It took a while, but the Atlanta Braves finally managed to win a hard fought game on Tuesday night and it came against the division rival Phillies. Sean Murphy had a big game in his return, Austin Riley had a couple doubles, and six different Braves hitters reached base multiple times. The one sour note from the game was Chris Sale's performance.
That isn't to say that Sale was completely terrible. He still struck out five batters while walking none in almost five innings of work. He also didn't get much help from home plate umpire Stu Scheurwater who didn't exactly have the most consistent strike zone last night.
Chris Sale wasn't very happy with this call.
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 9, 2025
HP Umpire Stu Scheurwater with the pump fake. pic.twitter.com/375RWI06VX
However, there were some troubling signs from Sale's start that extended beyond just having an off night. Through his first few starts of the season, there is clearly something not right with the defending NL Cy Young winner.
Chris Sale's velocity and location issues have the Braves looking for answers
Given Sale's rather extensive injury history, any dip in his production or stuff is going to get parsed quite a bit. While one might be tempted to call this an overreaction, it was pretty telling that Sale's fastball often caught way too much of the plate against the Phillies and was also down a tick from the 94.9 mph he averaged on the pitch last year.
So far, Sale and the Braves are pointing to a mechanical flaw that dropped his arm angle and that has robbed Sale of his ability to spot his pitch where he wants and throw it hard enough. He broke off a couple nice heaters early in the game, but the velo dropped off quickly and he moved to throwing his secondaries a lot more as the game progressed.
The question now is whether or not this mechanical flaw is something that reps and adjustments can fix or Sale is dropping his arm a bit in response to a possible ailment. His history of arm troubles, especially with the Red Sox, are well-documented, but he also had a back issue in 2024 that famously kept him out of the playoffs last season.
For now, taking the mechanics explanation at face value seems fine and Sale has the experience to work through slumps. It certainly didn't cost the Braves anything last night. However, Sale is going to have to show some improvement soon to quell all of the doubts around him and reassure Braves fans that there isn't an underlying health problem that could threaten to derail Atlanta's season.