Chris Sale is a consummate ace. It seems unlikely that anyone would contest this at this point, but if they ever do… just point ‘em at this game. In a marquee pitching matchup that featured Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the other side, it was Sale and the Braves that prevailed, as the grizzled southpaw gave Atlanta its first complete game shutout since Max Fried’s performance in a 5-0 win over the Marlins in April 2024.
This one, though, was a lot tighter. In fact, there was only one run scored in this game…
and it came on the first pitch Yamamoto delivered to a Braves batter. That pitch was a hanging splitter, and Drake Baldwin was either expecting a get-me-over or just did an excellent job if he wasn’t, launching an absolute no-doubter Chop House-ward for a solo shot. No one else crossed the plate in this game, or even got close to crossing the plate.
That said, this game was about Chris Sale. It was kind of the Chris Sale Game, except that really, he gives you a superlative performance so often that many games are the Chris Sale Game. Against an offense that ranks first or second in pretty much everything, he showed up, showed out, and dominated. He was actually pretty close to a Maddux (shutout on fewer than 100 pitches) until some drama late.
He breezed through the first on nine pitches, with a strikeout, two first-pitch groundouts, and a soft single by Mookie Betts. He struck out two more in the second, working around an overcooked slider that grazed Alex Call on the toe with two outs. He struck out the side on 12 pitches in the third: two three-pitch strikeouts sandwiching a longer plate appearance by Shohei Ohtani. In the fourth, Betts led off with a no-man’s land bloop that went for a double (and nearly got Betts thrown out as he took a big turn around second and had to scramble back to the bag). Not to worry, Sale threw just seven more pitches to end the inning, with a couple of easy flyouts chased down by his defense around a strikeout.
Two more quick outs started the fifth, before catcher Ben Rortvedt knocked a liner to left for a single. That brought up Shohei Ohtani, and Sale delivered his outing in microcosm against one of the game’s best: he got ahead with a get-me-over fastball, then painted two perfect fastballs on the outer edge. Neither was called a strike, neither was challenged by Baldwin behind the dish. So, Sale got Ohtani to graze a slider, and then obliterated him with 100 mph about chin-high. Then he went back to business as usual in the sixth: another three-pitch strikeout, two other quick field outs.
The seventh was Sale’s first frame without a punchout. It was also kind of the only scary moment against him, as Miguel Rojas dunked a pitch for a one-out single. With two outs, Enrique Hernandez got a 96 mph 0-1 fastball in the upper-inside corner of the zone and crushed it — the Dodgers’ only barrel of the game, and the only barrel beyond Baldwin’s homer on the night — but Michael Harris II was able to chase it down on the warning track. Sale then struck out Rortvedt to start the eighth before Ohtani weakly flied out. Another overcooked slider, this time to Tommy Edman, put the tying run on base with Betts up, but all Betts managed was a hard chopper that made for an easy infield out.
So, all that was left was the ninth. Sale finished the eighth at 97 pitches. Raisel Iglesias didn’t pitch yesterday, and was waiting in the wings (or, more accurately, in the bullpen). But, skipper Walt Weiss stuck with Sale (possibly because he didn’t want to get katana’d after the game). Freddie Freeman started the ninth with a single through the infield, but Weiss didn’t budge. Teoscar Hernandez got a hanging changeup but hit it weakly to left for the first out. And then, drama.
Miguel Rojas battled Sale for six pitches, and then hit a very weak bouncer to third. Austin Riley grabbed it and fired to second; however, Ozzie Albies’ relay throw was not quite on the mark, though there in plenty of time. Matt Olson did a biiiiig stretch, but umpire Laz Diaz ruled that he had come off the bag. Replay seemed to show that Olson did not actually come off the bag, but MLB replay is MLB replay, and after a loooong deliberation through which a nonplussed Sale kept throwing to the plate to stay warm, the call stood. Sale, though, had clearly had enough. He dumped in a slider to Alex Call, then got a foul on a pitch down the middle, and then threw one up and away that Call weakly flailed at, ending the game.
On the other side, Yoshinobu Yamamoto was also dominant, but he did get tagged for that homer, and didn’t last the whole game. The Braves didn’t really rally much. Ha-Seong Kim collected a second consecutive hit in the third, and stole second base, but a Baldwin strikeout and Albies pop-up meant that he stayed there and then headed back to the dugout for his mitt. Albies had a two-out single in the sixth that went nowhere. The Braves chased Yamamoto in the seventh with an infield single by Harris, a steal, and a walk by Lane Thomas. The Dodgers summoned Jack Dreyer to face Mike Yastrzemski with the platoon advantage, and the Braves didn’t counter with a move. Yastrzemski ended up hitting a soft liner back into Dreyer’s glove that turned into a double play. Yamamoto finished with an 8/1 K/BB ratio; Edgardo Henriquez struck out the side in the eighth.
But, lack of offense aside, this was, again, the Chris Sale game. He finished with an 11/0 K/BB ratio (though he did hit two batters). It’s kind of wild to think about, but in terms of straight-up FIP and xFIP, it wasn’t even one of his top starts of the year, as he’s often compressed more strikeouts (and no hit-by-pitches) into fewer innings. He’s just that good. But, his Game Score will likely be off the charts, and, well, no one that saw this game is gonna forget the time he stymied the mighty mighty Dodgers for a complete game shutout. That’s Chris Sale for ya, though.
With the win, the Braves push their division lead to five games over the Phillies. They’re within one game of the Dodgers for the NL’s second-best record. The sweep of the Dodgers was the Braves’ first since 2013. They welcome the Rockies into town tomorrow, for what we can all collectively hope doesn’t end up being a trap series-slash-letdown after the incredible high that Sale’s performance delivered to Braves Country tonight.
