ATLANTA -- A lot has gone right as the Braves have won six of their past seven games. One of the most important developments occurred at Chase Field on Friday night when Chris Sale started to look more like himself in an 8-2 win over the D-backs.
Sale wasn¡¯t nearly as dominant as he was during most of the starts he made on the way to winning the 2024 National League Cy Young Award. But while limiting the D-backs to one run over five innings, the 36-year-old southpaw was better than he had been while producing a 6.17 ERA in this season¡¯s five previous starts.
¡°I felt like I was out there competing and not just battling myself tonight,¡± Sale said. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to say you¡¯d exactly want to hang your hat on an outing like tonight. But this was a step in the right direction.¡±
This marked the third time Sale has completed five innings this year and the first time since he pitched into the sixth inning at Dodger Stadium on April 1. He escaped a bases-loaded threat in the first inning and ended his 104-pitch effort with a perfect fifth against Corbin Carroll, Randall Grichuk and Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
¡°He¡¯s a dog on the mound,¡± Braves center fielder Michael Harris II said. ¡°I think he loves those moments.¡±
Over the past eight days, the Braves have gone from 5-13 to 11-14. Their turnaround has coincided with the revival of Harris, who singled ahead of doubles by Wednesday¡¯s home run hero Eli White and Alex Verdugo in a three-run second against D-backs starter Zac Gallen.
Harris, who also doubled in a two-run sixth, has raised his OPS from .507 to .632 over the past seven games. Like there was never a reason to give up on the 2022 National League Rookie of the Year, the Braves were confident Sale would eventually start trending in the right direction.
¡°I think it¡¯s good for [Sale¡¯s] psyche to get that first win,¡± Braves manager Brian Snitker said. ¡°It¡¯s like a team when they¡¯re trying to get that first win. It¡¯s hard. So, I¡¯m happy for him to get that one behind him.¡±
Sale¡¯s average four-seam fastball velocity was 93.1 mph against the Dodgers on April 1 and 92.6 mph against the Phillies a week later. Concerns about his health diminished when the average rose to 96.2 mph in his next outing. He averaged 94.7 mph against the Twins last weekend and again on Friday night.
More importantly, Sale proved both the fastball and slider can still be weapons. The D-backs used a pair of singles and a walk to load the bases in the first. This isn¡¯t good for anybody, especially someone who had surrendered a .400 batting average in the first inning of his previous five starts.
But Sale turned the tide with a successful escape. He struck out left-handed hitter Josh Naylor with three straight sliders, just one of which was in the zone. He then fired a 97 mph, 1-2 fastball to Eugenio Su¨¢rez, who produced a threat-ending flyout to center.
¡°I got a strikeout when I really needed it,¡± Sale said. ¡°That knocks the edge off a little bit. Then I come sit in the dugout and we get three runs. That helps a lot, too. The offense had a big night. Overall, it was a good game.¡±
Sale got just one swing-and-miss with the four-seamer, but the D-backs with 10 of 22 swings against his slider. The veteran southpaw has gotten 10 swings and misses with the slider in his past two outings. He reached that total in eight of 29 starts last year.
As for the four-seamer, it wasn¡¯t necessarily a big swing-and-miss pitch for him in the past. He got five or more swings and misses with this pitch 10 times last year. Friday marked the first time over the past two seasons he got just one whiff with this pitch. But he walked away feeling pretty good about his progress with the heater.
¡°I feel like I¡¯m close to being right where I want to be,¡± Sale said.