ATLANTA -- Chris Sale has completed one of the most impressive seasons in Braves history. But in his mind, the only season that matters is the one that awaits him and his teammates.
Sale looked like a man on a mission as he tallied 10 strikeouts and secured his latest 200-strikeout season in a 3-2 walk-off win in 10 innings over the Reds on Wednesday night at Truist Park. The southpaw attacked this final regular-season start with the same aggression he’ll display when the postseason arrives next week.
“I told myself before this game that I really wanted to kind of go into this making it feel like a playoff game,” Sale said. “I wanted to get locked in and try to put my best foot forward there.”
Sale’s emotions were further stirred when, just before he began his pregame warmups, he learned longtime White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper passed away. Cooper was the lefty’s first pitching coach at the big league level.
“I wouldn’t be here without him,” Sale said.
With Sale lined up to start Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series on Tuesday, he entered this outing knowing he may not pitch more than five innings. Fortunately, he was given a little extra time when he ended the fifth inning with 199 strikeouts.
“I talked to him after he came in after the fifth and I said, 'How are you doing?'" manager Walt Weiss said. “He wanted to keep going. I said, 'Well, I want to keep you under 100 [pitches].' And he said he was fine with that.”
After Elly De La Cruz flied out to begin the sixth, Sale ended his 97-pitch outing by getting Sal Stewart to look at a called strike. The 3-2 pitch appeared to be inside. But home-plate umpire Derek Thomas’ call allowed the Braves and their fans to enjoy a special moment.
Relieved he didn’t need to take Sale out shy of the 200-strikeout total, Weiss walked to the mound to remove Sale. Each of the Braves’ infielders surrounded the mound, and the veteran hurler exited to a rousing ovation with Brooks & Dunn’s “Hard Workin’ Man” blaring through the stadium’s sound system.
“That was special,” Sale said. “That was a fun night. You could feel the energy throughout.”
Sale joins his idol Randy Johnson as the only left-handed pitchers in MLB history who have recorded nine or more 200-strikeout seasons. Nolan Ryan (15), Johnson (13), Roger Clemens (12) and Tom Seaver (10) are the only pitchers with more than nine such seasons.
“I'm thankful for the people that got me here,” Sale said. "I'm thankful for being able to do it.”
Sale surrendered a leadoff homer to Juan Brito and then kept the Reds scoreless over the remainder of his 5 2/3-inning effort. The 37-year-old southpaw ended the regular season with a 2.16 ERA. MLB’s only qualified pitchers with better marks are Jacob Misiorowski (1.86) and Cam Schlittler (1.94).
Greg Maddux (1.56 in 1994 and 1.63 in 1995), Reynaldo López (1.99 in 2024) and Warren Spahn (2.10 in 1953) are the only other Braves pitchers since 1920 who have posted an ERA of 2.16 or lower over at least 25 starts in a season.
Sale entered the 2024 season thinking it would be the last of his career, and he exited it with his first career Cy Young Award. Injuries had limited him to 151 innings from 2021-23. But he has continued to get better through each of his first three seasons with Atlanta.
How many pitchers since 1950 have posted a 2.20 ERA or lower over 25-plus starts during their 37-year-old season or older? Sale joins Justin Verlander (1.75 in 2022) and Roger Clemens (1.87 in 2005) as the only members of this group. Clemens and Verlander both tallied 185 strikeouts during those seasons.
Age certainly hasn’t diminished Sale’s arm strength. His four-seamer averaged 97.8 mph during his final regular-season start. That matched the third-highest average he has produced with this pitch in any game as a starting pitcher, a mark he last reached in 2018. He threw four pitches at 99.5 mph or harder.
“It's amazing what he's doing at this stage of his career,” Weiss said. “I want to say his velocity is as good or better than it's been as a starter in his career, which is mind-blowing. The injuries he dealt with those Boston years, coming back from that, he's really a marvel. Yeah, really special.”