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MLB Sends Chris Sale Message After Historic News on Thursday

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Robert Marvi | Last updated May 29, 2025 11:27 PM ET

For many years, Chris Sale has been one of the better pitchers in Major League Baseball. He has eight All-Star game appearances to his name, and he played on that 2018 Boston Red Sox team that won the World Series championship over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Today, at age 36, he's still a viable player for the Atlanta Braves. They had a doubleheader on Thursday against the Philadelphia Phillies, and while they lost the first game, 5-4, they rebounded to dominate the second contest by a final score of 9-3.

During that second contest, Sale recorded his 2,500th career strikeout in fewer games than any other player, and MLB honored that accomplishment on its official X account.

Chris Sale dominates and notches his 2,500th K as the @Braves take Game 2 of the doubleheader. pic.twitter.com/x89JZ3NU2r
— MLB (@MLB) May 30, 2025

The Braves, who won the world championship in 2021, have struggled so far this season, especially since star right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. was out of action until just days ago. They hold a 26-29 record, which puts them in third place in the National League East and 9.5 games behind the first-place Phillies.

Just last year, Sale not only got his eighth All-Star nod but also won the Cy Young Award, Gold Glove award and Triple Crown for the first time and led the majors with an earned run average of 2.38 and 225 strikeouts.

He had to overcome Tommy John surgery in 2020 in order to return to the heights he had enjoyed several years ago when he was a regular in baseball's midseason classic, and he responded with a career-best effort in 2024.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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