Start ringing the Chris Sale Cy Young bell
Another day, another Chris Sale masterpiece.
Thanks to Sale, the miserableness that has been the Braves offense was forgotten about for one night, as Sale mowed down a Padres lineup that had scored 15 runs combined in the previous two games of the series, throwing seven innings and allowing five hits, no runs, and striking out nine.
For the season, Sale is fourth in the MLB in fWAR at 1.9 with an MLB eighth-best 11.12 K/9, a fifth-best 1.27 BB/9, and an 11th-best 2.17 ERA.
He's everything the Braves could have dreamed of and more when they traded Vaughn Grissom, a guy who was probably on his way out either way, for the flamethrowing lefty.
"Chris Sale is ALL the way back, people." - @markdero7
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) May 21, 2024
Last 5 starts:
7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K
5 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 9 K
6 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 10 K
7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 K
7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 K#MLBCentral | @Braves pic.twitter.com/4uieBUCpmz
There's a short list of Cy Young candidates right now. including Shota Imanaga of the Cubs, Zack Wheeler, and Ranger Suarez of the Phillies. Sale deserves to be on that list and if he maintains this pace, he could walk away with it easily.
Atlanta prepares to face the Cubs again starting Tuesday evening for the second time in a little over a week. However, this time, the team will take them on within the friendly confines. Let's hope their luck changes and this series provides fans with something to cheer about.