Sale torched in 1st postseason start: 'It's a bad time to suck'

Chris Sale's first postseason start couldn't have gone much worse.

The Boston Red Sox left-hander allowed seven runs (three home runs) off nine hits and a walk across five-plus innings in Game 1 of the ALDS against the Houston Astros.

"This one's on me," Sale told reporters, according to Steve Buckley of the Boston Herald. "It's a bad time to suck."

After Sale struck out George Springer to begin the outing, Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve hit back-to-back home runs to give Houston an early lead. Altuve homered again in the fifth, becoming the fifth player to have a multi-homer game off Sale.

Red Sox manager John Farrell allowed Sale to start the sixth inning, but the Cy Young hopeful allowed a double and a walk before he was lifted. Joe Kelly then came on and allowed two runs, which were charged to Sale.

It's the eighth time in Sale's career that he's allowed at least seven earned runs. He also joined Roger Clemens as the only Red Sox pitchers to allow seven runs in their postseason debut, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

Sale, David Price, and Rick Porcello have combined for a 12.54 ERA in the postseason for the Red Sox.