Following a long road to recovery after undergoing Tommy John surgery last year, Boston Red Sox star Chris Sale made his first start of the season in Saturday's game against the Baltimore Orioles.

It was certainly difficult to forecast on just which version of Sale the Red Sox would get in this contest, as this was his first in-game appearance on the mound in 732 days. But from the first inning of the game, Sale silenced doubters with one vintage showing.

Sale struck out two batters in the first inning, which included fooling Orioles first baseman Trey Mancini on a 78 mph slider.

Unfortunately for the seven-time All-Star, it was not all smooth sailing from there, as he allowed a pair of home runs to Mancini and Austin Hays in the top of the third inning. But from there, Sale's keen combination of sinker, slider and changeup pitches helped him complete five innings, which is quite impressive for him after such a long layoff from in-game pitching.

Sale was met with a grand ovation from the Fenway Park crowd after he left the mound in the fifth inning.

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Overall, Sale showed that even following such a notable injury, he still has plenty left in the tank to be a noteworthy contributor to Boston. He finished with eight strikeouts in the game.

As mentioned, Sale found formidable success in relying on his three main pitches, which helped him record an impressive 16 swings and misses. More so, his sinker pitch showed signs of life against the Orioles; he notched four 95-plus mph sinkers over the course of the game.

With Sale back in the fold for Boston, this will surely add to what is already expected to be a hectic finish in the AL East, as the team is aiming to finish above the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees in the final divisional standings.