Atlanta – On Thursday night at Truist Park, Braves ace Chris Sale delivered a performance that reminded fans why he remains a premier pitcher in the National League. After throwing 97 pitches through eight innings, Sale walked over to manager Walt Weiss in the dugout, declared “This is mine,” and returned to the mound for the final three outs.
Sale needed just 12 more pitches to finish the game, sealing a 1‑0 shutout over the two‑time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers. The win completed a three‑game sweep for the NL East‑leading Braves, who have now beaten the Dodgers by a single run in each contest.
Historic strikeout tally and fastball velocity
At 37, Sale struck out 11 batters, including two strikeouts of Shohei Ohtani, who was in the Dodgers’ lineup. Sale also recorded his first complete game since 2019, and his earned run average dropped to 2.06, the second‑best mark in the majors behind Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski.
Sale’s fastball reached triple‑digit miles per hour for the first time since July 2018, when he was with the Boston Red Sox. That 2018 season saw Boston capture the World Series, a milestone that preceded Sale’s later Tommy John surgery and subsequent resurgence.
Personal loss adds emotional weight
Before the game, Sale learned that Ashley Foss, a close family friend who had managed his finances for years, passed away from cancer. The loss was evident in Sale’s remarks on “The Pat McAfee Show,” where he described the night as “special” and noted his son’s reaction when Sale returned for the ninth inning.
Despite the personal sorrow, Sale remained focused, saying, “Anytime you’re facing a team like that you just try to put your best foot forward… it’s going to be a dog fight, you know it won’t come easy.”
Dodgers’ response
Los Angeles starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched 6.1 innings, allowing one run on a solo home run by Braves catcher Drake Baldwin. The Dodgers will head to Detroit for a series against the Tigers, while the Braves open a three‑game home set against the Colorado Rockies on Friday.
Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
