ATLANTA — Chris Sale provided a genuine response when asked if he allows himself to wonder how this season might have evolved had he not missed two months with the fractured left rib he suffered when he dove for a Juan Soto chopper on June 18.
“Tonight, that was one of the first things I did,” Sale said. “I was just kind of sitting at my locker and wondering, ‘What if I didn’t get hurt? What if I was able to stay upright this whole year?’”
Sale said this after helping the Braves claim a 4-1 win over the Mariners on Friday night at Truist Park. The 36-year-old hurler has allowed just two earned runs in the two starts (12 2/3 innings) he’s made since the rib fracture forced him to miss two months.
“I don’t think anything he does surprises me, just after last year and seeing what he accomplished,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said.
So, constructing two stellar starts after a lengthy absence might not be as impressive as Sale winning the 2024 National League Cy Young Award after multiple injuries limited him to 151 innings over the three previous seasons combined.
Sale recorded nine strikeouts, scattered four hits and allowed one run over 6 2/3 innings against Seattle. The lone run scored when Dylan Lee surrendered consecutive singles after entering with one on and two outs in the seventh.
“He kind of blew me away the first first game [in Philadelphia], and then today, it’s kind of like, he took the next step, extended himself a little bit more,” Snitker said. “I don’t think he had any stressful innings either. It was pretty impressive.”
Sale struggled through his first few starts this season, found his stride near the end of April and was dominant over the next six weeks before the injury. He now has a 1.26 ERA over 12 starts going back to an April 25 outing in Arizona.
The stretch is unique because it includes the long injury absence. But it’s still worth noting that the only other pitchers 36 or older to post a sub-1.30 ERA over 12 straight starts (same season) this century were Justin Verlander (1.21 ERA, 2022) and Roger Clemens (0.98 ERA, 2005). Most recent before 2000 was Gaylord Perry in 1975.
“It is tough to kind of sit here and be like, ‘Man, what if?’” Sale said. “What if you would have been able to pitch these last two months and be able to pitch like you were and like you have been?”
Adding to the cruelty of the rib fracture is the fact that the injury was suffered on a play that was initially celebrated. When Sale came off the mound, dove and grabbed Soto’s chopper, he put himself two outs away from what would have been his first shutout since 2019.
“I’m sure if he had to do it over, he wouldn’t change a thing,” Snitker said. “I’m sure he does think about that. But, you know, it was just an unfortunate thing.”
That same determination that helped Sale create last year’s great comeback and persevere as this year’s success was interrupted led him to dive for the ill-fated chopper. He retired Soto, struck out Pete Alonso and then was removed after allowing a two-out hit in the ninth.
The play was celebrated until two days later, when it was learned he was injured.
These past two starts have created reason to wonder, ‘What if?’ But at the same time, they have given the Braves reason to look forward to what Sale can offer over the remainder of this year and beyond.
“I just want to see him continue to progress and finish well and go into the offseason with a good feeling,” Snitker said. “Then he’ll be excited about next year.”
