Sale K's 11 to record his first shutout since 2019, wrap up sweep of Dodgers
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ATLANTA -- Chris Sale threw a 100-plus-mph pitch for the first time since 2018 on Thursday night, and created further reason to compare his '26 season to the great one he constructed nine years ago.
Sale strengthened his National League Cy Young Award resume and twice overpowered Shohei Ohtani while securing his fourth career shutout and first since 2019. His gem, combined with Drake Baldwin’s leadoff homer, allowed the Braves to complete a three-game sweep over the Dodgers with a 1-0 win at Truist Park.
Sale scattered five hits and recorded 11 strikeouts while delivering his first shutout since June 5, 2019, in Kansas City. He lowered his ERA to 2.06, MLB’s second-best mark. He ranks seventh in MLB history with 95 double-digit-strikeout games. Sandy Koufax ranks sixth with 97.
Braves manager Walt Weiss certainly enjoyed watching his club’s first shutout since Max Fried produced one at Wrigley Field on May 22, 2024. He entered this game with just three available relievers.
How amped up was Sale for his matchup against the two-time defending World Series champions? The 37-year-old lefty unleashed two of his hardest-thrown pitches of the season and Ohtani was the recipient of both.
When Sale struck out Ohtani in the third inning, he got the four-time MVP to whiff against a pair of sliders. In between, he threw a 100.1 mph heater that the Dodgers slugger fouled. Per Statcast, this marked just the 15th time in the veteran hurler’s career that he threw a pitch that registered 100 mph or higher. The most recent occasion had been July 6, 2018.
Sale induced his second strikeout of Ohtani to end the top of the fifth. This time he got him to swing at a 99.6 mph heater that was far above the zone with a 2-2 count.
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Sale constructed an incredible comeback story when he won the 2023 NL Cy Young Award with the Braves. He had totaled 151 innings over the previous four seasons combined with the Red Sox. Thoughts of that being just one last great hurrah quickly evaporated.
Sale has allowed three runs or less in 23 of 24 starts and he has a 1.83 ERA over his past 21 starts.