HOUSTON — The Boston Red Sox were still unsure Tuesday when Chris Sale would be available to pitch again, but the lefty ace was back with the team for Game 3 of the AL Championship Series.
When players for both teams were introduced before the first series game in Houston, Sale lined up with the Red Sox along the third-base line. Sale started the series opener but missed Game 2 and didn’t travel with the team after being hospitalized for a stomach illness.
Speaking earlier, Boston manager Alex Cora said Sale would go to the training room when he arrived. Cora also said Sale might throw a bullpen session, possibly during the game against the Astros.
“I don’t know how he feels, if he feels weak or whatever. But we’ll know,” Cora said then.
Sale, the potential Red Sox starter for Game 5 on Thursday night, was released Monday from Massachusetts General Hospital. He was hospitalized Sunday night for observation for what the team has called a stomach illness.
If Sale can’t start Thursday, Cora said he could go with left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez or make it a bullpen game, or “all of the above,” the manager said.
“First and foremost, we care about his health and how he’s doing. Once we found out he was doing OK, we just wait until he gets back and talk to him,” said Rick Porcello, the Red Sox starter for Game 4. “None of us really know what happened.”
When asked if everyone other than Sale was available out of the bullpen for Game 3, Cora smiled and said, “Rick is the starter tomorrow. Rick. So we’ll maneuver it.
“Like I said, in the playoffs you try to win today and then plan for tomorrow. And we know Rick is available tomorrow. He’s in line, but you never know.”
The team hasn’t specified the ailment or treatment for Sale. Cora said Sale started feeling ill and throwing up after starting the series opener Saturday night at Fenway Park, then went to the hospital early Sunday morning. The manager said it was nothing serious.
Information from ESPN’s David Schoenfield and The Associated Press was used in this report.