Sale looks to 'harness the energy' in Braves postseason debut

ATLANTA -- When Walt Weiss sends Chris Sale to the mound for Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series on Tuesday afternoon, he’ll have the same confidence he possessed more than a quarter of a century ago, when he was playing behind John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux in postseason games.

“There’s a different feeling when a guy like that is taking the mound,” Weiss said. “We felt it those years with the Big Three, and I felt it at other times in my career. I felt it in Oakland with Dave Stewart. I think it elevates the room the day that guy is pitching.”

Weiss made three straight trips to the playoffs as Atlanta’s shortstop from 1998-2000, and he’s experienced the postseason seven of the past eight years as the team’s bench coach. So, Braves playoff baseball is nothing new for him.

But, for Sale, this will be an experience he has long awaited.

The 37-year-old left-hander’s back prevented him from pitching in the postseason during his 2024 NL Cy Young Award season. But the splendid year he has produced during this third season with Atlanta will be enriched when he throws the first pitch of this Wild Card Series against the Phillies on Tuesday at 2 p.m. ET (NBC/Peacock).

“I love pitching here in Atlanta,” Sale said. “I love pitching in front of these fans, and being able to do it in the postseason makes it that much more special.”

Sale’s greatest postseason moment occurred when he concluded the 2018 World Series for the Red Sox by striking out each of the three batters he faced in the ninth inning of Game 5. His most recent playoff experience occurred in 2021, when, two months after returning from Tommy John surgery, he made three frustrating starts for Boston.

Five years later, Sale is in a far different position. After injuries limited him to a total of 151 innings from 2020-23, the Red Sox essentially gave up on him and sent him to Atlanta prior to the 2024 season. The lanky lefty flourished that year, and has continued to get better. The 2.16 ERA he produced this year ranked third in MLB, and it stands as the fifth-best mark produced by any Braves pitcher who has made at least 25 starts in any season going back to 1920.

So, there truly is reason to think this year’s postseason experience might be different. Sale has constructed a 7.24 ERA in seven previous playoff starts. His struggles weren’t restricted to the 2021 experience. He posted a 6.87 ERA in the four postseason starts he made in 2017 and ‘18. He allowed seven earned runs in one and lasted fewer than five innings in two others.

“I think you learn that it's just about harnessing the energy,” Sale said. “I learned this from David Tollett, my college coach [at Florida Gulf Coast University] -- you can't be better than you are. You can't play above what you possess, and sometimes you go out there and try to do too much, and actually do less.”

The opponents and pitching matchups Sale drew over the past two months prepared him for what he could encounter over the next few weeks. While posting a 2.36 ERA over his final seven starts, he pitched against four playoff teams (Yankees, Brewers, Dodgers and twice against the Phillies) and one (D-backs) that nearly made the postseason.

Within this same stretch, Sale matched up against top-flight starters Gerrit Cole, Jacob Misiorowski, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Cristopher Sánchez and Aaron Nola.

“He’s been nothing short of amazing for us,” Braves first baseman Matt Olson said. “I wouldn’t want anybody else taking the mound for us tomorrow.”

Sale certainly has reason to enter this assignment with confidence. He posted a 2.08 ERA in four starts against the Phillies this season, and the Braves won each of those contests.

If he can garner similar results on Tuesday, there’s a good chance this won’t be the only postseason start he will make this year.

“He presents a whole set of problems, but we've seen him a [few times],” Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said. “We haven't been great with him, but we'll see. Tomorrow is a new day.”