Braves Taking Interesting Approach With Chris Sale In NLDS

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Braves Taking Interesting Approach With Chris Sale In NLDS

Originally posted on Baseball Now | By Aaliyan Mohammed | Last updated Oct 3, 2026 3:59 PM ET

The Atlanta Braves have not announced whether Chris Sale will start in Game 2 of the National League Division Series.

Sale started Game 1 of the Wild Card Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, and then threw 21 pitches in Game 3 to close things out. Game 2 between the Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers is scheduled for Sunday. Sale would be four days removed from his Game 1 start, and just two days removed from his relief outing.

The Dodgers have already announced that Blake Snell will start Game 2 and Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start Game 3, but the Braves have not revealed plans past Game 1.

"Weiss said he’ll wait to see how Chris Sale is feeling tomorrow before deciding who will start tomorrow," reported MLB.com's Mark Bowman. "If Sale is pushed back to Game 3, he could still be used in some role three days later in Game 5."

Sale is guaranteed to start at least one game in this series, but keeping him stashed until Game 3 risks the Braves being in a win-or-go-home situation when he takes the mound for the first time in the series. Also, starting Sale in Game 3 would put Game 2's pitching plan in flux. Tyler Mahle could be available on four days of rest, but he has not worked on four days of rest since Aug. 23.

The Braves need to try to steal one game in Los Angeles and set themselves up to take care of business at home. It will be difficult to win in Los Angeles if Sale does not pitch.

This article first appeared on Baseball Now and was syndicated with permission.

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