Braves' Chris Sale matches his own rare MLB postseason feat

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Chris Sale. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Braves' Chris Sale matches his own rare MLB postseason feat

By Matt Wadleigh | Last updated Oct 2, 2026 1:16 AM ET

Chris Sale got things started for the Atlanta Braves by starting Game 1 against the Philadelphia Phillies in the wild-card round.

Sale finished the series against the Phillies as well.

The Braves won on Thursday night, 6-2, but it was Sale who pitched the final 1.1 innings for Atlanta to end the game and send them to the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Chris Sale matched his own odd postseason stat

As it turns out, Sale is the first pitcher to throw both the first and last pitches for his team in a postseason series since 2018. The other one to do it in 2018? It was Chris Sale himself, when he was with the Boston Red Sox.

Chris Sale of the @Braves is the first MLB pitcher to throw both the first and last pitches for his team in a postseason series since he himself did so in the 2018 World Series. pic.twitter.com/7esVOkXBlT
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) October 2, 2026

In 2018, Sale started Game 1 of the World Series against the Dodgers, although he went just four innings and allowed three runs as the Red Sox won 8-4.

Sale then pitched the final inning of Game 5 as the Red Sox won the World Series.

Here was the scene from Thursday night.

Chris Sale sends the @Braves to the NLDS! #CLINCHED

(MLB x @BudweiserUSA) pic.twitter.com/gaa66CiYCy
— MLB (@MLB) October 2, 2026

This is the scene from 2018.

Exactly one week ago, the @RedSox finished their most dominant season. pic.twitter.com/nqYzeKI0LD
— MLB (@MLB) November 5, 2018

Braves manager Walt Weiss used a total of six pitchers on Thursday night in a win-or-go-home scenario, and Sale threw 21 pitches to keep Atlanta's season alive.

The Braves face the Dodgers on Saturday in Game 1 and Sunday in Game 2, and it will be interesting to see when Sale gets his next start.

Matt Wadleigh

Matt Wadleigh is based in California and born and raised in the San Diego area. He studied print journalism at Fresno State for college and got to watch Paul George, Derek Carr and Davante Adams play in a Bulldogs uniform. His work has been featured at ClutchPoints, Sportscasting, Sporting News, and various USA Today sites, including UCLA Wire, where he was the first managing editor

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