TAMPA -- Chris Sale¡¯s fastball was back, both on the mound and with the harsh self-assessment he provided after the Braves suffered an 8-3 loss to the Rays on Sunday afternoon at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
¡°Frustrated would be a wild understatement,¡± Sale said. ¡°I just hate sucking, and I¡¯m just bad. It¡¯s simple.¡±
Plenty has gone wrong for the Braves, who have lost 11 of their first 15 games for just the sixth time in Atlanta history (since 1966). Their offense has underperformed, and their bullpen remains a work in progress. As for their 2024 National League Cy Young Award winner, he has a 6.63 ERA through four starts.
¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ve ever been this frustrated, honestly,¡± Sale said. ¡°I feel like I¡¯m banging my [freaking] head against the wall right now, and I¡¯m getting nothing out of it.¡±
Sale¡¯s emotions erupted during Sunday¡¯s first inning, when he picked up the rosin bag and slammed it so hard into the mound that it bounced and landed a few feet away in the infield grass. He started the game by misplacing a changeup that Yandy D¨ªaz drilled over the right-center-field fence for a leadoff homer. Right fielder Jarred Kelenic¡¯s high throw on a double-play attempt led to another first-inning run for the Rays after Jos¨¦ Caballero singled home Junior Caminero.
The frustration grew as Sale allowed four runs -- three earned -- over 4 1/3 innings. His 98-pitch outing ended after he retired just one of the four batters he faced in the fifth. He completed exactly five innings in each of his first two starts, but has fallen a few outs short of that mark in both of his past two starts.
So within the five days that linked Tuesday¡¯s outing against the Phillies to Sunday¡¯s start against the Rays, he lasted less than five innings as many times as he did over the entire 2024 season.
¡°He's kind of like our team,¡± Braves manager Brian Snitker said. ¡°He's fighting to get it going, and he will. He's too big of a competitor. The stuff's too good. He'll right the ship.¡±
There was hope things would immediately turn around for Sale once he regained his fastball velocity. A lower arm slot might have led to his four-seam fastball averaging 93.2 mph through his first three starts. This same pitch averaged 94.9 mph in 2024. It averaged 96.2 mph on Sunday.
That¡¯s the second-highest average he has generated in any game since 2018. The highest was a 96.4 mph average produced during his June 21 start at Yankee Stadium last summer.
So, was that encouraging?
¡°This game is definitely about results,¡± Sale said. ¡°I guess if I¡¯m going to suck, I should go out and let it rip.¡±
Sale¡¯s great leadership showed as he provided brutally candid responses throughout his postgame media session. Kelenic¡¯s high throw in the first cost the Braves a run, and his decision not to throw to the plate on Christopher Morel¡¯s fifth-inning single raised some eyebrows.
But Sale was pointing the finger at just one person.
¡°I don¡¯t think there was a question who was the worst baseball player on that field today,¡± Sale said. ¡°This is sports. People make mistakes. If you take one person off that field, I think we have a much better chance to win that game, and I think we all know who that is.¡±
While these first couple weeks have been rough for Sale, the Braves saw him construct one of baseball¡¯s most inspiring seasons last year. After injuries limited him to 151 innings from 2020-23, the tall lefty won the National League Triple Crown by leading the league in wins (18), ERA (2.38) and strikeouts (225). He had finished in the top six in Cy Young voting in seven straight years (2012-18) before finally winning his first in November.
¡°I¡¯m sure this isn¡¯t up to his standards, but there¡¯s not a person in here worried about that guy,¡± Braves first baseman Matt Olson said. ¡°He¡¯s a dog. We love when he takes the mound.¡±