Chris Sale had waited five years for another postseason start, and by the time the Braves left-hander took the mound Tuesday afternoon at Truist Park, he was ready long before first pitch. Sale struck out Bryce Harper in the opening inning with a 100 mph fastball, worked into the seventh, and gave Atlanta the chance to erase a late deficit in a 5-3 Game 1 win over the Phillies in the National League Wild Card Series.
The result
Atlanta’s eighth inning belonged to Austin Riley, who turned a two-run hole into a two-run lead with a go-ahead three-run homer against Jhoan Duran. The swing finished the comeback after the Phillies had briefly moved ahead in the seventh.
Sale allowed three runs on four hits across 6 1/3 innings, striking out nine. He threw 95 pitches in what became the deepest and most productive postseason outing of his career. In seven previous playoff starts, he had never gone beyond 5 1/3 innings and had never recorded more than eight strikeouts.
The big early marker came against Harper. Sale reached triple digits on the fastball to complete the strikeout, a rare reading even for a pitcher with his long record of overpowering hitters. He has now thrown 16 pitches at 100 mph or above in his career: eight as a rookie in 2010, six in 2018, and two in recent outings. The other recent 100 mph pitch came against Shohei Ohtani during Sale’s Aug. 27 shutout of the Dodgers.
“I could have pitched this game at 8:15 this morning,” Sale said. “It was like one of those scary movies. My eyes opened and I just popped out of bed.”
Sale’s velocity was one piece of a composed afternoon. The 2024 National League Cy Young Award winner entered with difficult postseason history, carrying a 6.35 ERA over 10 playoff appearances, including seven starts. His last three postseason appearances before Tuesday had come with Boston in 2021.
“He was great,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “That’s how he looks every time out there.”
Weiss had seen that version of Sale throughout the season. Sale posted a 2.16 ERA, third best in the majors, and continued the form that has made him a stabilizing presence during his three years in Atlanta.
The seventh inning finally tested the afternoon’s rhythm. With runners at the corners and one out, Weiss called for Didier Fuentes. J.T. Realmuto drove a two-out triple that scored both inherited runners and put Philadelphia in front, 3-2.
Sale did not second-guess the move or the reliever.
“[Fuentes] is the right guy for that situation,” Sale said. “I don’t think there’s anybody that’s watched our team play a single game this year that wouldn’t agree with that. He felt bad about it. I said, ‘Hey, man, sometimes we need help too. You know, that’s why this is a team game.’”
Riley supplied exactly that help one inning later. Sale had handled the bulk of the afternoon, and the Braves lineup gave him the postseason win that had seemed within reach for most of it.
“I’m just thankful to be in that position to be able to do that,” Sale said of reaching 100 mph. “But there’s a lot of people propping me up to be able to accomplish that.”
For Sale, the return to October had the energy he expected when he woke up eager to pitch. It also brought the result Atlanta needed in a series opener.
“The experience was incredible and I’m looking forward to doing it again,” Sale said.
