ATLANTA -- Chris Sale threw a 100-plus-mph pitch for the first time since 2018 and he constructed his first shutout since 2019, while helping the Braves complete a three-game sweep of the Dodgers with a 1-0 win on Thursday night at Truist Park.
“The look in his eye is always pretty pretty good, but it was even a little bit different tonight,” manager Walt Weiss said.
Along with having a chance to secure a series sweep of the two-time reigning World Series champions, Sale was emotionally stirred by Thursday’s passing of Ashley Foss, a 42-year-old family friend, whose father has handled finances for the Braves pitcher over the past couple decades.
“She was a huge Braves fan,” Sale said. “She watched all these games. It felt weird out there, because I felt like I had a little something else helping me tonight. There's no question, that was her out there.”
There was certainly something special brewing as Sale scattered five hits and matched a season-high 11 strikeouts, while tossing his first shutout since he helped the Red Sox blank the Royals on June 5, 2019. The 37-year-old hurler also unleashed what stand as his two hardest-thrown pitches since ‘18.
Adding to his motivation was the fact that the Braves had just three available relievers, with closer Raisel Iglesias being the only high-leverage option. Needless to say this was a good time for Sale to produce the team’s first shutout since Max Fried blanked the Marlins at home on April 23, 2024.
“That’s probably one of the top two pitching performances I’ve seen during my time in the big leagues,” Braves catcher Drake Baldwin said. “From pitch one, he was just locked in and executing pitches. It’s pretty incredible.”
It has been an incredible three-day stretch for the Braves (79-55), who claimed three straight one-run wins to pull within one game of the Dodgers (80-54) in the battle for the second of the National League’s two available first-round byes. Atlanta’s one run in this contest came via the leadoff homer from Baldwin on Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s first-pitch splitter.
According to Elias, Baldwin became the first catcher in the Modern Era (since 1900) to lead off a game with a homer in a 1-0 victory. But this game will best be remembered for what Sale accomplished, while lowering his ERA to 2.06 (MLB’s second-best mark).
At 37 years and 150 days, Sale became just the sixth pitcher since 1900 at that age or older to record 10-plus strikeouts and issue no walks in a shutout. The most recent had been Sale’s childhood idol, Randy Johnson, who did so in 2004 and twice in ‘01.
“Sucks being on this side.” Sale’s former Red Sox teammate Mookie Betts said. “I've been on the other side seeing it. So, I know it's pretty cool from their perspective. But for us -- I mean, sometimes there's nothing really you can do.”
When Sale struck out Shohei Ohtani in the third inning, he got the four-time MVP to whiff against a pair of sliders. In between, Sale 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.
“[Ohtani’s] doing stuff no one's ever seen,” Sale said. “He's probably the best I've ever seen. When you're facing the best, you’ve got to bring the best. Tonight it worked out.”
Sale recorded 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.
“I looked at the scoreboard and saw triple digits,” Baldwin said. “I knew he could get close, but him getting there was pretty cool. He can take it to that next gear when he's facing the guys who obviously have done a ton of damage in this league.”
Sale authored an incredible comeback story when he won the 2024 NL Cy Young Award with the Braves. He had totaled 151 innings over the previous four seasons combined with the Red Sox. His first year with Atlanta was just the start of something special.
Sale has allowed three runs or fewer in 23 of 24 starts, and he has a 1.83 ERA over his past 21 starts. Age is just a number for this determined hurler, whose final delivery during this 109-pitch outing was clocked at 98.6 mph.
When Sale exited the eighth inning having thrown 97 pitches, he entered the dugout and said, “This is mine.”
“He was on a mission when he started that game and he was on a mission to finish it,” Weiss said.