It took 10 innings for anyone to get on the scoreboard in San Francisco on Monday night as both Blake Snell and Chris Sale put on dazzling performances for the Giants and Braves.
The Braves ultimately came out on top, winning 1-0 on a Travis d'Arnaud pinch hit sacrifice fly in the top of the 10th. Sale went seven scoreless innings, giving up only three hits and striking out 12. Snell was nearly as sharp. His 6.1 scoreless innings came with two hits allowed, 11 strikeouts and three walks. Snell flirted with another no-hitter, taking one into the seventh inning.
For Snell, it was the second time in three starts that he threw 114 pitches. Still, he wasn't satisfied, seeing Sale go just a little deeper into the game.
“Felt good, got an extra day, so that played into it,” Snell said, according to Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic. “I just know I’ve got to try to last longer than him to give us a good opportunity to win. He went seven and that’s probably why they won the game. You’re always competing against the other starter to go as deep as you can.”
Yes, Snell is being hard on himself after one of his finest starts of the season. But the Giants are in the playoff hunt in mid-August and every win takes on extra meaning. The Braves have been struggling and Sale was able to go a little farther, with their win keeping them in control of the final playoff spot.
Blake Snell and Chris Sale were left in awe of each other
Snell and Sale are both veteran starters who can appreciate a great pitcher's duel — even when they're a part of it. Snell said after the game that he has long admired his eight-time All-Star opponent.
“Personally, today, I wasn’t rooting for him, but outside of that, I’ve been a big fan for a long time,” Snell said, per MLB.com. “Great guy. What he’s had to battle to get where he’s at right now is pretty amazing.”
Sale recognized that the Braves were coming off one of their toughest losses of the season. They allowed the Colorado Rockies to score seven runs in the eighth inning on Sunday to steal a 9-8 win at Coors field. It made facing Snell an even bigger challenge.
“Snell, that’s about as good as you’re going to see out there,” Sale said. “Just to be able to grind through that and overcome that, that was big time. That kind of shows what this group is about, being able to do that after a tough night and the start to a tough night tonight.”
“That’s what we show up to do,” Sale added. “We love the competition. It was fun for me to get out there and just let loose and keep [the score] where it was and give my team a chance.”
Giants manager Bob Melvin was able to enjoy the entire show from the dugout. Even in a loss, he was able to praise both starters.
“It came as advertised with those two guys,” Melvin said. “They were really dominant.”
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