Chris Sale Nearly Goes Distance, Catapulting Himself Into Cy Young Race

He was a strike away from picking up his first complete game since 2019 before giving up a soft single and being taken out of the game. He threw 116 pitches in the near-nine-inning effort. He did everything he could to make it happen. He even made a diving play to get the first out in the ninth.

Just getting the chance to even get this far meant a lot to Sale.

"I appreciate that, and it's a tough position for him to be in, and I get that. Pitch count was up over 100, but I was pretty adamant coming off the eighth inning. And he's like, You usually don't do that. So I had to give it to you. But at the same time, he didn't want to get me up over too many pitches tonight. So I told him, Hey, you gave me a chance for it, and that's all I really wanted."

Snitker said that if any pitcher was worthy of going back out there, it was Sale.

"I was thinking, Well, you've earned that, right?"

This outing simply was helping build the lore around his career in Snitker's mind. Though he ultimately took the ball out of his hand with one out to go, he wanted to see it happen.

"What he did was spectacular. I mean, just even the play made the ninth inning, my God, just kind of lends to the legend what he did," he said. "He's a pro. And you root for guys like that and you know, and he gets it, and all the situations he gets it. And that I was probably pulling for him more than he was pulling for himself to get that complete game."

Sale has been mowing down hitters over his last 10 starts. He has a 1.22 ERA in that span, bringing his ERA down from 6.17 to 2.52. He has a lower ERA in that same time than Paul Skenes, who leads the National League in ERA, during this time (1.22 vs 1.25).

He now has the second-lowest ERA and the second most strikeouts in the National League. He's quickly pole vaulted himself back into contention for the Cy Young Award.

The Braves have won their third straight series after losing the previous six. They've improved to 33-39 and have pulled to within six games of a playoff spot. They have another shot to pick up a sweep on Thursday.

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