Sale (17-3) allowed a run on five hits and two walks while striking out six over six innings to earn the win Saturday over the Dodgers.
Sale has allowed no more than two runs in any of his last seven starts, giving up just six runs with a 54:7 K:BB over 45 innings in that span. He's now gone nine consecutive outings without giving up a home run. Sale trimmed his ERA to 2.35 with a 1.00 WHIP and 219:37 K:BB through 172.2 innings overall across 28 starts this season. He's projected to make his next start at Cincinnati.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Solidifies Cy Young candidacy
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Sale did not factor into the decision in Sunday's win over Toronto, allowing two hits and one walk while striking out seven in six scoreless innings.
Sale was his usual dominant self Sunday, allowing just three baserunners while adding seven strikeouts, giving him an MLB-best 213 on the year. Sale has now allowed two earned runs or fewer in 16 consecutive starts dating back to June 1, a remarkable streak highlighting his consistency. With a league-leading 2.38 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 213:35 K:BB to go with his sparkling 16-3 record, Sale has all but cemented himself as the NL Cy Young Award winner. The southpaw lines up to face the Dodgers next weekend.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Reaches 200 Ks
Rotowire
Sale (16-3) picked up the win Tuesday, allowing six hits over seven scoreless innings in a 3-0 victory over the Rockies. He struck out nine without walking a batter.
The veteran lefty continues his march toward both the NL Cy Young Award and a pitching Triple Crown, generating a whopping 23 swinging strikes among his 93 pitches as he reeled off his fifth straight quality start and 16th of the year. Sale leads the majors with 206 strikeouts, five ahead of Tarik Skubal and Dylan Cease, while his 16 wins are tied for the MLB lead with Skubal. Sale's 2.46 ERA also paces all qualified pitchers, with Skubal once again in second at 2.51. Sale's next victory will tie his previous career high of 17, a mark he last reached in 2017 -- he'll try to pick it up this weekend in a home start against the Blue Jays.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Adds to Cy Young candidacy
Rotowire
Sale (15-3) earned the win over Minnesota on Wednesday, allowing one run on six hits and one walk while striking out six batters over six innings.
Sale didn't give up a run until the sixth inning and logged his fourth consecutive quality start. Over that stretch, he's posted a 1.73 ERA while registering a dominant 32:4 K:BB over 26 frames. Sale is likely the current favorite for the NL Cy Young award -- he's tied for the MLB lead in both wins (15) and punchouts (197), leads all qualified pitchers with a 2.58 ERA and ranks eighth with a 1.02 WHIP. With three more strikeouts, the southpaw will reach 200 punchouts for the eighth time in his career and the first time since 2019.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Tosses seven innings
Rotowire
Sale yielded two runs on nine hits and a walk over seven innings in a no-decision Friday. He struck out four during the extra-inning win against the Nationals.
The only damage against Sale came in the fourth inning on a two-run double by Andres Chaparro. Sale saw his streak of starts with double-digit punchouts end at three, but he did turn in his third straight quality start. He's allowed two or fewer earned runs in 13 consecutive starts, posting a 2.25 ERA over that span. Sale owns a 2.62 ERA alongside a 191:33 K:BB through 147.2 innings this season. His next start is projected to come in Minnesota.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Dominant in 14th win
Rotowire
Sale (14-3) earned the win over the Angels on Saturday, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks over six innings while striking out 10.
Sale stifled the Angels' lineup for most of the night, allowing only two batters to reach second base over the first five innings before surrendering two runs -- one of which came across on a wild pitch -- in the sixth. The lefty induced 17 whiffs on the night and posted double-digit strikeouts for the third consecutive start. Sale has now won his four last decisions (spanning eight starts) and hasn't surrendered more than two runs since June 1 against the Athletics (a span of 12 starts).
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Braves' Chris Sale: Brilliant in 12-strikeout effort
Rotowire
Sale allowed three hits and struck out 12 batters over seven scoreless innings in a no-decision against San Francisco on Monday.
Sale and Giants starter Blake Snell locked into a southpaw pitching duel that included a combined 23 strikeouts over 13.1 scoreless frames. Sale's strikeout total was a season high and marked his second consecutive contest with double-digit punchouts. The veteran lefty extended his streak of starts allowing two or fewer earned runs to 11, and he's racked up a 95:20 K:BB over 67 innings during that span. Sale has built a strong case to this point for NL Cy Young honors -- he leads qualified starters in the circuit in ERA (2.61) and ranks second in both WHIP (0.97) and punchouts (177) while tying for the major-league lead with 13 victories.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Rare short outing
Rotowire
Sale allowed three runs (two earned) on nine hits and two walks while striking out 10 over 4.2 innings in a no-decision versus Milwaukee on Wednesday.
This was just the second time all year Sale has failed to finish five innings. It was also the first time in 10 starts he gave up more than two runs. He threw 62 of 96 pitches for strikes and reached double-digit strikeouts for the fourth time this year, but he simply wasn't very efficient against a challenging offense. Sale is now at a 2.75 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 165:30 K:BB through 127.2 innings over 21 starts this season. He'll look to bounce back in his next start, which is tentatively projected to be at San Francisco next week.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Fans nine in no-decision
Rotowire
Sale did not factor into the decision in an extra-inning loss to the Mets on Thursday, allowing two runs on two hits and one walk over 7.1 innings while striking out nine.
Sale was efficient during the contest, with the exception of the third inning when he left a sinker hanging over the plate for Francisco Lindor to launch into the stands in center field for a two-run shot. The veteran lefty then retired 13 of the last 14 batters he faced before being relieved by Joe Jimenez with one out in the eighth. Sale has now given up two or fewer runs in eight consecutive starts, while the home run surrendered to Lindor was the first long ball he's allowed in July. Sale has also posted at least nine strikeouts in four of his last five outings.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Cincinnati-Atlanta postponed
Rotowire
Sale won't start as scheduled Tuesday against the Reds after the game was postponed due to inclement weather.
Atlanta and Cincinnati will play a doubleheader Wednesday to make up for Tuesday's contest, and Sale will get the starting nod in Game 2, per David O'Brien of The Athletic. The 35-year-old southpaw has posted a 1.91 ERA and 0.99 WHIP alongside a 41:11 K:BB through 28.1 innings across his last five starts.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Nine strikeouts in win
Rotowire
Sale (12-3) got the win Tuesday over the Diamondbacks, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out nine over 5.1 innings.
Sale mowed down the Diamondbacks for his league-leading 12th win of the season. For reference, he entered this season with just 11 wins total dating back to the end of the 2019 campaign. Sale kept the Diamondbacks scoreless through five frames before a single and a triple in the sixth scored their first run and knocked Sale out of the game. A second run wound up being charged to the lefty before the inning ended. Sale has now allowed two runs or fewer in six straight starts and has piled up a 54:12 K:BB in 37.1 innings over that span. He now owns a 2.74 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 136:22 K:BB in 105 innings this year and is in line to make one final start before the All-Star break this weekend against the Padres.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Start pushed to Tuesday
Rotowire
Sale is no longer scheduled to start Monday's series opener in Arizona and will instead take the hill Tuesday against the Diamondbacks, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
The southpaw appeared poised for a two-start week to close out Atlanta's first-half schedule, but that's suddenly in jeopardy after the club chose to call up Bryce Elder from Triple-A Gwinnett to start Monday. While he could still be available to start Atlanta's final game before the break Sunday in San Diego on four days' rest, since Sale has already been named to the National League All-Star team, the coaching staff might prefer not to use him that day in advance of the Midsummer Classic. Even if Sale ends up getting just one start this week, fantasy managers will likely still want to keep him active, given that he's gone 3-2 with a 1.97 ERA and 0.84 WHIP since serving up a season-high eight earned runs June 1 versus Oakland.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Dominant in tough-luck defeat
Rotowire
Sale (10-3) suffered the loss Thursday, allowing one run on four hits and a walk over seven innings against the White Sox. He struck out 11.
Sale dominated his former team, with a first-inning homer by Luis Robert marking the only blemish to his stellar outing. However, the bats failed to provide any support for Sale, and Atlanta suffered its third shutout loss of the season with each occurring within the month of June. Following an inexplicable blip June 1 when he allowed eight runs to the hapless Athletics, Sale has rebounded over the last four games by allowing a total of six earned runs over 26 innings, giving him an ERA of 2.08 with a 0.85 WHIP and 36 strikeouts during that stretch. His next start is tentatively scheduled to take place in the middle of next week, when Atlanta plays host to the Giants.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Fans eight Yankees for win No. 10
Rotowire
Sale (10-2) picked up the win Friday, allowing one run on one hit and three walks over five innings in an 8-1 victory over the Yankees. He struck out eight.
A Jahmai Jones triple in the second inning was the only knock on Sale's line as the veteran lefty fanned at least seven batters for the eighth time in nine starts since the beginning of May. Over that stretch, he's posted a 2.45 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 74:9 K:BB through 55 innings en route to becoming the third pitcher in the majors this season to reach double-digit wins, after the Phillies' Ranger Suarez and the Royals' Seth Lugo. Sale will look to keep rolling in his next outing, which lines up to come on the road next week in St. Louis.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Fans seven in win
Rotowire
Sale (9-2) allowed two runs on five hits and two walks over seven innings Friday, striking out seven and earning a win over the Rays.
Sale coughed up a run before recording an out in the first inning but settled in for a strong quality start in the win. He forced 17 swinging strikes, including 12 on the slider. It was Sale's second consecutive quality start and sixth in his last seven appearances. The veteran lefty has posted a 2.60 ERA over 45 innings during that span. For the season, he owns a 2.98 ERA with a 99:13 K:BB through 13 outings. Sale's next start is lined up to be on the road against the Yankees.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Stumbles vs. Oakland
Rotowire
Sale allowed eight runs on nine hits and a walk over four innings against the A's on Saturday. He struck out four.
It was a rough day for Sale, who allowed six runs over his first two innings before Brent Rooker added two more with a home run in the fourth. Sale hadn't allowed more than one run in six straight starts prior to Saturday while recording eight or more strikeouts in each of his last five outings. Overall, the veteran left-hander is 8-1 on the season with a 3.06 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 82:10 K:BB across 67.2 innings. Sale will look to right the ship in his next start, currently scheduled for next week in Washington.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Earns seventh consecutive win
Rotowire
Sale (8-1) picked up the victory Sunday against the Pirates, allowing one run on four hits and a walk over seven innings. He struck out eight.
Sale's scoreless inning streak was snapped at 21.2 innings, but that's about the only negative to take from his performance, as he continues to mow down the competition. It was the seventh straight start in which Sale has earned a win and the sixth consecutive outing in which he's allowed one or fewer runs. Sale, who has not been a beacon of health over recent seasons, has not missed a turn this season, already throwing more innings than in all but one season since 2019. Through 10 starts, Sale has a 2.12 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 78 strikeouts and a K/BB rate of 8.7 over 63.2 innings. His next start is slated for next weekend, when Atlanta welcomes Oakland to town for a three-game set.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Improves to 7-1
Rotowire
Sale (7-1) earned the win over San Diego in the second game of Monday's doubleheader, allowing five hits and no walks while striking out nine batters over seven scoreless innings.
Sale dominated a Padres offense that had put up 18 runs in winning the first three games of the series, racking up 18 swinging strikes and registering his third straight scoreless outing. The left-hander fell one punchout shy of his second double-digit strikeout effort of the campaign and has now fanned at least nine batters in four straight appearances, recording exactly nine strikeouts three times during that span. Sale has accumulated 19 scoreless frames over his past three starts with a 28:1 K:BB during that span, giving Atlanta a dominant hurler to help ease the early season loss of Spencer Strider (elbow). Sale is tied for second in the league with seven victories, ranks 11th with a 2.22 ERA and is tied for fifth with 70 punchouts.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Dominant in Tuesday's win
Rotowire
Sale (6-1) picked up the win in Tuesday's 7-0 victory over the Cubs, scattering two hits over seven scoreless innings. He struck out nine without walking a batter.
The veteran southpaw simply overmatched Chicago's hitters, and the only runner to get into scoring position against Sale came after one of his two HBPs on the night. He generated 30 called or swinging strikes among his 92 pitches as he produced his second straight quality start and fourth of the season. Sale will take a 2.54 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and eye-popping 61:8 K:BB through 49.2 innings into his next outing, which lines up to come at home early next week against the Padres.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Dominates old team
Rotowire
Sale (5-1) earned the win over the Red Sox on Wednesday, hurling six shutout innings while allowing six hits and one walk. He struck out 10.
Sale allowed at least one hit in each of his first five innings of work but was consistently able to work his way through it without sustaining any damage. He logged just one 1-2-3 inning, which came in the sixth, while fanning a season-high 10 batters on the night. The veteran lefty has now logged quality starts in three of his last four outings and hasn't produced fewer than six strikeouts in any of his seven starts this season. He's also won each of his last four starts.
