On Monday night, the stars aligned and the baseball gods treated fans to a top-quality pitching matchup during the Atlanta Braves' series-opening clash against the San Francisco Giants. Starting for the Braves was a rejuvenated Chris Sale, who made it to the NL All-Star team in 2024, and for the Giants, it was Blake Snell, the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner who is currently on a hot streak, who took the bump. That pitching matchup looked exciting on paper, and it delivered, leaving fans in awe of the pitching duel they just witnessed.
Sale, in seven innings of work, struck out 12 without walking anyone while allowing just three hits — a pitching performance worthy of acclaim. But then Snell matched him stride for stride; pitching in front of a raucous crowd at Oracle Park, the Giants starter struck out 11 Braves batters while walking just three, allowing just two hits in 6.1 innings of work. Suffice to say, both lefties did not allow a single run to cross the plate, with batters simply unable to mount any sort of challenge against these two elite southpaws.
It has been over 14 years since a pitching duel of this caliber occurred in the Giants' home stadium, as pointed out by Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic.
“If you sense we're witnessing something special with this pitching duel between Blake Snell and Chris Sale, that's because we are. It's the first time two opposing starters have struck out 10+ in a game at SF since Cole Hamels and Tim Lincecum on April 28, 2010,” Baggarly wrote.
Justifiably, it wasn't just Braves and Giants fans whose jaws were on the floor following an epic duel between two of the best lefty starters in today's game. Even neutral fans who witnessed this matchup couldn't help but express their awe on social media.
This game shaped up to have an ending that would enthrall one team and enrage the other especially after Chris Sale and Blake Snell's performances that are well worth a win. The contest went to extra innings, which the Braves took in the end, 1-0, thanks to a sacrifice fly from pinch-hitter Travis d'Arnaud. Raisel Iglesias emerged as a hero for the Braves, as he pitched two stellar innings of relief to slam the door shut on the Giants.
Chris Sale and Blake Snell surge for the Braves and Giants, respectively
Chris Sale looked like he was damaged goods following the conclusion of the 2023 season. But then the Braves decided to buy low on the former AL Cy Young award winner, and Sale, in turn, has put up one of the best seasons of his career. Entering Monday night, Sale has been pitching to the tune of a 2.75 ERA, with a strikeout to walk ratio of 165:30 — looking like the favorite to take home the 2024 NL Cy Young award in the process.
But then there's Blake Snell; the Giants' signing of Snell looked like a disaster after the 31-year-old starter endured a plethora of injuries to begin the year, with his performance declining along with his health. But now, Snell appears to be healthier than ever, and he's back to his dominant ways on the mound. Snell has an ERA of 1.15 since returning from the IL on July 9 — an elite figure that only got better thanks to his elite performance that matched Sale's step for step on Monday.
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