Chris Sale produced his best performance of the postseason in the Boston Red Sox's 8-4 World Series game one win over the Los Angeles Dodgers, according to manager Alex Cora.
Eduardo Nunez's three-run home run off Alex Wood in the seventh inning secured victory for Boston despite a three RBI game from Manny Machado for the Dodgers.
Red Sox ace Sale has seen his 2018 season blighted by injury concerns, including a recent stomach illness he jokingly blamed on an infection caused by a belly button ring.
He lasted a little over four innings in the Fall Classic opener at Fenway Park, giving up three runs on five hits before giving way to the bullpen, but Cora was very satisfied with the left-hander's display.
"That was good stuff today. He did a good job taking pitches and fouling off pitches," Cora told a media conference. "But stuff-wise, probably the best in the postseason.
"And he feels really good, no problems with the belly button. So that's a plus. He'll be okay for the next one."
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Asked about his team's game with the bat, Cora added: "Some good at-bats. A lot of good at-bats together. From the first at-bat we put pressure on them. And that's what we do.
"We stayed off the edges of the strike zone, we attacked pitches in the middle of the zone, and we did an outstanding job offensively."
Despite the defeat, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was eager to praise his team's resilience, Los Angeles having come back from 2-0 and 3-2 down to tie the game before Boston took the lead for good.
"Our guys, like you've seen all year, are going to fight. And we don't expect these guys to give us anything. So we expect it to be a hard-fought series," Roberts said.
"But the way we competed - even at the end, to get [reliever Craig] Kimbrel in the game, to see him, to get a look at him, to see [Nathan] Eovaldi, I thought offensively we did a really good job. And that's what we've done all year long."