On Friday, the Atlanta Braves will open up their final series of the 2026 regular season when they visit the Miami Marlins in Florida.
The Braves are coming off a series where they dropped two out of three games to the Cincinnati Reds.
That said, they have already clinched the National League East title.
UPDATE: The Braves lost 3-0.
Weiss Makes Heartfelt Statement
This week, manager Walt Weiss did an interview with FOX Sports: MLB.
Weiss was asked about All-Star pitcher Chris Sale.
Weiss: “Sale is a different animal… He keeps putting himself higher and higher on these really impressive lists… The ultimate teammate, the ultimate competitor. First day of pitchers and catchers… I told our young pitchers to just follow No. 51 around every day and watch what he does and try to do what he does, because we’re fortunate to have a guy like this walking around every day that can be a great example.”
Sale is in the middle of another dominant season.
At 37, he remains one of the best pitchers in all of baseball.
Right now, Sale is 14-9 with a 2.16 ERA in 27 starts.
Looking At Sale
Sale was picked in the 1st round of the 2010 MLB Draft.
He spent the first seven years of his career with the Chicago White Sox.
After Chicago, Sale pitched six seasons for the Boston Red Sox.
The 10-time MLB All-Star helped Boston win the 2018 World Series title.
Mark Bowman of MLB.com wrote (on September 23): “Chris Sale has secured his ninth 200-strikeout season. Most recent pitchers 37 or older w/ a 200K season: 2026 Sale Braves 2022 Charlie Morton Braves 2021 Morton Braves 2012 R.A. Dickey Mets 2006 John Smoltz Braves”
Looking At The Braves
The Braves had been coming off a year where they missed the 2025 MLB playoffs.
That said, this year they have looked like a true World Series contender.
Right now, the Braves are 93-66 in 159 games.
They last won a title during the 2021 season.
Atlanta Braves Manager Makes Heartfelt Statement About All-Star Pitcher