On Sunday afternoon, the Atlanta Braves took their first loss of the 2024 MLB season with a 5-4 road defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia Phillies in what was the first start for newly-acquired pitcher Chris Sale for the ballclub. Sale was brought into Atlanta from the Boston Red Sox this past offseason, hoping to provide some added depth for a Braves pitching squad that has faltered a bit in each of the team's last two postseason defeats, both of which ironically occurred vs the Phillies.
On Sunday, Sale was solid if not great in his debut, allowing five hits and two earned runs while striking out seven Philadelphia batters in 5 and one-third innings of work.
After the game, Sale got one hundred percent honest on his thoughts on the game.
“It would have been nice to pull this one through, but today was a dogfight,” said Sale, per Bally Sports: Braves on X, the social media platform formerly referred to as Twitter. “Sometimes you're on the right side, sometimes you're on the wrong side, but we didn't give up, we didn't quit, and that's what you want to see.”
Sale also took the time to break down his individual performance, including how significant that will be for the team going forward.
“Just staying on it, you know?” said Sale. “No confetti gets thrown in March, so we've still got a long road, a long ways to go, so just staying on top of things I've got to stay on top of and just trying to be successful.”
Despite the loss, the Braves still won the series vs the Phillies two games to one, giving them their first series victory of the young 2024 season.
A quest for redemption in Atlanta
As previously mentioned, each of the Braves' two postseason losses since their World Series Championship in 2021 have occurred at the hands of the Phillies despite having home field advantage in both matchups. Both series followed eerily similar trajectgories, with Atlanta faltering in Game 1, bouncing back in Game 2, and then losing both Games 3 and 4 on the road in Philadelphia, not even getting the chance to return home to stave off elimination.
Those two failures were surely in the back of the players' minds this weekend in Philadelphia, although it should be noted that postseason revenge can only be exacted, well, in the postseason, and not in March.
Still, it will be important for Atlanta this year to take things one game at a time, which they certainly appeared to do to open up the series vs Philadelphia. This year, the Braves are aiming for a shocking seventh straight NL East division title, evoking some memories of the team's dominance over their division during their impressive run during the 1990s and early 2000s.
However, seasons don't get much more “championship or bust” than what the Braves are currently experiencing, especially with the angst of the last two playoff failures vs the Phillies on their shoulders. Up next for Atlanta is a series vs the Chicago White Sox on the road, beginning on Monday afternoon.
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