Sale didn't factor in the decision Friday against the Cardinals after striking out five and giving up two hits and a walk across three scoreless innings.
The left-hander generated nine whiffs on just 43 pitches (30 strikes) through three frames, but a lengthy rain delay guaranteed an early departure from his final start before the All-Star break. The shortened showing ends a streak of 13 straight outings of at least five innings for Sale, who hasn't surrendered more than three runs in an appearance since April 6 in Anaheim. The 37-year-old closes out the first half of the season with a 2.20 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 117:25 K:BB across 98 innings.