Chris Sale did not feel close to full strength during his last outing.
It didn’t show against the Athletics.
The Atlanta Braves ace delivered six dominant innings, allowing just one hit — a solo home run by Shea Langeliers — in a 5-1 win last Wednesday.
Now 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA, the veteran left-hander is set to take the ball again Monday night as Atlanta opens a three-game interleague series against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim.
“He was sick as a dog. We didn’t know if he was going to be able to make that start,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said of Sale last week in an article written to CBS Sports. “I was hoping to be able to get three innings out of him — best-case scenario, probably four. He just couldn’t keep anything down (in his stomach) — he’s a mess. It was touch-and-go before the game. (Source)
“But true to form, he takes the ball and goes out there and gives us six innings, one hit. Hall of Famers, they just operate differently, and that’s what he (likely) is. It was an unbelievable performance.”
Sale, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner, recognized early that his usual velocity was not there during pregame warmups, with his fastball sitting in the low 90s instead of the typical mid-90s range.
“You’re not going to have your best stuff every time, so I really tried to focus on raising my focus,” Sale said. “Reaching for more stuff when it’s not there is not really a way … to win this game. Just really focused (more on location) than trying to out-stuff guys.”
He leaned on precision and pitch mix, getting key support from catcher Drake Baldwin, who drove in four runs in the victory.
“He’s been doing it forever — that’s why he’s as good as he is,” Baldwin said of the 37-year-old Sale. “He’s able to lean on some other pitches when he might not have the same (velocity) all the time on his fastball. But the changeup and the slider, being able to throw it for strikes and execute down in the zone, kept (the A’s) off balance and allowed him to get through six innings.”
Sale finished with three strikeouts and no walks, continuing a strong track record against the Angels. He enters Monday’s matchup with an 8-0 record and a 1.24 ERA in 11 career appearances against them.
Atlanta arrives in Anaheim after dropping two one-run games over the weekend in Arizona, while the Angels carry momentum following back-to-back one-run wins against Seattle.
Los Angeles secured an 8-7 victory in 11 innings Sunday on Nolan Schanuel’s sacrifice fly but had a tense moment when Mike Trout exited after being hit on the back of the left hand by a Casey Legumina pitch.
X-rays came back negative, and Trout is listed as day-to-day.
“After looking at how swollen it got, it scared me,” said Trout, a three-time American League MVP and an 11-time All-Star. “So I’m just relieved it’s not broken.”
Despite Trout being hit twice in the series, Angels manager Kurt Suzuki dismissed any notion of intent.
“Balls slip,” Suzuki said. “It’s baseball. Like I said the other night, it’s part of the game. Obviously, you don’t want him to get hit. Or see Mike get hurt. But at the same time, you understand, I was a catcher, that they’re trying to get guys out.”
The Angels will counter with right-hander Jose Soriano, who enters at 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA. He has posted a 1.54 ERA in three previous appearances against Atlanta.