Chris Sale is a lanky 6-6, 180 pounds, and when he takes the mound on Wednesday afternoon he'll represent a tall task for the Texas Rangers in their quest to win another series after being swept over the weekend in Cleveland.
Sale enters the day with a 2.09 ERA, and that's after he allowed four earned run in six innings in his last start, forcing his ERA to climb 21 points in that game. He's arguably the game's toughest lefty this side of Clayton Kershaw with a swooping curve that just absolutely seems baffling if you're a left-handed hitter.
That's evidenced by the fact that guys like Leonys Martin aren't in the Rangers' lineup today. Elvis Andrus is, and he's 0-for-15 over his career against Sale.
Andrus is one of the guys carrying the Rangers' on-again-off-again offense at the moment, so something will have to give on Wednesday afternoon. When asked if he considered giving Andrus a day off against a personal nightmare of a pitcher, Rangers manager Ron Washington quickly scoffed at the idea.
"So, I look at that and I can't afford to pull Elvis out the lineup,” Washington told reporters Tuesday. “He's 0-for-15 and now it's Elvis' turn to get Sale. It's his turn to get Sale. And if he don't, then he'll be 0-for-f***ing-19. But I ain't pulling him out. I figure the odds got to be in Elvis' favor.”
Well said, skip. Well said.
