ATLANTA -- Chris Sale exhaled when he grabbed Felix Reyes’ liner before it drilled his head. He was a little more emphatic with the excitement he showed after striking Bryce Harper out with the bases loaded and two outs in the third inning of the Braves’ 6-2 win over the Phillies on Sunday afternoon at Truist Park.
“You’ve got one of the best hitters in the game, one of the most dangerous hitters in the game up there,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “So, it was a big out. Sale does that virtually every time out there. When it's a big spot, or there's some guys on base, or just a big moment in the game he goes and gets more. We’ve seen a lot of the great ones do that.”
Sale continued to strengthen his Hall of Fame resume as he recorded a season-high nine strikeouts over six scoreless innings to notch his 150th career win. His second-inning strikeout of Adolis García pushed him past Chuck Finley for sole possession of 28th place on the all-time strikeout list.
With 2,617 strikeouts, Sale also now owns the seventh-highest total among left-handed pitchers. Next up on the all-time list is David Cone with 2,668 strikeouts. The next target on the left-hander’s list is Frank Tanana with 2,773.
“It’s hard for me to kind of wrap my head around,” Sale said. “I still look at myself as some 12-year-old kid from Lakeland playing baseball. So I appreciate it. But, I don't want to get too wrapped up in those things right now.”
More pressing now are the lists that show how successful the Braves have been while producing a 20-9 record. The MLB-high 20 wins matches the franchise’s second-highest win total through 29 games. The 1997 team set the record with 21 wins and the 2000 club has been the only other to match it.
“Coming to the ballpark expecting to win is a lot more fun than the other side of it,” Sale said. “We're having a good time. We're meshing really well. Vibes are high.”
Matt Olson extended some of that good energy with the three-run homer he hit before Phillies starter Aaron Nola recorded his first out of the day. Eli White added a two-run shot in a three-run second and everything seemed perfect until Sale said he “got a little off the rails” in the third inning.
Sale retired the first eight batters he faced and then hit Rafael Marchán, allowed a Trea Turner single and walked Kyle Schwarber to load the bases. Then, he fell behind Harper with a 3-0 count.
“It wasn't really until I threw a four-seam fastball extension side, where it kind of locked back in,” Sale said. “Unfortunately, that was 3-0 with the bases loaded. It would have been nice to figure that out quicker.”
And avoid the drama?
“I’ve got to give credit to our fans too,” Sale said. “When I throw a 3-0 fastball for a strike, I hear them. A 3-1 fastball for a strike and they get a little bit louder. And it’s like, 'Let’s not ruin this moment.'”
Harper swung through a 98 mph fastball just like he had chased and missed an up-and-in 3-2 fastball to end an 11-pitch battle against Sale on April 17 in Philadelphia.
“He's just a good pitcher, man,” Schwarber said. “When you see his name on the card, it's not like you're going up there saying you're going to go up there and score 10. You definitely can, but you know that you're just gonna have to go out there and get creative and try to find different ways to score. He found it again and was able to get back to himself."
Sale has allowed one run or fewer in five of his first six starts and this latest outing left him with a 2.31 ERA. The 2024 NL Cy Young Award struck out five straight batters beginning with Harper in the third. He also concluded this 100-pitch effort by retiring 10 of the last 11 batters faced.
But Sale's lasting memory from this start might be seeing his life flash before his eyes before he grabbed Reyes’ 89.9 mph liner in front of his face in the second.
“I don't know how hard it was, but it felt like it was 150 miles an hour back at me,” Sale said. “So I had to check myself after that one.”
Along with having a talented arm, he’s also pretty funny.
“I’ve hit myself in the head probably harder than that,” Sale said. “If that would have gotten me, it probably wouldn't have been too much worse.”