BOSTON --

Red Sox left-hander Chris Sale showed encouraging signs Wednesday afternoon in his recovery from his first start back from the disabled list Tuesday night.

"Everything seems that he's okay," said manager Alex Cora. "Just regular soreness. I guess Day 1 after the start-- it was a positive."

Sale was slated to play catch Wednesday and throw a bullpen Friday before starting against the Mets at Fenway Park on Sunday. He is slated for about three innings in that start after throwing a scoreless inning against Toronto on Tuesday.

"He's encouraged," Cora said. "Yesterday, his first big-league outing, he was all over the place. He admitted it. The game kind of sped up on him. Right away, double. It's like, oh, wait a minute. He'll be fine. At the end, he struck out two and induced somebody to pop up. I know Sunday will be better."

Sale's start Tuesday was his first major-league outing since Aug. 11 and just his second since July 27 due to shoulder inflammation. Boston is hoping to build him up for the postseason and will likely have him pitch twice more after his start Sunday.