NEW YORK -- Chris Sale might not be logging 200-plus innings and tallying 200-300 strikeouts per season like he did in his most dominant days. But when it comes to run prevention, the 37-year-old Braves ace is faring as well as he has in every season but one.
Sale enters Tuesday night’s start against the Mets with a 192 ERA+. This would be the second-highest mark he has produced as a starting pitcher, trailing only the 209 ERA+ he constructed for the Red Sox in 2018.
ERA+ normalizes ERA by adjusting for the offensive environment around the Major Leagues during that particular season and the pitcher’s home ballpark. So basically this number measures how Sale’s run prevention success compares to the competition he had during specific years. This year, his normalized ERA is 92 percent better than 2026’s average pitcher.
Sale ranks third in the Majors with a 2.19 ERA, trailing only Jacob Misiorowski (1.58) and Cam Schlittler (2.07). The only pitchers to produce a sub-2.20 ERA (minimum 20 starts) during their age-37 season or later have been Roger Clemens (1.87, 42 years old in 2005) and Justin Verlander (1.75, 39 years old in ‘22).
Sale is coming off a great start during which he struck out 11 and retired 13 of the final 14 batters he faced. Each of the three earned runs he allowed over six innings could have been prevented had left fielder Mauricio Dubón not lost a fly ball in the sun.
This start will be unique for Sale, because it will be just his third of the season made with regular rest and the first since April 12. That was also the date he began the run that has seen him post a 1.89 ERA over his past 16 starts.