Chris

Sale

Sale washed away a lead-off home run by Juan Brito to retire the next eight batters he faced with five strikeouts… until Brito came up again and smacked a single. Besides that peculiar thorn in his side, Sale was his usual dominant self, matching a season-high with 23 swings-and-misses and struck out double-digit batters for the fifth time this season. With this being the finale of his regular season, Sale closed his age-37 campaign with a 2.16 ERA, 14 wins, and 200 strikeouts in 162 2/3 innings. The Braves are likely locked in to the third seed in the National League, so Sale is set to pitch next in game one of the Wild Card series next Tuesday.

It’s a tough break for fantasy managers in the middle of playoff matchups. However, all indications are that Sale, who was originally scheduled to start on Friday, is healthy and not dealing with any physical issues. The decision appears to be aimed towards setting up Atlanta’s rotation for the postseason schedule. It’ll be Tyler Mahle, Grant Holmes and Martín Pérez getting the ball against the Astros this weekend.

He struck out six. All of the runs came with two outs in the third on a single, a walk, a HBP and a bases-loaded double. Sale allowed just one other hit and walk over the remaining six innings, but the one bad frame meant he left down 3-2 before the Braves came back. Sale is lined up to face the Astros and Reds in his final two starts.

There’s simply no stopping Sale right now. This was his eighth straight start going at least six innings and he hasn’t allowed more than three runs since April 6th. If not for Alec Bohm – who drove in the only Phillies’ runs with a double and homer – Sale may not have let up any here. The Phillies did get around on him pretty well here though with 10 hard-hit balls as Sale’s fastball command was a bit inconsistent, but still it’s so difficult to sustain a rally against him. He now has a 2.10 ERA as he makes a late push for the National League Cy Young award and is set to face the Rays at home next time out.

The 37-year-old southpaw piled up 11 strikeouts on the night and didn’t walk a batter, throwing a remarkable 80 of his 109 pitches for strikes. The only real threat against him came as Mookie Betts doubled to lead off the fourth inning, and he never advanced past second base. Sale got 20 swings and misses in the contest — 11 of those on his slider — while posting an elite CSW of 39 percent. Now 13-9 on the season, the Cy Young hopeful will carry a stellar 2.06 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and a 177/28 K/BB ratio (144 innings) into Wednesday’s matchup against the Nationals in Washington.

It’s the second straight outing in which Sale has gotten zero run support, and the left-hander fell to 0-3 in August despite turning in quality starts each time out. He’ll take a 12-9 record and a 2.20 ERA into his next turn at home against the Rockies.

Sale was masterful once again here despite his team not being able to muster one run in support. Geraldo Perdomo and Corbin greeted him with a single and double to start the game, but Sale got out of that jam with just one run on the board and didn’t give another inch. He retired 18 of the final 21 batters he faced with his usual high fastballs and diving sliders to stymie the Diamondbacks’ hitters. If not for Jacob Misiorowski, he’d be a shoe-in for his second Cy Young award with a 2.16 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 160 strikeouts, and just 28 walks through 129 innings. Next up. He’s scheduled to face the Twins on the road.

The Yankees drew first blood in Saturday’s contest against the Braves, putting a run on the board against Sale in the second inning on two hits. A walk, triple, and a balk brought two more runs in for New York in the fifth before Sale got out of trouble. Sale would return for one more inning, ending his day after six innings with a quality start. He struck out eight. The 37-year-old left-hander will take an outstanding 2.20 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, and a 151/28 K/BB ratio across 123 innings into a start against the Diamondbacks in Atlanta on Friday.

Sale won’t start at all against Miami, and instead is being pushed back to the weekend series against the Yankees. Atlanta will instead push up the other arms in the rotation, so Grant Holmes, Bryce Elder and Martin Perez will be the arms who go instead. It’s disappointing Sale won’t get a two-start week this late in the fantasy season, but understandable.

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.