Sale (back) threw a bullpen session Friday and would have been on the NLDS roster had Atlanta advanced, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
Sale had to be scratched from the last game of the regular season and was left off the wild-card series roster because of back spasms. However, it would appear the injury isn't major, and the left-hander should have a normal offseason. Sale is the National League Cy Young favorite after going 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 225:39 K:BB over 177.2 innings.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Left off wild-card roster
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Sale (back) is not on Atlanta's roster for its National League Wild Card Series against the Padres.
Sale is dealing with back spasms, an injury which he's dealt with off and on for a while and which flared up Sunday. It's possible he will be an option to join Atlanta's rotation during the NLDS, should it advance, but that's up in the air for now. Bryce Elder and AJ Smith-Shawver have made the wild-card roster and one of them is expected to start Game 1 in San Diego.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Status for wild-card round in doubt
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Manager Brian Snitker doesn't believe Sale (back) will be available to pitch during the team's upcoming wild-card series against the Padres, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.
Sale was scratched from the second game of Monday's doubleheader against the Mets due to back spasms, and the issue could force the southpaw to miss the entire first round of the postseason. Snitker notes that Sale hasn't officially been ruled out just yet, but this isn't promising news for Atlanta, which may be forced to rely more upon Max Fried, Reynaldo Lopez and Charlie Morton.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Scratched due to back spasms
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Sale has been scratched from Monday's start against the Mets due to back spasms, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.
Atlanta is facing a must-win game after losing the first game of Monday's doubleheader, and they will no longer have their ace available after he felt back spasms Sunday. It will be Grant Holmes starting in Sale's place. When or if Sale might be ready for the wild-card series, should Atlanta qualify, is uncertain. General manager Alex Anthopoulos noted that Sale's injury is a day-to-day situation, which would seem to offer hope he could pitch at some point during the wild-card series, should Atlanta qualify.
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Braves' Chris Sale: On tap for nightcap of twin bill
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Sale will start the second game of Monday's doubleheader against the Mets, if necessary, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
Sale will be waiting in the wings Monday to start the nightcap if Atlanta loses the opener of their doubleheader with New York. The team needs to win one of the two games to clinch a spot in the Wild Card Round on Tuesday, so if Atlanta wins the opener, Sale will shift his focus to getting ready for the postseason. Spencer Schwellenbach will toe the rubber in the first game Monday.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Next start TBD
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Atlanta doesn't plan to start Sale again until it is facing elimination, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
Sale had been scheduled to start Wednesday versus the Mets before the game was postponed. Atlanta will go with Max Fried on Friday against the Royals but isn't listing starters yet for Saturday or Sunday. Sale could potentially start as soon as Saturday but could be held back as late as Monday for the rescheduled doubleheader versus the Mets.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Gets extra rest before next start
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Sale will make his next start Wednesday against the Mets, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.
The veteran lefty was originally in line to pitch Tuesday, which would have set him up for a two-start week to close out the schedule, but Sale's average fastball velocity was down over two miles per hour in his last outing Thursday against the Reds. As a result, Atlanta elected to be cautious with its ace and bump him back a day. Rookie Spencer Schwellenbach now gets the chance for a two-step with potential starts Tuesday and Sunday, while Sale would be available to pitch the first game of the wild-card series, should the team make the postseason. He also has a possible NL Cy Young Award, and even a triple crown, hanging in the balance -- Sale leads the Senior Circuit with 18 wins, a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Up to 18 wins
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Sale (18-3) earned the win Thursday over Cincinnati, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks across five innings. He struck out six.
While Sale failed to make it through six innings for the first time in eight starts, the left-hander continues to separate himself as the Cy Young favorite -- Sale hasn't allowed more than two earned runs in any of his last 18 outings. He leads the majors in wins, ERA (2.38) and strikeouts (225) through 29 starts (177.2) innings this season. Sale will look to wrap up the regular season on a high note -- he's currently lined up for a home matchup with the Mets next week in what could be his final start..
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Braves' Chris Sale: Secures 17th win
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Sale (17-3) allowed a run on five hits and two walks while striking out six over six innings to earn the win Saturday over the Dodgers.
Sale has allowed no more than two runs in any of his last seven starts, giving up just six runs with a 54:7 K:BB over 45 innings in that span. He's now gone nine consecutive outings without giving up a home run. Sale trimmed his ERA to 2.35 with a 1.00 WHIP and 219:37 K:BB through 172.2 innings overall across 28 starts this season. He's projected to make his next start at Cincinnati.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Solidifies Cy Young candidacy
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Sale did not factor into the decision in Sunday's win over Toronto, allowing two hits and one walk while striking out seven in six scoreless innings.
Sale was his usual dominant self Sunday, allowing just three baserunners while adding seven strikeouts, giving him an MLB-best 213 on the year. Sale has now allowed two earned runs or fewer in 16 consecutive starts dating back to June 1, a remarkable streak highlighting his consistency. With a league-leading 2.38 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 213:35 K:BB to go with his sparkling 16-3 record, Sale has all but cemented himself as the NL Cy Young Award winner. The southpaw lines up to face the Dodgers next weekend.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Adds to Cy Young candidacy
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Sale (15-3) earned the win over Minnesota on Wednesday, allowing one run on six hits and one walk while striking out six batters over six innings.
Sale didn't give up a run until the sixth inning and logged his fourth consecutive quality start. Over that stretch, he's posted a 1.73 ERA while registering a dominant 32:4 K:BB over 26 frames. Sale is likely the current favorite for the NL Cy Young award -- he's tied for the MLB lead in both wins (15) and punchouts (197), leads all qualified pitchers with a 2.58 ERA and ranks eighth with a 1.02 WHIP. With three more strikeouts, the southpaw will reach 200 punchouts for the eighth time in his career and the first time since 2019.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Tosses seven innings
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Sale yielded two runs on nine hits and a walk over seven innings in a no-decision Friday. He struck out four during the extra-inning win against the Nationals.
The only damage against Sale came in the fourth inning on a two-run double by Andres Chaparro. Sale saw his streak of starts with double-digit punchouts end at three, but he did turn in his third straight quality start. He's allowed two or fewer earned runs in 13 consecutive starts, posting a 2.25 ERA over that span. Sale owns a 2.62 ERA alongside a 191:33 K:BB through 147.2 innings this season. His next start is projected to come in Minnesota.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Dominant in 14th win
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Sale (14-3) earned the win over the Angels on Saturday, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks over six innings while striking out 10.
Sale stifled the Angels' lineup for most of the night, allowing only two batters to reach second base over the first five innings before surrendering two runs -- one of which came across on a wild pitch -- in the sixth. The lefty induced 17 whiffs on the night and posted double-digit strikeouts for the third consecutive start. Sale has now won his four last decisions (spanning eight starts) and hasn't surrendered more than two runs since June 1 against the Athletics (a span of 12 starts).
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Braves' Chris Sale: Brilliant in 12-strikeout effort
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Sale allowed three hits and struck out 12 batters over seven scoreless innings in a no-decision against San Francisco on Monday.
Sale and Giants starter Blake Snell locked into a southpaw pitching duel that included a combined 23 strikeouts over 13.1 scoreless frames. Sale's strikeout total was a season high and marked his second consecutive contest with double-digit punchouts. The veteran lefty extended his streak of starts allowing two or fewer earned runs to 11, and he's racked up a 95:20 K:BB over 67 innings during that span. Sale has built a strong case to this point for NL Cy Young honors -- he leads qualified starters in the circuit in ERA (2.61) and ranks second in both WHIP (0.97) and punchouts (177) while tying for the major-league lead with 13 victories.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Rare short outing
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Sale allowed three runs (two earned) on nine hits and two walks while striking out 10 over 4.2 innings in a no-decision versus Milwaukee on Wednesday.
This was just the second time all year Sale has failed to finish five innings. It was also the first time in 10 starts he gave up more than two runs. He threw 62 of 96 pitches for strikes and reached double-digit strikeouts for the fourth time this year, but he simply wasn't very efficient against a challenging offense. Sale is now at a 2.75 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 165:30 K:BB through 127.2 innings over 21 starts this season. He'll look to bounce back in his next start, which is tentatively projected to be at San Francisco next week.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Fans nine in no-decision
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Sale did not factor into the decision in an extra-inning loss to the Mets on Thursday, allowing two runs on two hits and one walk over 7.1 innings while striking out nine.
Sale was efficient during the contest, with the exception of the third inning when he left a sinker hanging over the plate for Francisco Lindor to launch into the stands in center field for a two-run shot. The veteran lefty then retired 13 of the last 14 batters he faced before being relieved by Joe Jimenez with one out in the eighth. Sale has now given up two or fewer runs in eight consecutive starts, while the home run surrendered to Lindor was the first long ball he's allowed in July. Sale has also posted at least nine strikeouts in four of his last five outings.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Cincinnati-Atlanta postponed
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Sale won't start as scheduled Tuesday against the Reds after the game was postponed due to inclement weather.
Atlanta and Cincinnati will play a doubleheader Wednesday to make up for Tuesday's contest, and Sale will get the starting nod in Game 2, per David O'Brien of The Athletic. The 35-year-old southpaw has posted a 1.91 ERA and 0.99 WHIP alongside a 41:11 K:BB through 28.1 innings across his last five starts.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Start pushed to Tuesday
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Sale is no longer scheduled to start Monday's series opener in Arizona and will instead take the hill Tuesday against the Diamondbacks, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
The southpaw appeared poised for a two-start week to close out Atlanta's first-half schedule, but that's suddenly in jeopardy after the club chose to call up Bryce Elder from Triple-A Gwinnett to start Monday. While he could still be available to start Atlanta's final game before the break Sunday in San Diego on four days' rest, since Sale has already been named to the National League All-Star team, the coaching staff might prefer not to use him that day in advance of the Midsummer Classic. Even if Sale ends up getting just one start this week, fantasy managers will likely still want to keep him active, given that he's gone 3-2 with a 1.97 ERA and 0.84 WHIP since serving up a season-high eight earned runs June 1 versus Oakland.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Dominant in tough-luck defeat
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Sale (10-3) suffered the loss Thursday, allowing one run on four hits and a walk over seven innings against the White Sox. He struck out 11.
Sale dominated his former team, with a first-inning homer by Luis Robert marking the only blemish to his stellar outing. However, the bats failed to provide any support for Sale, and Atlanta suffered its third shutout loss of the season with each occurring within the month of June. Following an inexplicable blip June 1 when he allowed eight runs to the hapless Athletics, Sale has rebounded over the last four games by allowing a total of six earned runs over 26 innings, giving him an ERA of 2.08 with a 0.85 WHIP and 36 strikeouts during that stretch. His next start is tentatively scheduled to take place in the middle of next week, when Atlanta plays host to the Giants.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Fans eight Yankees for win No. 10
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Sale (10-2) picked up the win Friday, allowing one run on one hit and three walks over five innings in an 8-1 victory over the Yankees. He struck out eight.
A Jahmai Jones triple in the second inning was the only knock on Sale's line as the veteran lefty fanned at least seven batters for the eighth time in nine starts since the beginning of May. Over that stretch, he's posted a 2.45 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 74:9 K:BB through 55 innings en route to becoming the third pitcher in the majors this season to reach double-digit wins, after the Phillies' Ranger Suarez and the Royals' Seth Lugo. Sale will look to keep rolling in his next outing, which lines up to come on the road next week in St. Louis.
