Sale to rejoin Red Sox rotation for ALCS

Chris Sale will be rejoining the Boston Red Sox rotation for the American League Championship Series against the Houston Astros, which is slated to begin Friday.

"He's still in the rotation. He's going to be a big part of what we're trying to accomplish," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said, according to Alex Reimer of WEEI.

"He was probably going to come in with a lead in the ninth (in Game 4 against the Tampa Bay Rays), because the way they were set up with lefties, there were a lot of good matchups for him. He's ready, he's great. He's part of the rotation."

After surrendering five runs in one inning of work in Game 2 against the Rays, Sale was demoted to the bullpen. However, the left-hander never made another appearance in the series, which the Red Sox won in four games.

The 32-year-old returned from Tommy John surgery this season, authoring a 3.16 ERA and 3.69 FIP over 42 2/3 innings down the stretch for the second-place Red Sox. It's unclear where the seven-time All-Star will factor into the playoff rotation, but it'll likely be alongside Nathan Eovaldi, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Nick Pivetta in some order.