Yamamoto, Sale face off in battle of aces in Dodgers-Braves series finale

ATLANTA -- Dodgers fans will always recognize Chris Sale as the Red Sox pitcher who recorded the final three outs of the 2018 World Series against their team.

Braves fans recognize Yoshinobu Yamamoto as a pitcher who hasn't allowed a run over his two starts against Atlanta.

As for the baseball world, it recognizes Sale and Yamamoto as a pair of pitchers who have accounted for two of MLB’s three-best ERAs among qualified pitchers over the past calendar year.

Recognizing all of this, there will be some extra excitement when Yamamoto and Sale oppose each other in the finale of the Dodgers-Braves three-game series on Thursday night at Truist Park.

Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski leads qualified MLB pitchers with the 2.04 ERA he has posted going back to Aug. 27, 2025. Yamamoto ranks second with a 2.28 ERA and Sale third with a 2.31 ERA.

Sale tuned up for this matchup by allowing two runs over six innings during Friday’s matchup against Misiorowski and the Brewers in Milwaukee.

The Braves left-hander has posted a 1.97 ERA over his past 20 starts. His 2.20 ERA through 23 starts ranks third among all MLB starters.

Sale’s most memorable appearance at Dodger Stadium came in Game 5 of the 2018 World Series. Making a rare relief appearance, he closed out the Fall Classic by recording three strikeouts in a perfect ninth. His most recent appearance in Los Angeles came on May 8, when he allowed three runs (two earned) over seven innings in a Dodgers win.

While Sale has dominated Atlanta’s side of the ledger, Yamamoto has quietly anchored a Los Angeles rotation that spent months navigating heavy injuries.

Even with three of the Dodgers’ four original aces missing significant time -- a group now nearing full strength with Tyler Glasnow’s return on Tuesday, Blake Snell’s activation on Aug. 11 and Shohei Ohtani progressing toward pitching activities -- Yamamoto has provided unwavering stability at the top of the staff.

The 28-year-old right-hander has been a model of consistency all season, but he has dialed it up to another level down the stretch. In four August starts, Yamamoto has posted a 2.08 ERA while striking out 27 batters across 26 innings, allowing three earned runs or fewer in all four appearances.

That steady rhythm will be tested against a formidable Braves lineup, but Yamamoto has held the upper hand in their past two encounters, which have totaled 10 scoreless innings. His most dominant outing against the club came at Truist Park in May 2025, when he carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning before finishing with six scoreless frames, allowing just one hit while striking out six.

Thursday's series finale will mark the first time Yamamoto and Sale oppose each other, pitting two of the game's ERA leaders against each other to close out the series.

By winning the first two games of this three-game set, the Braves have clinched the season series against the Dodgers, meaning they would win any potential tiebreakers between the two teams. This is important because Atlanta (78-55) is now just two games behind Los Angeles (80-53) in the battle for the second of the National League’s two available byes.