Braves star riding through for first-place Braves, looking for an injury-free season

Chris Sale was hesitant to talk about how good he feels following another successful start for the Atlanta Braves.

“I wish you guys would stop talking about it,” he said with a smile, touching the table he was sitting at. “Is this thing made of wood?”

It’s reasonable that Sale wouldn’t want to jinx himself given all of the injuries he suffered with the Boston Red Sox.

Sale, once one of the game’s most dominant pitchers with the quirky motion and vicious stuff, has made only 31 starts in the last four seasons, spending significantly more time in the training room than on the mound.

The Braves, desperate for starting pitching, decided to take a chance on the 35-year-old left-hander, acquiring him from the Red Sox in late December for prospect Vaughn Grissom.

Thus far, so good.

Sale (3-1) allowed only two hits over seven innings in a 6-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Friday night, his third start in a row.

If that doesn’t sound too amazing, try this: Sale hasn’t lasted seven innings in three consecutive outings since June 19-30, 2018.

“I really put a lot of emphasis on strengthening my shoulder and getting stronger and just being healthy,” he told reporters. “I owed it to whatever team I was pitching for.”

Sale’s performance in the first month of the season has provided a significant lift to the Braves, who lost their ace starting, Spencer Strider, to a season-ending injury.

“You know the guy he is, the competitor he is,” said first baseman Matt Olson about Sale. “He’ll go out there and compete with what he has that day. His stuff has been fantastic. He’s mixing it up nicely, keeping hitters off balance with the weird angles. It’s been fun playing behind him.”

When asked if Sale resembles the pitcher who had double-digit victories for seven consecutive seasons through 2018, finishing in the top six of the AL Cy Young balloting each year, Olson maintained, “He’s right there.”

“There’s been a lot of uncomfortable swings in his last few starts,” the slugger said.

Sale’s slider has been a key component of his early success with the Braves, who have won 10 of 11 games to construct baseball’s best record (18-6).

“The slider has long been an attribute of my success,” he went on to say. “It makes all my other pitches look better when I get that one synched up with everything else.”

Now, if only Sale could figure out how to avoid giving up home runs in the first inning.

All four homers he’s allowed this season have come in the first inning, including leadoff homers in his last two starts. Cleveland’s Steven Kwan went deep on the eighth pitch of the game, but the Guardians only got one more hit and no runs against Sale.

“If I could just get over the hump in that first inning, the game would be all right,” he remarked, laughing.

The Braves expressed no objections. Sale walked one, struck out six, and threw 67 of 95 pitches for strikes before handing it up to the bullpen.

Now, if he can just keep it going for a full year.

“Being healthy and staying healthy throughout the season is key,” Sale said. “You can’t help the team if you’re not there.”