Chris

Sale

Sale’s phenomenal season hasn’t been talked about enough. He faced just two batters over the minimum and didn’t let a single runner into scoring position as he decimated the Mets here. His fastball and slider combined to force 14 swings-and-misses and many of those were very ugly chases. They say father time is undefeated, but the 37-year-old Sale now has a 2.08 ERA with 143 strikeouts and 26 walks across 117 innings this season. If not for Jacob Misiorowski, those would be clear and obvious Cy Young numbers. He’s lined up for a two-start week coming up against the Marlins and Yankees.

Manaea held his own with an impressive showing against the Dodgers last Friday, allowing just one run over six innings. It’ll be burgeoning star Christian Scott taking the ball opposite Braves ace Chris Sale during Wednesday’s nightcap at Citi Field. Get your popcorn ready for that one.

The game will be made up as a split doubleheader on Wednesday. We should likely get the same pitching matchups for both games, but we’ll know for sure on Wednesday. The Braves were hoping to leave New York early because they have a game against the Nationals on Thursday, but luckily it’s not a long trip between the two cities.

All of the runs came in the second after Mauricio Dubón greatly misjudged what seemed like a routine flyball to left field, resulting in a single. Sale wasn’t blameless in the inning, as he plunked light-hitting lefty Jake Cronenworth and walked Fernando Tatis Jr. with the bases loaded, but that all happened after what should have been the third out. Sale matched his season high with the 11 strikeouts. It’s his 94th career 10-strikeout game, moving him past Curt Schilling and into seventh place on the all-time list. Next up is Sandy Koufax at 97. He’ll make his next start Tuesday against the Mets.

It was business as usual for Sale, who allowed just two baserunners on the evening in a game where his offense gave him an early 6-0 lead that proved to be more than enough for him to pick up the win. Sale needed only 89 pitches to get through seven innings and was pitching on somewhat extended rest after his last start was shortened by a two-hour rain delay in St. Louis. Sale recorded the 2,700th strikeout of his career in this one, becoming the 27th player in MLB history to hit the mark. He has allowed three earned runs or fewer in every game this season and will make his next start on Wednesday at home against the Padres.

The delay was two hours and 44 minutes, which was longer than the actual time of the game (two hours and 23 minutes). Sale was cruising before play was halted, striking out five and throwing 30 his 43 pitches for strikes. His next appearance should come in the All-Star Game. It’s his third All-Star nod as a Brave, but this is the first time he’ll be pitching (we assume).

Sale held the Mets scoreless through four innings before Tyrone Taylor took him deep for a solo homer in the fifth. Mark Vientos then got to Sale with a two-run homer in the sixth. Sale gave up another hit and hit a batter, leaving two runners on with no outs in the sixth inning. Both inherited runners would be left stranded. The 37-year-old left-hander will take a 2.27 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and a 112/24 K/BB ratio across 95 innings into a start against the Pirates in Pittsburgh on Thursday.

Sale took the loss, leaving him 8-6 despite him sporting a 2.10 ERA for a Braves team with one of the league’s best records. He’s 0-3 with a 2.35 ERA in four starts this month. The loss today saw him give up just two hard-hit balls but eight hits. Opposing starter Robbie Ray allowed 14 hard-hit balls yet only four hits in his eight innings. Sale will face the Mets next weekend.

López has plenty of starting experience and will jump into Atlanta’s rotation mix with Bryce Elder remaining on schedule to take the ball on Saturday with Chris Sale being pushed back to Sunday’s series finale. López is unlikely to work deep enough into the contest to deliver significant fantasy appeal. He holds a solid 3.50 ERA and 39/21 K/BB ratio across 43 2/3 innings this season.

Sale was sharp in this one as he and Kyle Harrison put on a pitcher’s duel on Saturday in Atlanta. He held Milwaukee scoreless through five innings before giving up two unearned runs following an error in the sixth inning. Sale would be replaced on the mound with two outs in the inning at 101 pitches. He generated 12 whiffs to strike out seven on the day. The 37-year-old left-hander will take a 2.14 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and a 99/21 K/BB ratio across 84 innings into a start against the Giants in San Francisco on Friday.