Chris Sale, the 2024 National League Cy Young Award winner, had thrown 97 pitches through eight innings Thursday when he walked the length of the Atlanta Braves’ dugout, found manager Walt Weiss and made his intentions clear.
“This is mine,” Sale declared.
The left-hander needed just 12 more pitches to record the final three outs and complete a 1-0 shutout of the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in Atlanta. The victory capped a three-game sweep for the NL East-leading Braves, who beat Los Angeles by one run in each game.
At 37, Sale’s standout performance Thursday offered another reminder that he remains among baseball’s best and reinforced his standing in the NL Cy Young Award race alongside Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Jacob Misiorowski.
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Sale unleashed two of his fastest pitches since 2018 on Thursday, with both being hurled while Shohei Ohtani stood in the batter’s box. Sale also record his first complete game since 2019. His ERA now sits at 2.06, which is second in the majors only behind Misiorowski. The Braves ace also extended his streak of starts allowing three runs or fewer to 21.
Ohtani struck out twice against Sale, who finished the night with 11 strikeouts.
“You can make an argument that, as great a career as he’s having, he’s as good now as he’s ever been,” Weiss said. “It’s mind-boggling.”
The last time Sale’s fastball reached triple digits was July 6, 2018, when he was 29 and still pitching for the Boston Red Sox. Boston went on to win the World Series that season, years before Sale would need to undergo Tommy John surgery.
“Anytime you’re facing a team like that you just try to put your best foot forward, you know it’s going to be a dog fight, you know it’s not going to come easy,” Sale told “The Pat McAfee Show” on Friday.
Only one Dodgers player managed to reach scoring position while Sale was on the mound.
Videos shared on social media showed Sale’s son reacting as he realized his father would return to the mound for the ninth inning. “The family stuff, it’s fun just [because], I’m glad I don’t see that stuff until after the game [beacuse] that’s just so special,” Sale told “The Pat McAfee Show” about the emotional night.
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Adding to the emotion of the night, Sale took the mound carrying the weight of a personal loss. Before the game, he learned that Ashley Foss, a close family friend, had died of cancer. Foss’ family has managed Sale’s finances through their agency for several years, and the families have grown close over time.
While Sale’s performance took center stage, Yoshinobu Yamamoto was strong for the Dodgers as well. The reigning World Series MVP pitched 6.1 innings, allowing one run on Braves catcher Drake Baldwin’s first-pitch solo homer off a splitter.
The Braves remain home this weekend, opening a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies on Friday night. The Dodgers, meanwhile, traveled to Detroit for a matchup with the Tigers, with Tarik Skubal facing his former team for the first time since his blockbuster trade to Los Angeles earlier this month.