Chris Sale will take the ball for Atlanta on Tuesday afternoon with a Wild Card Series opener against the Phillies waiting at Truist Park, and the Braves believe the veteran left-hander can change the temperature of the clubhouse before he ever throws a pitch. Game 1 is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
A postseason turn Sale has waited to make
Walt Weiss knows the feeling that comes with handing the ball to a front-line October starter. As Atlanta’s shortstop from 1998 through 2000, he played behind John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux in three straight postseason trips. During seven of the past eight seasons as the Braves’ bench coach, he has remained close to playoff baseball.
For Sale, though, Tuesday offers a different kind of milestone. The 37-year-old missed the 2024 postseason because of a back issue, even as he put together a National League Cy Young Award season. Now, in his third year with Atlanta, he gets his first chance to pitch the Braves into a series win.
“I love pitching here in Atlanta,” Sale said. “I love pitching in front of these fans, and being able to do it in the postseason makes it that much more special.”
- Wild Card Series Game 1: Phillies at Braves
- First pitch: Tuesday, 2 p.m. ET
- Broadcast: NBC and Peacock
- Atlanta starter: Chris Sale
Sale brings a season worthy of the assignment
Atlanta acquired Sale from Boston before the 2024 season after injuries had held him to only 151 total innings from 2020 through 2023. The move gave the lanky lefty a fresh landing spot, and he has done more than simply recover. He flourished in 2024 and improved again this season.
Sale finished this year with a 2.16 ERA, third best in the majors. Among Braves pitchers making at least 25 starts in a season since 1920, it is the fifth-lowest ERA on the franchise list.
He also arrives sharpened by a demanding closing stretch. Sale posted a 2.36 ERA across his final seven starts, facing the Yankees, Brewers, Dodgers and Phillies twice, plus an Arizona club that narrowly missed the postseason. Those outings included matchups with Gerrit Cole, Jacob Misiorowski, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Cristopher Sánchez and Aaron Nola.
The Phillies have seen plenty of Sale this season, and that history belongs to Atlanta. He made four starts against Philadelphia, recorded a 2.08 ERA, and the Braves won all four games.
Matt Olson did not hesitate when asked about the choice for Game 1.
“He’s been nothing short of amazing for us,” Olson said. “I wouldn’t want anybody else taking the mound for us tomorrow.”
October history and a calmer approach
Sale has tasted the best of October before. In Game 5 of the 2018 World Series, he closed out Boston’s championship by striking out all three hitters he faced in the ninth inning. His latest playoff work came in 2021, shortly after his return from Tommy John surgery, when he made three difficult starts for the Red Sox.
His overall postseason starting record leaves room for a new chapter. Sale owns a 7.24 ERA in seven playoff starts. In four postseason outings during 2017 and 2018, he carried a 6.87 ERA, allowing seven earned runs in one start and failing to complete five innings twice.
The lesson he carries into this series is not to chase the moment.
“I think you learn that it’s about harnessing the energy,” Sale said, recalling advice from former Florida Gulf Coast coach David Tollett. “You can’t be better than you are. You can’t play above what you possess. Sometimes you try to do too much and wind up doing less.”
- Sale’s playoff peak came with Boston’s 2018 World Series title.
- His last postseason appearance was in 2021, two months after Tommy John surgery.
- He enters Tuesday with seven career postseason starts and a 7.24 ERA.
- His regular-season success against Philadelphia gives Atlanta a strong recent reference point.
Phillies get another look at a familiar problem
Philadelphia interim manager Don Mattingly acknowledged that Sale presents a difficult assignment, even after four regular-season meetings.
“He presents a whole set of problems, but we’ve seen him a few times,” Mattingly said. “We haven’t been great against him, but tomorrow is a new day.”
Weiss has seen what a proven ace can do for an October club: the starter’s presence reaches beyond the mound and settles into the room. Sale now has a chance to provide that same lift for Atlanta. If he repeats the work he delivered against the Phillies during the season, the Braves will be positioned for more than one postseason start from their left-hander.
