The Boston Globe - 20.08.2019

TUESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2019 The Boston Globe Sports D5

Cora issued somber updates
aboutSale’s conditionand the
pitcher was shieldedfromre-
porters before he and head
athletic trainerBrad Pearson
traveled to Florida.
Sale,30, is a seven-time All-
Star who is 35-23 with a 3.08
earned runaverage in 84
starts for the Red Sox sincebe-
ing obtained fromthe Chicago
WhiteSox before the 2017sea-
son.
The Sox signedSaleto a
five-year, $145million exten-
sion in March. That contract
starts withthe 2020season.
Now Dombrowski can pro-
ceed withat least some level of
confidence of having Sale on
the roster.
But therehave beenred
flagswithSaleoverthe last
two seasons.
Salewas 11-4 witha 2.04

uREDSOX
ContinuedfromPageD1

ERA through22 starts last sea-

son, seeminglyen routeto his

first Cy Young Award before

shoulderpainlimited him to

five starts and 17 inningsover

the remainder of the season.

Sale had two stints on the

injuredlist and completed five

innings once in three postsea-

son starts.

But he struckout the side

in the ninthinningof Game 5

of the World Seriesin Los An-

geles to secure the champion-

ship.

He has not pitched particu-

larly well since. Sale allowed

seven earnedrunsin threein-

ningsat Seattle on Opening

Day and is 6-11 witha 4.40

ERA this season.The Sox are

10-15in gameshe has started.

Sale allowed five runs over

6„ innings at Cleveland last

Tuesday and felt stiffness in

his elbow the next day.

WithPrice on the disabled

list withinflammation in his

wrist, the Red Sox are quickly

running out of starters as they

fightto remainin the playoff

race. They are 6½ gamesbe-

hindTampa Bay for the second

wild card.

The Sox have yet to name a

starter for Tuesday night’s

gameagainst Philadelphia.

Price could returnas soon

as Sunday but the Sox will

needto find creative ways to

replace Sale given their lack of

depthin Triple A.

BrianJohnson,whohas

started five games,is likely to

get a shot.

Andrew Cashner, who

pitchedpoorlyin six starts be-

foregoing to the bullpen,is

another candidate.

PeterAbrahamcanbe reached

at [email protected].

Follow himon Twitter

@PeteAbe.

Phillies-RedSox

seriesthumbnails

at FenwayPark

Tuesday, 7:10 p.m.

NESN, WEEI-FM(93.7)

W-LERA

RHP Aaron Nola 11-33.56

TBA

Wednesday, 7:10p.m.

NESN, WEEI-FM(93.7)

W-LERA

LHP Drew Smyly 2-6 7.09

RHP Rick Porcello 11-9 5.49

Head to head:Thisis the first of

two series,a total of fourgames.

The Red Sox were 2-2 vs. the Phil-

lies last season.

Miscellany:The Phillies are 8-5 in

interleagueplay... OF Bryce

Harperleft Sunday’s game against

San Diegobecauseof dehydration

... Harper leads the NL in strike-
outs with 145... In an effort to
jump-start their offense, the Phil-
lies fired hitting coachJohnMallee
and replacedhim with former
managerCharlie Manuel, 75, last
Tuesday.

Early struggles not promising for Chelsea FC’s outlook

ByFrankDell’Apa
GLOBE CORRESPONDENT
Chelsea FC’s 115th year of
existencecould be a long one,
judgingby its slow start. In the
first weekof
the season,
Chelseasus-
tained a 4-0
loss to Manchester United, lost
to Liverpool on penalties after
playing to a 2-2 draw in the
Community Shield, and tied,
1-1, with Leicester City.
The Bluesare in transition
underthe direction ofFrank
Lampard, theirfourth coach in
four years. Four key players
(EdenHazard,Gonzalo
Higuain,Ruben Loftus-Cheek,
DavidLuiz) fromthe Chelsea
teamthat pulled into Gillette
Stadiumlast May were absent
for the game against Leicester
City at Stamford Bridge Sun-
day. Previously, Chelsea’s depth
might have compensated, but
the roster is thinnernow, part-
ly because of a transferban due
to Financial Fair Play viola-
tions.
Lampard’s lack of experi-
ence is significant. Though he
has a coaching pedigree (father
FrankSr.and uncleHarry Red-
knapp),he has completed only
one season as manager at Der-
by County. Whenlast season’s
Chelseamanager,Maurizio
Sarri, was 41 — Lampard’s age
— he was at Sansovino in Italy’s
SerieC, the first of 10 stops be-
fore reaching Serie A in 2014.
There were questions about
Sarri’s ability to adjust to the
PremierLeague, but he guided
Chelseato thirdplacein the
league and a Europa Leagueti-
tle. Sarrihad the benefit of a
rich transferbudget, bringing
in former Napoli players
Higuainand midfielderJorgin-
ho, enabling him to placehis
stamp on the team.Lampard’s
pupils include midfieldersMa-
sonMountandChristianPuli-
sic, who are making a solid
contributionbut do not appear

ready to be difference-makers

at the highest level.

For Pulisic, the situation

presents plusses and minuses.

The combination of Lampard’s

intent to retool Chelseawith

youngsters and the lack of in-

coming transfersgive Pulisic a

chancefor playing time. But

shouldthe Bluescontinue to

struggle, Pulisic could be

placed in a position of trying to

achieve unrealistic expecta-

tions.

In any case, unlessChelsea

can get sometraction, it could

have difficulty justifying a 64

million euro transfer fee for Pu-

lisic that it paid to Borussia

Dortmund.

Pulisic, the most expensive

US-bornplayer ever, performed

well against Leicester, but

Chelsea met its match against

theBrendan Rodgers-coached

Foxes. The Bluestook control

with a high-pressing style,

Mount converting off a turn-

over in the seventhminute.But

Leicester retained its compo-

sure,and the gameturned into

a tactical matchup,with few

signsof panicon eitherside.

NBC Sports announcers

mistakenly noted late in the

first half the teamsneededto

get to halftime for “a recharge,”

not realizing that whenthe

gameis flowing, players can go

for extendedtime without rest-

ing. The emphasis on skill and

possession led to a wide-open

secondhalf, and the announc-

ers recognizedthey werewit-

nessing a contest of exception-

ally high caliber for this early

in the season.

The style of play of Chelsea

and Leicester City could be-

comea testimony to the in-

creased sophistication of the

Premier League. Bothteams’

players look to execute a short-

passing game,and they also

seemeager to take on defend-

ers, going to long balls only as a

last resort.

Mount, 20, and Pulisic, 20,

seemdestined for lengthy ca-

reers, though morelikely as

journeymenthan stars. They

met their match in Leicester

City’sHamza Choudhury,

JamesMaddison,WilfredNdi-

di, andYouriTielemans— all

22 or younger.

Chelsea management’s pa-

tiencewill be tested. It will

have to set realistic goals, but if

Lampard’s teamis allowedto

play its way throughdifficul-

ties, things could improve.

As British managers, both

Lampardand Rodgers are al-

ready battling the odds;each of

the league’s top 10 teams had

foreign managers last season.

Crunchtime

Sporting director/head

coachBruce Arenabelieves the

Revolution will needabout 49

points to qualify for the play-

offs. Witheightgames remain-

ing, they have 35 and are in

sixthplace in the Eastern Con-

ference, vying with four teams

(Montreal Impact, Orlando

City SC, Toronto FC, Chicago

Fire)for the final two postsea-

son slots.

The Revolution’s fate could

be decided in head-to-head

matchups with conference

foes.

They will play host to the

Fire (33 points)Saturday and

Toronto (34 points) on Aug. 31,

then visit New York City (41

points)Sept. 7, and Orlando

City (34 points) Sept. 14.

After a 1-1 tie with the New

York Red Bulls, the Revolution

have compileda seven-game

(3-0-4) road unbeaten streak,

best in the team’s 24-year histo-

ry. The Revolution werere-

sourceful in rallying to equalize

on a 65th-minute goal by

Gustavo BouSaturday. The

score was set up by a sequence

of passesthroughthe middle,

fromWilfriedZahibotoJuan

AgudelotoCarlesGil, whose

through ball launchedBou into

position to finish past goal-

keeperLuis Robles.

Zahibo added confident

touches and physicality to the

midfield as a second-half sub-

stitute forScott Caldwell. Are-

na said the Revolution “com-

peted better” in the second

half.

“Any time this time of year

you’ve got a pointon the road

against a conference opponent,

it’s big, and probably a good

lesson for us to get us prepared

for theselast eightgames,” Are-

na said.

“We have no chanceof mak-

ing the playoffs if we played

like we played in the first half.

Perhaps it’s a good lesson for

us.”

Complaint Dept.

WayneRooneyadjusted

quickly to MLSand has been

amongthe league’s most pro-

ductive players sincejoining

D.C. United last season. But

Rooney’s frustration with offi-

ciating and travel arrange-

ments boiled over as United

sustaineda 1-0 loss in a visit to

the VancouverWhitecaps Sat-

urday night.

After beingsubstituted in

the second half, Rooney ha-

ranguedfourth officialPierre-

Luc Lauziere, videodetecting

him saying “every [expletive]

game,” as he walked toward the

bench.

Then, Rooney sent out a

Tweet complaining aboutthe

league’s restrictionson travel-

ing via charter: “Looking for-

wardto a 12-hourtravel day,

whichcouldbe donein six, but,

hey, this is MLS.”

United (37 points), in fourth

placein the Eastern Confer-

ence,plays host to the Red

BullsWednesday.

Seller’s market

WhenBenfica visited Gil-

lette Stadium for a 1-0 win over

Milan in an International

Champions Cup match last

month, the Aguiashad just

sold 19-year-oldJoaoFelixto

Atletico Madrid for 126 million

euros($139million).Benfica’s

next majorexport couldbe de-

fensive midfielderFlorentino

Luis, who played as a second-

half substitute against Milan.

Florentino, who turned 20

Monday, has signeda contract

worth 600,000euros

($665,000) annually through

2024 with a buyoutclause of

120 million euros($132 mil-

lion),the team announced.

Benfica, whichwon the ICC

tournament, opened the sea-

son with a win over Sporting

(5-0)in the PortugueseSuper

Cup, and has taken league vic-

tories over Paços de Ferreira

(5-0)and Belenenses (2-0).

SOCCER

NOTES

Sale does not need surgery

Spring training

schedule released

ByPeterAbraham

GLOBE STAFF

The Red Sox will open their

2020 spring training schedule

Feb. 21 with a gameagainst

Northeastern

at JetBlue Park

in Fort Myers,

Fla., before

launching into a 34-game

scheduleagainst majorleague

teams.

With the Atlanta Braves

now playing in North Port, Fla.,

after moving from Orlando, the

Sox will play 25 games either in

Fort Myers or less than an hour

away.

The Sox have 17 gamesat

home, three against the Twins

in Fort Myers, two against Tam-

pa Bay in Port Charlotte, Fla.,

and three against the Braves in

North Port.

The Sox host the Yankees

Feb. 29 and play the Yankees in

Tampa March 3. The only trip

to the east coast of Florida will

be March 14-15 to play the As-

tros in West Palm Beach and

the Cardinals in Jupiter.

The Sox close out the pre-

season at home March 24

against the Braves, then start

the regular season at Toronto

March 26.

Devers honored

Rafael Deverswas the

American LeaguePlayer of the

Week. He was 16 of 27 with 7

doubles, 3 homeruns, 7 runs, 3

walks and 11 RBIs in six

games.

Devers had 32 total bases

and an OPS of 1.819. His week

included going 6 for 6 with four

doubles against Cleveland last

Tuesday. He was the fifth player

in Red Sox history with a six-hit

game, the first sinceNomar

Garciaparrain 2013.

Devers also became the first

Red Sox player with eight con-

secutive hits sincePinky Hig-

ginsin 1938.

Through Sunday, Devers led

the major leagues in hits (176),

doubles (46), RBIs (101), and

extra-base hits (76). He is third

with 103 runs and seventh in

OPS (.976).

Devers is riding an eight-

game hit streak (20 of 37) that

has featured 12 extra-base hits

and 14 RBIs.

Diamondbacks shortstop

Nick Ahmed,an East Long-

meadow native who played at

the University of Connecticut,

was the National LeaguePlayer

of the Week. He was 11 of 26

with 7 extra-base hits and 11

RBIs.

Phillies arrive

The Red Sox start a two-

game series against the Phila-

delphia Phillies Tuesday night.

The interleagueopponents

have a lot in common in that

they have so far fallen short of

high expectations.

The Red Sox (67-59) are in

third place in the AL East and 6

games out of a wild-card spot.

The Phillies (64-60) are in third

in the NL East and two games

out of a wild card.

The Phillies are 17-17 since

the All-Star break and 8-9 this

month. They will haveAaron

Nola(11-3, 3.56) on the mound

Tuesday. The Sox have not

named a starter in what will

likely be a bullpen game.

This will beBryceHarper’s

first trip to Fenway Park since

2015. He was 6 of 21 with one
      home run in six gamesfor the
      Washington Nationals there.

Taylor-made

Lefthanded relieverJosh

Taylorhas eight consecutive

scoreless appearances. He has a

1.80 ERA in in 30 games since

being recalledJune 14. Taylor

was the player the Sox received

from Arizona forDeven Marre-

roin 2018... The Sox are 3-5

in interleague games this sea-

son.. .Sam Travisis 14 of 67

(.299) with 10 extra-base hits

and 13 RBIs in 27 gamessince

being recalled July 16...

MookieBettshas had 35 or

more doubles the last five sea-

sons. He is the only Red Sox

player to do that outside of Hall

of FamerWadeBoggs, who did

it for seven straight years

(1985-91)... The Sox have won

five in a row. They last won six

straight from June 12-17.

PeterAbraham canbe reached

at [email protected].

Follow him on Twitter

@PeteAbe.

FILE/JIMDAVIS/GLOBE STAFF

Therehave beensomeredflagswithRed Sox aceChrisSale— herewithXanderBogaerts —overthepast two seasons.

REDSOX

NOTEBOOK

FRANKAUGSTEIN/ASSOCIATEDPRESS

Jorginho(left) andChristianPulisic(center)willbekey figuresin ChelseaFC’s success.