’s semi-final, losing only two games in the process. Norrie has come to clay late in his career, but it feels like this is developing into his favourite surface. He has one of the heaviest left-handed forehands in the game, loaded with top-spin, and uses it like a miniature version of Rafael Nadal. The result has been a tally of 14 wins and only four losses since he began his European clay-court swing in Barcelona. So while the French Open, which starts next Sunday, has traditionally been a graveyard of British hopes, there are reasons to hope that this year’s event could deliver some more positive results. Norrie’s previous final in Estoril had been a nervewracking affair which he eventually lost on a deciding-set tie-break to the more experienced Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Sunday was more straightforward for Tsitsipas, who needed only 69 minutes to hammer home a 6-3, 6-3 victory. It was Tsitsipas’ second title of the clay-court sequence, after he won Monte Carlo in mid-April, taking out Evans in the semi-final along the way. He has become a serious contender to upset the establishment – specifically Nadal and Novak Djokovic – at Roland Garros over the next few weeks. “I felt in good shape from the beginning of the tournament,” said Tsitsipas afterwards. “I am proud of today’s match, I knew it would be a difficult one against Cameron, who has been showing great tennis this week. He has been winning against good players and showing what the left hand can do on clay. “It was not an easy match today. I had to handle the nerves and I am proud of my performance and the way I stayed focused towards my goal.” On this year’s results, meanwhile, both Evans and Norrie stand among the world’s 20 most successful men. Evans is at No 16 and Norrie No 14. The next challenge for them both is to convert that ATP Tour form into a deep run at a major.<doc-sep>The Boston Red Sox have announced their starting pitcher for the season-opener on March 28.Chris Sale will get the start in Boston's opening day road game against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park.The left-hander started on opening day for the Red Sox last season. Sale went 12-4 with a 2.11 earned run average in 2018, but he missed most of the season's second half with left shoulder inflammation. The 29-year-old was able to recover in time for the postseason and helped lead Boston to the 2018 World Series title.Sale made his first spring training start Saturday against the Atlanta Braves. He struck out seven over four innings while allowing two hits and no walks in a 6-1 win.The Red Sox open the 2019 MLB season on an 11-game West Coast road trip. They will play four games in Seattle before traveling to Oakland to play four games against the Athletics. The team will finish the road trip with three games against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix.Boston's home opener is scheduled for Tuesday, April 9, against the Toronto Blue Jays. First pitch at Fenway Park is scheduled for 2:05 p.m.The team's opening day game against the Mariners on Thursday, March 28, is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. Eastern time. The Boston Red Sox have announced their starting pitcher for the season-opener on March 28. Chris Sale will get the start in Boston's opening day road game against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. Advertisement Related Content Red Sox, pitcher Chris Sale reach deal on long-term extension [twitter align='center' id='1107280019104165889' username='RedSox']https://twitter.com/RedSox/status/1107280019104165889[/twitter] The left-hander started on opening day for the Red Sox last season. Sale went 12-4 with a 2.11 earned run average in 2018, but he missed most of the season's second half with left shoulder inflammation. The 29-year-old was able to recover in time for the postseason and helped lead Boston to the 2018 World Series title. Sale made his first spring training start Saturday against the Atlanta Braves. He struck out seven over four innings while allowing two hits and no walks in a 6-1 win. The Red Sox open the 2019 MLB season on an 11-game West Coast road trip. They will play four games in Seattle before traveling to Oakland to play four games against the Athletics. The team will finish the road trip with three games against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix. Boston's home opener is scheduled for Tuesday, April 9, against the Toronto Blue Jays. First pitch at Fenway Park is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. The team's opening day game against the Mariners on Thursday, March 28, is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. Eastern time.<doc-sep>"I've been saying all along that they set the tempo for this team and for them to be around together right after the Super Bowl, everybody was here [at Spring Training], obviously Chris and David, they were here the whole offseason," said Cora. "That was great for us to stay in touch with them and know what they were doing, it was great. I do enjoy watching him pitch. The intensity. He's fun to watch."<doc-sep>
Chris Sale made his 2019 spring training debut vs. the Braves on Saturday and he pitched like he was in midseason form despite his fastball maxing out at only 93 mph. The lefty struck out seven in 4 scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and no walks. The Red Sox won 6-1 over Atlanta at JetBlue Park. Sale threw some additional pitches in the bullpen after his start. Manager Alex Cora told the media, via MLB.com’s Ian Browne, he plans to announce his Opening Day starter tomorrow (Sunday). Sale remains the most likely candidate. But David Price, who won the ALCS and World Series clinching games last year, also is a worthy choice. Nathan Eovaldi, who allowed only four runs in 22.1 postseason innings (1.61 ERA) last year, also should be in the running. Sandy Leon worked as Sale’s personal catcher last year. But Christian Vazquez caught Sale’s first spring training start. Vazquez caught the first five innings before Leon replaced him in the sixth. Sale broke down physically last year, spending two stints on the DL during the second half with shoulder inflammation. He hurled only 29 innings after the All-Star Break. He pitched 4.2 innings or fewer in six of his seven starts, including postseason starts, after returning from the DL the second time Sept. 11. His 5.1 innings against the Yankees in Game 1 of the ALDS marked his longest start after returning. Sale threw 97 mph in his first spring training start in 2017. The goal isn’t to throw hard at this point. It’s to stay durable for a full season, something he didn’t do his first two seasons with the Red Sox.