Sale (16-3) picked up the win Tuesday, allowing six hits over seven scoreless innings in a 3-0 victory over the Rockies. He struck out nine without walking a batter.
The veteran lefty continues his march toward both the NL Cy Young Award and a pitching Triple Crown, generating a whopping 23 swinging strikes among his 93 pitches as he reeled off his fifth straight quality start and 16th of the year. Sale leads the majors with 206 strikeouts, five ahead of Tarik Skubal and Dylan Cease, while his 16 wins are tied for the MLB lead with Skubal. Sale's 2.46 ERA also paces all qualified pitchers, with Skubal once again in second at 2.51. Sale's next victory will tie his previous career high of 17, a mark he last reached in 2017 -- he'll try to pick it up this weekend in a home start against the Blue Jays.