Chicago White Sox starter Chris Sale has once again proved that he is one of the greatest players in Major League Baseball today, as he tied an MLB record of at least 10 batters in eight consecutive games.
The 26-year-old became only the second player in history to achieve such a feat. He followed the footsteps of Pedro Martinez who is set to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in a few months who had the same record in 1999.
In the White Sox's 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals, Sale also produced his first major-league hit in his 100th career start. He struck out 12 batters in eight innings at Busch Stadium.
"He's the greatest pitcher in all of baseball right now,'' teammate Jeff Samardzija told USA TODAY Sports. "There's nobody better. What he's doing is just unbelievable. Guys aren't even coming close.
"You sit on the bench, and try to count the strikeouts, and just laugh because you lose count. It's like, 'Dude, is that eight strikeouts or nine?' And we're only in the fourth inning.
"We're just trying to come up with new sayings to guys when they punch out. We're running out of, 'beat it geek.' And 'take a seat on the bus.' There's just too many of them each day.''
Sale currently leads the league with 141 strikeouts this season and is set to make another history by overtaking the White Sox's current record of 282 batters. It would be the highest total since Randy Johnson's 290 in 2004.
"It's hard to keep finding adjectives for him,'' White Sox manager Robin Ventura complimented his ward. "The numbers he's piling up, and the people he keeps getting grouped in with, and come up when you mention his name, are impressive. They are some of the greatest pitchers who have ever played our game.''
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