ATLANTA (AP) — There have been plenty of doubts about the Braves’ starting rotation.
No such worries for the top guy.
Shaking off an illness that hampered his velocity, Sale allowed only one base runner in six innings of another dominant start to lead Atlanta past the Athletics 5-1 on Wednesday.
Sale (2-0) didn’t even mention that he was feeling bad as he discussed having to make do with a more limited arsenal of pitches. After he had departed the interview room, manager Walt Weiss filled in the rest of the story.
“He was sick as a dog,” Weiss said. “We didn’t even know if he was going to be able to make that start. I was hoping to get three innings out of him. In the best-case scenario, maybe four.”
Instead, Sale (2-0) gave the Braves six dominant innings before turning it over to the bullpen for the final three innings. The only blemish on his pitching line was a fourth-inning homer to Shea Langeliers that barely cleared the left-field wall.
Otherwise, he retired every Athletics hitter he faced — despite recognizing during his pregame warmup that he didn’t have the normal speed on his pitches.
“You’re not going to have your best stuff every time,” Sale said, with no reference to his illness. “I really try to raise my focus on that day. Reaching for more stuff when it’s not there is not really the way. I knew I had to find a way to make it a game.”
Weiss was appreciative of the effort from his left-hander, who had celebrated his 37th birthday two days earlier.
“He couldn’t keep anything down. He was a mess,” the manager said. “It was touch and go before the game. But true to form, he takes the ball and goes out there and gives us six innings with one hit. Hall of Famers, they just operate differently. That’s what he is. It was an unbelievable performance considering the circumstances.”
Sale, a nine-time All-Star who won the NL Cy Young in his first season with the Braves in 2024, went six scoreless innings on opening night against the Kansas City Royals. He also moved past Hall of Famers Bob Feller and Warren Spahn for the 30th spot on the career strikeout list.
With three more Ks on Wednesday, he is now just 19 away from the next guy on the list, longtime Braves star Tom Glavine, another member at Cooperstown.
The Braves appreciate how important Sale is to their hopes of getting back to the playoffs after a run of seven straight postseason appearances ended with an injury-filled 2025 season.
There were more troubles during spring training, with Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep ruled out for an extended period before Spencer Strider joined them on the injured list late in camp.
At least the Braves are off to a better start than a year ago, when they lost their first seven games on a West Coast road trip and never seemed to recover, stumbling to the finish at 76-86.
They are 4-2 this season through two series at home. Now, it’s off to Arizona for their first road trip of 2026.
“It’s nice, but we’re not going to hang our hat on it yet. We’re one week in,” Sale said. “But getting off on the right foot is huge. The energy in the clubhouse is fun.”
Even when he’s not feeling his best.
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