OAKLAND, Calif. -- Boston Red Sox starter Chris Sale tied his own record by striking out at least 10 batters in an eighth straight game.
Sale reached the double-digit mark when he fanned Oakland's Josh Phegley to end the seventh inning Friday night in the Red Sox's 3-2 loss. Sale had previously struck out at least 10 batters in eight straight games in 2015 when he pitched for the Chicago White Sox.
"Peripheral stats don't matter in this game,'' Sale said. "I know people love crunching numbers and they love talking about this and that. They're flashy, they're cool, but at the end of the day they don't matter."
The only other pitcher in modern-era history with eight straight double-digit strikeout games is Pedro Martinez, who did it in his final eight starts in 1999 with Boston. Martinez ended that season with a relief appearance before striking out at least 10 batters in his first two starts in 2000.
The A's overcame the record-tying night from Sale. Mark Canha hit a leadoff homer in the 10th to give Oakland its second win in a row in the series against Boston.