With their eyes set on another World Series title, the Atlanta Braves swung a trade with the Boston Red Sox to land Chris Sale prior to the season. Before the All-Star break even rolls around, Sale is proving to be one of the best offseason acquisitions in the entire league.
On Tuesday, the left-hander earned his MLB-leading 12th win of the season as the Braves took down the Arizona Diamondbacks, 6-2. While Sale might be the new win leader, he and Atlanta have their eyes still set on a much bigger accomplishment, via the Associated Press.
“The most important thing is this team and winning games for this team,” Sale said. “We've got our eyes on the prize and that's the most important thing.”
In the win, Sale pitched 5.1 innings of two-run baseball, striking out nine while allowing five hits and three walks. While the runs scored against him came in the sixth inning, after his removal, Sale's biggest road block came at the start of the game. He allowed a single and a pair of walks to load the bases. But a ground out from Jake McCarthy ended the innings and helped Sale find his groove.
“Tonight was a grind, Sale said. “Once I got out of that first inning I was like, ‘Alright, let's take a deep breath, re-focus and get back to it.”
The win marked Atlanta's fourth straight, moving their record to 51-39 on the season. While they're 7.5 games back of the first-place Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East, the Braves hold a 4.5 game lead over the competition for the top Wild Card spot. If the team wants to retain their playoff positioning – or even surpass the Phillies – they'll need Sale to continue pitching to the top of his game.
Chris Sale has career renaissance with Braves
Over his first 17 starts with the Braves, Sale holds a 12-3 record with a 2.74 ERA and a 136/22 K/BB ratio. Alongside leading the league in wins, he is also fourth in the league in strikeouts and eighth in ERA. Sale's performance earned him his first All-Star nomination since 2018.
Atlanta had to trade one of their former top prospects in Vaughn Grissom to the Red Sox in order to acquire Sale. The deal was based more in hypothetical value, as the end of Sale's time in Boston was marred by injury. He appeared in just 11 games total from 2020-22.
Sale did make a healthy return in 2023, starting 20 games. Yet, he held just a 4.30 ERA and a 125/29 K/BB ratio over his 102.2 innings. There were signs of reemergence, and more importantly, Sale appeared to be fully healthy. The Braves decided to go all-in and take a gamble that the lefty would have a full on bounce back in 2024.
Atlanta hit the jackpot, as Chris Sale has been one of the best pitchers in all of baseball. While pitching wins isn't the most telling stat, it's still impressive that Sale has been able to convert all but five of his starts into victory. As they head into the second half, the Braves just need Sale to continue on what he has been doing.
A change of scenery as ascended Sale back to MLB's mountaintops. With both the Braves and Sale locked in on a World Series run, Atlanta isn't going to go down without a fight to end the campaign.
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