Atlanta Braves ace and future Hall of Famer, Chris Sale, defied all expectations when he entered Tuesday's opening game of the NL Wild Card. Sale hadn't pitched in a postseason game since 2021 with the Red Sox. His track record hasn't been the best when reaching the playoffs. Atlanta's ace had a cumulative 6.35 ERA over 34 postseason innings prior to Tuesday's game.
He pitched really well against the Phillies and lowered that ERA to 6.02 over 40.1 innings. That resulted from 6.1 innings, allowing three runs on four hits, with one walk and a postseason career-high nine strikeouts.
Chris Sale's previous struggles in the postseason are a distant memory now
The Braves' southpaw continued to hit double digits on his fastball in the start. He's pitching the best he ever has, despite being in the latter stages of his career at 37 years old. There isn't an analytic he hasn't excelled in this season. Atlanta will need him to continue to pitch as well as he did in game one against the Phillies if they hope to make a deep postseason run.
It feels imperative that the Braves need to win every game started by Sale. Tyler Mahle is another great option for the second game in any series. Unfortunately, after that, the rotation is a toss-up. The Braves have to just hope pitchers like Grant Holmes can surprise everyone with a quality start.
Sale being able to buck his former track record of woes in the postseason is extremely encouraging. He did struggle in the seventh inning with some location issues and his slider not biting enough. However, Atlanta's bullpen is a strength, and Sale only needs to worry about giving the Braves six solid innings each time out. That should be enough to get the job done.
The veteran was even complimentary of rookie Dider Fuentes despite his struggles after taking over for Sale in the seventh inning. Fuentes immediately gave up the lead, but, being the clubhouse leader he is, Sale reassured Fuentes. He told him, "Sometimes we need help too." Referring to Austin Riley's three-run home run to bail the Braves out.
Alex Anthopoulos continues to reap the benefits of one of the most lopsided trades in MLB history. No one, including Boston, could have expected Sale to have the resurgence he has had in Atlanta. It's truly a blessing for Braves fans to watch him take the mound every fifth day.
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