Chris Sale might mess around and win another Cy Young

There were a lot of concerned Braves fans after the first month or so of the season. In Chris Sale’s first five starts, he boasted a 6.17 ERA and never once made it past the fifth inning, failing to make it to the fifth inning three different times — something that happened just twice all of last year when he went on to win the Cy Young award for the first time in his career.

To make matters worse, a noticeable dip in velocity had many wondering if the Braves had simply caught lightning in a bottle last year. Was there another vintage season left in Sale’s arm at age 36? Or was the 2024 version just a one-year revival?

That skepticism has vanished over his last five starts.

Sale has not allowed more than three runs in any outing and has made it past the fifth inning in four of them. The one he didn’t: Sale tossed five innings of one run ball in an 8-2 win over the Diamondbacks. Over that stretch, he owns a 1.72 ERA with 40 strikeouts in 31.1 innings. Cy Young Sale is officially back — and he looked every bit the part in his emotional return to Boston on Friday night.

Whether Sale cared to admit it or not, he undoubtedly had a little more juice over his seven innings of one run ball in which he struck out eight. In his final inning, nearly all of his fastballs were touching 98 MPH, and his average fastball velocity for the outing was 96.8 MPH.

However, while the extra motivation might have played a factor, this has been a trend for Sale over the last several weeks. After his average fastball velocity never sat above 94.2 MPH in his first three starts — reaching a season low 92.7 MPH against the Phillies on April 8th — Sale’s average fastball velocity has been at least 95.8 MPH in each of his last three starts.

Sale’s average fastball velocity for the season is now 94.9 MPH, a tick higher than it was last year when he went on to win the Cy Young, and the results have been evident. He has at least eight strikeouts in each of his last four starts, and in two of those games, he struck out 10 batters.

It wasn’t long ago that the Braves rotation was riddled with question marks. Now? They might have too many arms.

Bryce Elder — who had a 3.10 ERA over his last five starts — was recently optioned to make room for Spencer Strider, who’s set to return next week. If Strider can regain anything close to his previous form, the Braves could once again boast the most formidable rotation in baseball.

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