The Los Angeles Dodgers might have to borrow the blueprint for beating Atlanta Braves ace Chris Sale from an unlikely source.
The lowly Los Angeles Angels.
The Angels finished the regular season with the second-worst record in baseball but also humbled Sale, the 10-time All-Star, at Anaheim Stadium April 6 in what remains Sale's worst outing of the 2026 season. It's what the Dodgers need as they prepare to face the 6-foot-6 left-hander in Game 3 of the best-of-five NLDS tied one game apiece with Atlanta Tuesday, Oct. 6.
The blueprint starts with aggression: April 6 at Anaheim Stadium, Angels shortstop Zach Neto hit the first pitch he saw, a 95-mph four-seam fastball, for a 400-foot home run.
The blueprint shifts to patience: Sale retired nine batters
in a row heading into the bottom of the fourth when he hit Angels outfielder Jorge Soler. It was an opening, a piece of string from Sale’s ball of yarn beginning to unravel.
Then the Angels pulled that loose piece of yarn. With a base hit. Two consecutive walks. Another hit batter. When the inning ended, the Angels led 4-1.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Angels went back to aggression: Joe Adell jumped on a first-pitch fastball, blasting a 411-foot home run and giving the Angels a 6-1 lead. Suddenly Sale gave way to a reliever in a game the Angels won 6-2.
Beyond the Dodgers offense
The offense is only part of the blueprint, of course. That night at Anaheim Stadium, when the Angels roughed up the Sale, Angels ace Jose Soriano muffled the Braves' bats.
He pitched eight innings, allowed only one earned run and struck out 10 batters. Basically, he outsale-d Sale, who gave up six earned runs in four innings – statistically, his worst outing of the year.
Dodgers vs. Chris Sale: a tale of two teams
So how can the Dodgers use the blueprint?
Aggression at the outset would make perfect sense. Mookie Betts, likely to bat leadoff, has as much success against Sale as any current Dodger.
Betts is 7-for-16 (.389) with two doubles and a home run.
Freddie Freeman should have the confidence to swing with aggression, too. Against Sale, Freeman is 5-16 (.313.) with two doubles and two home runs.
Teoscar Hernandez should be afraid to take his thunderous swings. Though he’s struck out 10 times in 24 plate appearances against Sale, Hernandez also has homered and doubled twice against the Braves star pitcher.
It’s unlikely Shohei Ohtani will break out of his slump against Sale. He is 3-for-15 (.200) with a double and five strikeouts and is struggling at the plate.
And as Soriano did for the Angels, it’ll be up to Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto to help hold the Braves’ offense in check.
Dodgers make big adjustments to lineup
The Dodgers have made adjustments to their lineup for Game 3. The most notable is Ohtani's move to fifth in the batting order, the lowest he's hit since 2020. Ohtani batted leadoff for the Dodgers before injuries left him on the injured list in September. He is 2-for-8 with two strikeouts in the first two games of the NLDS.
Freeman will bat second, moving up from fourth, and Teoscar Hernandez will bat third, moving up from fifth.
Enrique Hernández will get the start at third base ahead of Max Muncy and bat ninth.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dodgers can borrow blueprint to beat Braves' Sale from unlikely source
