The ace of a big league rotation can bail out subpar offensive performances with regularity. On Sunday afternoon, a reeling Braves team got the much needed dominant start from Chris Sale that they needed to stop the bleeding. Unfortunately, Atlanta's offensive output on Sunday did not match their ace, and in the end the team left San Francisco with another series loss.
Sale was masterful on Sunday against the Giants; after six innings of 10 strikeout baseball. In the end, Sale lowered his season ERA to 2.10 and FIP to 2.55. Sadly, during this outing, it was death by a thousand paper cuts, as Sale gave up eight hits - all of which were singles. Because of a couple of throwing errors from the Braves' infield and another game in which the offense refused to give Sale any run support, the veteran lefty ended up taking the loss.
Zero run support has been the theme for Sale in recent outings, as the team has only mustered two runs while he has been in the game over his past four starts. Being the consummate professional that Sale is, no finger-pointing has come from the veteran. Hopefully, the Braves offense can find a way to start giving their ace some breathing room, or else Sale will begin to fall into a category no starter wants to find themself in.
Chris Sale got no defensive support today. As for the lack of offensive support, the Braves have given him a total of two runs of support over his past four starts
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) June 28, 2026
The lack of run support in Chris Sale's starts is beginning to remind us of another Braves pitcher
It is hard to remember now, but at the beginning of the season, Atlanta's offense was clicking. Sale himself was the beneficiary of some really impressive offensive outbursts. Before June, the Braves offense put together four different games in which they scored at least nine runs during a Sale start. Unfortunately, the other Sale starts this season have been much further in the opposite direction as far as runs scored go.
After Sunday's two-run scoring day, the Braves have now scored two runs or less in six of Sale's 15 starts on the year, including three of his last four starts. If this trend continues, the Braves will be approaching 2015 Shelby Miller levels of letdown.
For those who do not recall, Miller's lone season in Atlanta was an excellent 2015 campaign. During that season, Miller posted a 3.02 ERA, 3.45 FIP, and 4.2 bWAR. Unfortunately, for Miller, 2015 is also the season he led the majors in losses (17) just because the Braves' offense refused to give him run support.
The focus on 2026 trade talks has mostly involved starting pitching for Braves fans, but if the offense keeps sputtering as it has in Sale starts, that dialogue may begin to change. Let's hope the next time Sale takes the mound, the Braves offense can finally show up and get this train back on the tracks.
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