For the most part, things are lining up well for the Atlanta Braves ahead of their Wild Card matchup against the Phillies. The Braves rested their rotation and bullpen this past week, while the Phillies had to pull out the stops just to punch their ticket to the postseason at all. The Braves also gave their lineup regulars a bit of downtime, and they are playing the series at home, where Atlanta plays exceedingly well. However, not ALL of the circumstances around this series benefit the Braves, and one in particular could hurt Chris Sale in the biggest start of his season.
Some may remember that Sale was embroiled in a bit of an umpire controversy when umpire Dan Merzel called a balk on Sale. Merzel maintained that Sale, who is a hybrid pitcher, had to declare whether he was pitching out of the stretch or the wind-up before each hitter. While that is technically the letter of the law according to MLB rules, it is a rule that is seldom enforced, and it was the first time that Sale was penalized for it in his 16-year career.
We know the rest of the story after that. Sale understandably lost his mind, Walt Weiss got ejected after the call, and the veteran pitcher was still so pissed off that he ended up getting ejected THE NEXT DAY for getting in Merzel's ear about the call from the dugout. Well, guess what? Merzel is the home plate umpire for Game One of the Wild Card series that Sale is starting. Buckle your seatbelts.
Umpiring crew for Braves-Phillies WC Series. This will be the first time Merzel has been behind the plate for a Sale start since their “balk” incident at Yankee Stadium pic.twitter.com/xBTWSXSLT9
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) September 28, 2026
Chris Sale's umpire nemesis (probably) is behind the plate for Game One of the Braves' playoff matchup vs. Phillies
First, it is absolutely wild that MLB allowed this to happen. It would be one thing if an umpire like Joe West or Angel Hernandez got assigned to the game, because everyone hated them. In this case, an umpire who very clearly has something out for Sale's specific methods more than the rest of his umpiring colleagues and who has a history of confrontation THIS SEASON with the Braves over it is calling balls and strikes again with Sale on the mound. For the tinfoil conspiracy theorists out there that think MLB is trying to tip the scales for Philly, this is going to be their Exhibit A.
What we don't know is what the actual fallout from that call was beyond, obviously, Sale getting ejected the next day. Weiss mentioned at the time that the team would reach out to the league to get clarification, given that neither the Braves nor Sale had ever been notified there was a problem until that balk. One hopes that Atlanta got that clarification and that Merzel got pulled aside by someone and told to settle down.
At least, that is the hope. Most of MLB's umpire villains are on their way out, and it is worth mentioning that Merzel apparently ejected Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long after the umpire screwed up an out-of-the-baseline call on the play where Luis Arraez hurt his ankle. It is probably true that neither team is thrilled to see Merzel and his pedantic umpiring philosophy behind the plate for Game One. However, given the stakes and history, Sale and the Braves are probably getting the short end of the stick.
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