Chris Sale rediscovered his ace form in Atlanta

Chris Sale has emerged as the Braves’ surprise No. 1 starter this season, returning to his All-Star form from previous seasons.

When Atlanta Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos decided to trade Vaughn Grissom, his organization’s top young bat at the time, to the Red Sox in exchange for an aging, frequently injured Chris Sale just before the calendar turned to 2024, reactions in Atlanta were mixed, with most cautiously optimistic.

Sale was definitely one of the best starting pitchers of the 2010s. At the time of the trade, he had registered a total of 151 innings this decade. Last season, he had just over 100 frames, his most since 2019. Despite several injuries in previous years, Sale’s swing-and-miss stuff remained (29.4 K%), but his 4.30 ERA and 1.13 WHIP were both the second-highest in his career.

The sensible hope was that Sale would provide depth and steadiness in the center of the rotation. He’s already accomplished far more than that.

Paying Off From the Start

Anthopoulos was undoubtedly taking a gamble, but the Braves had learned the hard way in each of the previous two seasons about a lack of rotational depth come playoff time. Unfortunately, the Braves lost predicted 2024 ace Spencer Strider (elbow) for the season after only two starts, thus Anthopoulos’ planning paid off straight away.

In case anyone forgot…Chris Sale is nasty 🫢

(via @PitchingNinja)pic.twitter.com/uIsE4IX90K

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) April 7, 2024

Sale began his first season in a Braves uniform with consecutive outings against last year’s NLCS opponents. His season debut occurred at Philadelphia, where he held the Phillies to two runs and struck out seven in 5.1 innings. Sale basically duplicated that performance with another 5.1 innings against the Diamondbacks in Atlanta on April 7, allowing two runs and striking out six.

Sale stretched things out in his next start in Miami. However, after allowing five earned runs on six hits and three walks to one of the league’s lesser offenses, there were justifiable concerns. Sale has responded to them.

Becoming An Ace Once Again

Sale has played four different teams with winning records in four starts since his season-opening loss to the Marlins. At the time of writing, three of them are in the top half of the MLB in runs per game, with two in the top eight.

Sale is 4-0 over that time, with a 1.80 ERA and 0.88 WHIP in 25.0 innings. Perhaps even more astounding is his staggering 32-to-3 K/BB ratio. His outstanding numbers, which include a 32.3 K%, 16.2 SwStr%, 40.5 Chase%, and 69.0 Contact% (79.5 Z-Contact%), highlight Sale’s recent dominance.

Fittingly, Sale placed an exclamation point on his comeback when he faced the Red Sox, a team with whom he spent seven years and won a World Series, this past Wednesday night in Atlanta. The 35-year-old southpaw totally shut out the Sox over six innings, allowing six hits and a walk while striking out a season-high ten. It was Sale’s first double-digit strikeout game since September 16 of last year, and the fourth since 2019.

Make that 10 Ks for Chris Sale! pic.twitter.com/KgQPs1IVZz

— MLB (@MLB) May 9, 2024

Leading the Way

Even without Strider, the Braves have a powerful rotation that features, in addition to Sale, All-Stars Max Fried and Charlie Morton, as well as Reynaldo Lopez, an insurgent reliever turned starter. Sale, however, continues to lead the gang. He leads the team with 52 strikeouts, 11.0 K/9, 1.7 BB/9, and a 0.98 WHIP. His ERA is 2.95, trailing just Lopez’s (1.53).

Sale appears to have gone back in time to recover top form, as his mid-90s heat and wipeout slider have returned. He is healthy, and Anthopoulos appears to have made another smart decision in acquiring him this offseason.

Atlanta is undoubtedly feeling the loss of Strider. Any team would, because he has one of the most powerful arms in the game. However, Sale is doing everything he can to fill the vacuum, and it is shaping up to be one of the best early-season storylines in baseball.

A stalled Hall of Fame career is back on track.